


Love & Carbonite

by lachellenepper



Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: Drama & Romance, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2018-11-30 00:15:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 74
Words: 530,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11452041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lachellenepper/pseuds/lachellenepper
Summary: Set at the end of season 12.  Does Agent James Aubrey really ride off into the sunset with Karen Delfs after the series ends?  Not in our way of thinking.  Slightly AU because it takes place after the series is over. This story is a collaboration between 554Laura and mphs95.  Mostly T but some M chapters.  Heed the warnings before you read!





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Welcome to the inaugural chapter of Love & Carbonite, a labor of love from mphs95 & 554Laura. After the series finale and I calmed down thanks to my dear BONES friends, they made me realize that I can do anything I want in fanfiction now. 554Laura and I got talking one right shortly after and before we knew it, we had the bare bones of a story started. With that, we decided to put our creative minds together and fix the one flaw of not only the series finale but what I have figured out was the one bad thing about Season 12 besides it being the final season. Some chapters were written by 554Laura, some by me, mphs95, and some were together.
> 
> Watching the episodes now, I can see where they were putting Aubrey and Karen together, but in some ways it threw Jessica under the bus and the finale made Aubrey not look so good. I did copious research online and I've never found an Aubrey/Karen fanfiction or any pages, Instagram, Twitter, or whatever that showed significant support for Aubrey/Karen besides a few opinions here and there. However, I found a lot of support and love for Aubrey/Jessica so I hope this story helps the people that were crushed with Aubrey's final scenes.
> 
> This is not a short story, nor a short journey. There will be tears and sadness, but also romance and happiness among the characters of the story. But most of all...there will be friendship and love.
> 
> We've changed the time frame slightly. Chapter 1 will start in September 2016 and will go from there. It seemed more appropo and Bones never specified dates, so we hope you all like it.
> 
> Please enjoy today's posting of the prologue and Chapter 1. Remember to follow this story here as we created a new profile for our labor of love and it won't be posted under our individual profiles. I hope we meet and/or exceed everyone's expectations and make things a little bit better.
> 
> Two people to thank. First our friend Haley for being our beta reader and making sure this story didn't suck. LOL. Second, to Emily Silver who was the genius BONES writer who nurtured this friendship into love...the best kind.
> 
> Happy Reading...mphs95 & 554Laura

After stumbling up the stairs and fumbling with his keys, Aubrey finally unlocked his apartment door and entered the darkened living room.  He and Booth had been enjoying a couple of beers after the case was closed when Booth gave him the good news.  He, Special Agent James Aubrey, was up for a promotion and a transfer to the FBI office in Los Angeles.  

Throwing his keys in the dish on the console table by the door, Aubrey flipped on the lights and finally allowed himself an exultant whoop and a fist pump.  “Supervisor in the Los Angeles field office.

“Yeah, Baby…California, here I come…”

Throwing his suit jacket over a chair, Aubrey laughed as he looked around his sparsely furnished apartment.  At least he wouldn’t have a lot to pack when he moved.  In fact, except for his _Star Wars_ collection, it might be easier to get rid of most of his stuff and start fresh in LA.  It was exciting to think about getting a new place, although he wondered if the rents would be higher and if he might have to settle for a smaller place.

Oh well, just another reason to get rid of some of his old stuff, right?

Aubrey gave up all pretense of being cool and calm about the promotion, happily laughing as he remembered Booth’s explanation.  One of Booth’s cronies, Tony Becker, had read some of their case reports and had been very impressed with their conviction rate.  Becker knew that Booth was absolutely ensconced in DC and couldn’t be tempted to move, but he’d sent Booth a couple of emails about his partner, wondering what kind of guy Aubrey was and wondering if he’d be tempted to move to a different office if he was offered a major promotion.  Even though Booth had been reluctant to lose a good partner, he said he’d pass the information on.

Grabbing another beer from the refrigerator, Aubrey plopped down on his sofa and thought about the past few years working with the senior agent.  Booth was a good man to work for...passionate about his work, compassionate toward other people, extremely intelligent, thorough, and detail oriented...and with a ridiculously high solve rate.  There’d been rough times and good times over the last three years, but Aubrey had begun to look on Booth as a trusted friend as well as a colleague.

Special Agent in Charge Booth was an exceptional agent, and Aubrey had to admit to himself that, perhaps, he’d managed to gain some of his own success by riding on Booth’s coattails a bit.  Of course, Aubrey realized he’d had several chances to prove his own worth, especially when he’d been named interim Special Agent in Charge when Booth had ‘retired’.  

 _‘Interim Special Agent in Charge’_...much to his chagrin, Director Stark hadn’t given Aubrey the position outright, hoping that Booth would change his mind about leaving the Bureau, and that was exactly what happened.  Even with the awkwardness of having to give up a great office to make room for Booth when he came back to work, there were no hard feelings between the two men.  They’d made a conscious effort to work together as partners, and their friendship had weathered that little storm.

Of course, Aubrey didn’t really need a supervisor, having been in that position himself many times.  However, it seemed natural for him to fall into that pattern with Booth, especially since Booth was used to being completely in charge in most circumstances.  Shrugging as he sipped his beer, Aubrey wondered if he’d been overly deferential to Booth, when in reality they should be on more equal footing, but in the long run, it didn’t really matter.  Working with Booth had given him a huge advantage over several other candidates for the Los Angeles position, and Aubrey was going to get his promotion to Special Agent in Charge after all.  He was determined to savor the moment, no matter how it came about.

However, at that moment, he was also very drowsy, having had more than a few beers that evening.  He began to nod off as he sat on the sofa, only to be jolted awake as Skinner the cat jumped on his lap.

“Meow?”  The cat swished his tail, demanding to be fed, rubbing his head against Aubrey’s face and kneading his paws on Aubrey’s lap.

“Really, Skinner?  Can’t a guy take a nap on his own couch?”  

Aubrey put the cat down and shook off his sleepiness as he walked into the kitchen to find the cat food.  Pouring some kibbles into a small bowl, he put the dish on the floor and chuckled as the cat came running for his dinner.

“Yeah, that was what you wanted, right?”  Watching the cat enjoy his supper, Aubrey mused to himself as he talked to the cat. “I wonder how I’m going to get you to LA, Skinner.  I don’t even know where I’m going to live, you know?  I might even have to live in a hotel room for a while, and that’s really not a good place for a cat, is it?  I may have to find another good home for you.”

Hearing the cat purr as the bowl was emptied, Aubrey nodded to himself.  “I bet Jessica wouldn’t mind keeping you.  I know she likes cats…”

And then it hit him like a bolt of lightning.  “Oh, no!  Jessica!  I’m going to move all the way across the country, away from her, and...Shit!  What am I going to tell Jessica?!”

* * *

Jessica Warren couldn’t help but smile as she made her way into the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab. It finally seemed like things were going her way.  She had a handsome boyfriend who loved her, a job she enjoyed, and her graduate work was moving along according to schedule.  She was truly happy for the first time in her life.

She hurried up the steps to the lab platform, buttoning her coat and smoothing her hair away from her face.  “Good morning, Dr. Brennan.”  Reaching for some gloves, she smiled at her mentor.  “Do we have a new set of remains this morning?”

“Oh, hello, Ms. Warren.”  Brennan acknowledged her intern with a slight nod.  “No, this set of remains is from Limbo.  I’d like you to take the standard skeletal measurements and record them in the “unknown” database.  If I have to spend less time taking measurements, I can spend more time discovering the actual identity of the deceased.”  

“I’ll begin right away.”  Jessica accessed the database on the computer and entered the case number so she could pull up the file.

“Excellent.  I need to work on the file of that movie producer who died recently.”  Pulling off her gloves, Brennan smiled at Jessica.  “If you’ll come by my office after lunch, we can discuss your transfer to UCLA.  I know several people in the anthropology department there, so we can easily arrange for the transfer of your credits so you can continue your graduate work in forensic anthropology.”

Thoroughly surprised, Jessica stared at Brennan, trying to figure out what she meant.  “Um, Dr. B...I’m very confused.  I don’t know why you think I’m transferring to UCLA.  I’m very happy here...unless...are you trying to tell me that you’re firing me?”

Brennan’s brow furrowed as she studied her intern.  “Well, since Agent Aubrey has received an offer for a promotion within the Los Angeles field office, I had assumed you’d be moving with him, especially since you’re involved in a monogamous relationship with him.  However, if you’ve decided to stay…”

“I haven’t made a decision yet.”  Jessica cringed slightly before continuing.  “To be perfectly honest with you, Dr. Brennan, Aubrey hasn’t mentioned a promotion or a possible move to me, so there’s no reason for me to make a choice at this time.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.  Booth mentioned Aubrey’s possible promotion to me last week, so I assumed that Aubrey had already discussed it with you.”  Brennan closed her eyes, cringing slightly as she realized her blunder.  “Well, if you decide to move to Los Angeles with Agent Aubrey, I’ll be glad to assist you in attending a different university in California.”

“Thank you.”  Jessica bit her lip, trying to keep from crying as she felt her world collapse around her.  “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll get started on these measurements.”

* * *

“Hey, Jess.  What’s up?”  Aubrey smiled as he joined her at a table in the diner. “How’s my favorite intern today?”

Jessica stared at her coffee cup, pinching her lips together as she exhaled slowly.  “Am I really your favorite intern?”

“Yeah, of course.”  Aubrey’s smile faded as he realized his girlfriend was upset.  “What’s wrong?”

“Dr. B and I were talking today, and she told me that she’d be able help me make arrangements for my university credits to be transferred to UCLA so I could continue my graduate work there after I moved to Los Angeles with you.  She assumed I knew about your promotion.”  Jessica brushed away a tear.  “It was embarrassing for me to tell her that I had no idea what she was talking about…”

“Goddammit…”  Aubrey stared out the diner’s window, trying to find the words to explain what had happened.  “Look, I’m sorry, okay?  I really was going to tell you.  I haven’t said anything about the promotion because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do yet…and I’ve been so busy with the Kovacs case.  I just haven’t had time to bring it up...”

“Bullshit!”  Jessica’s hand trembled with anger as she took a sip of her coffee. Glaring at him, she clenched her jaw.  “We both know what you want to do.  You want to go to Los Angeles to take that promotion, right?  Fine.  Go to Los Angeles, but don’t expect me to follow on your heels like some pathetic lost puppy.”  

She started to rise from her chair to leave, but Aubrey took her hand.  “C’mon, Jess.  You know I wouldn’t take that job without talking to you first.  Please don’t leave…”  

Jessica reluctantly sat down but she refused to make eye contact with him as he continued to plead with her.  “Look, you’re right.  We need to talk about this, and we will.  I promise, okay?  Please don’t be upset.  I didn’t mean to hurt you.  I just wanted to be sure.  Let me put this Kovacs thing to bed...”

Sitting on the edge of her chair, Jessica nodded slightly.  “It’s okay if you want to go to LA…I’ll understand...”

“We’ll talk about it later this week.”  Aubrey hesitated a minute before he continued.  “Do you still want to go to Cam’s wedding with me?”

“Sure, I guess so.”  Jessica smiled faintly.  “I’ve been looking forward to it.”

“Great.  I’ll pick you up about four, okay?”

“Yeah.”  Jessica glanced at the time on her phone.  “I have to get back to the lab.”

“Okay. I love you, Jess…”  Aubrey gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“Love you, too.”  Jessica got up and quickly walked away from the table without so much as a backwards glance, leaving Aubrey to wonder if his indecision about the promotion had ruined his life.

* * *

It was a few days later when Aubrey strode purposefully into Booth’s office, carrying a large carryout bag from the diner.  He laughed softly at Christine’s enthusiastic greeting as he held up the bag for her to see.

“Hooray!  It’s Uncle Aubrey!”  Christine, sitting in her father’s desk chair, grinned happily as soon as she saw her second favorite FBI agent enter the office.  “Did you bring us some sandwiches and lots of French fries from the diner?”

“Of course!  It wouldn’t be diner food without lots of French fries, right?  Hey, kiddo, I’m going to talk to your daddy for a minute and then we’ll have something to eat, okay?”

Christine nodded, smiling innocently as she played with her father’s phone, oblivious to his extreme agitation.  Aubrey, however, could see the pained expression and the tension in his partner’s shoulders and neck muscles as he stood nervously in the doorway.  He spoke quietly as the older man paced the office.  “You okay, Booth?”

Shaking off Aubrey’s question without an answer, Booth gently took his phone from Christine before picking up his suit coat.  “I’ve got to go to the lab.  I’ve got to see Bones…”  Glancing over his shoulder at his children, Booth turned back to Aubrey.  “I know it’s not part of your job description…”

“No problem, Booth...I’ll stay here with the kids, okay?  They’ll be fine.  If I’m needed for anything outside the Hoover, I’ll make sure there’s another agent with them at all times.  You go see Dr. B….”

“Yeah, thanks, Aubrey.  I appreciate it.”  After taking one more lingering glance at his children, Booth strode quickly to the hall outside the bullpen, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for the elevator to take him to the parking garage.  He turned and waved at Aubrey before entering the car, and then he was gone.

Sighing softly, Aubrey tried to calm himself as he turned to Christine.  He knew the little girl was very perceptive for someone her age, and it was going to be difficult to carry on the pretense that everything was just fine when instead he was heartbroken by Jessica’s sudden announcement that she wanted to end their relationship.  

Opening up the bag, he concentrated on unwrapping a grilled cheese sandwich for Christine and then a hamburger for himself before pulling out the large Styrofoam container that held a huge pile of French fries, setting it in the middle of the table.  “Okay, here we go.  I got some extra ketchup, too.”  

Hearing Hank stir in his sleep, Aubrey made sure the little boy was sleeping snugly in the chair before turning back to their meal.  Uncapping a water bottle, he handed it to the little girl and grinned.  

“It looks like you’re missing some choppers there, aren’t you?  Want me to cut up your sandwich into little pieces for you?”

“Nah.”  Christine broke her sandwich into two large pieces and nibbled on the corner of one of the halves.  “I can just use these teeth here on the side.  Mommy says my permanent teeth will grow in soon and then I’ll be able to eat normally.”

Nodding in agreement, Aubrey took a bite of his burger.  “Yeah, I remember how that goes from when I was a kid.”

Grimacing slightly, he picked up some French fries and dipped them into his large puddle of ketchup.  Talking about teeth made him think of Jessica’s lovely smile, and he was crushed all over again when he realized he might never have another one of them directed his way.

“Uncle Aubrey, did you have fun at the wedding last night?  I did.”  Christine giggled happily as she rambled on about the wedding reception.  “Did you see that I got to wear Dr. Saroyan’s veil?  I looked just like a bride, didn’t I?  And Daddy let me take pictures with his phone, and I danced with Daddy and with Michael-Vincent, and I ate a lot of cake.  Did you dance with Miss Jessica?  She looked really pretty last night, didn’t she?  I like weddings.  They’re fun.”

Christine paused to eat some fries.  “Mommy says there’s a saying that the lady who catches the flowers that the bride throws after the wedding is supposed to be the next one to get married.  Maybe since Miss Jessica caught the flowers that Dr. Saroyan threw, now you and Miss Jessica can get married.  If you do get married, can I come to the wedding?”  

Christine tilted her head to one side as she studied her dinner companion closely.  “Are you sick, Uncle Aubrey?  You’re not eating your dinner.”

If he ever got married...that seemed unlikely now.  Aubrey’s stomach lurched as he realized Christine had unintentionally hit the nail on the head.  Jessica had looked beautiful last night, and instead of enjoying her company, he’d gotten himself rip roaring drunk.  Had that been the catalyst for the break up?  Had she seen all of his flaws and decided she could do better?

“I’m fine.  I’m just tired from being out late last night.” he lied.  “I think maybe I had too much fun at the party.”  Aubrey folded the wrapper around the leftover portion of his hamburger and dropped it back into the bag.  “My insides aren’t very happy with me today.”

“That’s silly.  Mommy says our body organs can’t talk.  Maybe you had too many of Uncle Jack’s special drinks.  Daddy said they were stiff, but I don’t know what that means.”  Christine continued to chatter about the wedding and the reception as she enjoyed her French fries.

“It means I made a mistake when I had more than one of those fancy drinks that Dr. Hodgins served at the party.”  

Too many stiff drinks, and not enough time talking to Jessica about their future together.  It seemed that had been the recipe for disaster that had ended his relationship with his girlfriend.  Preoccupied with his own sad thoughts, Aubrey tried to listen to what Christine was telling him, but his mind kept wandering back to everything that had happened that morning.

They’d been out looking at a set of remains when he’d told Jessica that he wanted her to move to LA with him.  She was less than thrilled with the idea at first, but it seemed like she might consider it if he played his cards right.  Then, later that day, out of the blue, she’d come to see him at the Hoover, telling him that not only would she be staying in DC, but that they were through...completely over.  It really stung to hear her say that there was no future for them as a couple.  He’d thought they’d come to an understanding about what they wanted out of their life together, but evidently he was dead wrong.  Shocked and speechless at the sudden turn of events, he wanted to say something...anything...to make her change her mind, but his goddamn phone rang, and he was needed elsewhere immediately.  

The more he’d thought about it, the more irritated he’d become.  After all their time together, did Jessica really think she could just break things off between them without telling him why?  He deserved an explanation.  It’d never occurred to him that she might say no to moving to California with him, and now all he could think about was how much he’d wanted her to say yes…to say that she loved him, and that she’d follow him anywhere.  

        He shook his head as he thought things through.  Maybe she could reconsider their being together if he decided to stay in Washington.  He was willing to do that for her, knowing that a big promotion wouldn’t mean much to him unless she was there to share his success with him.  He needed to talk to her as soon as possible...if only he could get her to answer her phone…

        “Uncle Aubrey?”  Christine tapped him on the arm.  “I need to go to the restroom.”

“Um, okay.  I tell you what, I’m going to have Agent Nelson take you so I can stay here with Hank, alright?”  

Aubrey went to the doorway and waved at a female agent.  “This little miss needs to use the facilities.  Can you take her?  I need to stay with that one…”  He pointed to the small boy curled up in the chair.  “Let sleeping dogs and sleeping children lie…”

“Yeah, believe me, after three kids, I know.  Come along, young lady.”  Christine took the agent’s hand as they left to find the bathroom.

Sitting in Booth’s chair, Aubrey sighed unhappily as he gazed out the window.  He’d always wanted kids of his own, and he’d let himself imagine what it might be like when he and Jessica had a family of their own...but that wasn’t going to happen now…

Groaning in frustration, Aubrey pounded the desk with his fist.  He couldn’t let things end this way.  He wasn’t going to just walk away from this relationship with his tail tucked between his legs.  He wasn’t going to give up on Jessica without making a stand.  They were going to finish the conversation they started in that interrogation room earlier that day, and he was going to make her listen when he told her everything he was feeling.  He was going to spill his proverbial guts.  He’d find out what had gone wrong, and then he was going to beg for a chance to fix it.  

If nothing else, he’d offer an apology for hurting her enough to make her break up with him.  He pulled out his phone to call her again when a panicked agent came running from the bullpen into the office.

“Aubrey...they need you to go…”  The distraught man panted heavily as he leaned against the doorway.

“What is it, Ellis?  What’s wrong?”  Aubrey rose from his chair quickly as a sense of dread filled him.  “Is it Booth?  Oh, my God...Kovacs?”

“There’s been a series of massive explosions at the Jeffersonian.  It’s bad...it looks like the whole building is on fire…”

“Jesus...okay, listen, I need you to keep an eye on this little guy for just a few minutes.”  Picking up his phone and keys, Aubrey was grim as he ran to find Agent Nelson.  He took her aside, speaking softly so Christine couldn’t hear them.  “Hey, I’ve got to go find out what’s happening at the Jeffersonian.  It sounds bad.  I need you to call Caroline Julian and get her over here for these kids.  Don’t leave the kids alone for a minute until she gets here, understand?”  

Nelson nodded as Aubrey hunkered down to talk to Christine.  “I’ve got to go do something important.  I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”

“Okay.”  Christine regarded him solemnly.  “Uncle Aubrey, are my mommy and daddy okay?”

He bit his lip as he thought about how to truthfully answer the child’s question.  “That’s what I’m going to find out, Honey.”  Patting her head, he jogged to the elevator, praying that his friends were safe as he headed for the Jeffersonian.

* * *

After weeks of mounting tension, there was finally some sense of relief at the offices of the FBI.  Mark Kovacs was dead, and his sister had been apprehended.  The Medico-Legal lab had been destroyed by a bomb, but work was already under way to restore it to its former glory.  All in all, things seemed to be returning to normal, with one notable exception.

Aubrey sighed heavily as he stood in Booth’s office, holding a potted plant as he talked with his friends about his decision to take a promotion in the DC office instead of the one in Los Angeles.  Caroline Julian grinned as she congratulated him on is good fortune.

“I guess your little redheaded squint is pleased with that bit of news.”  Caroline winked at him as she got ready to leave.

“Actually, um...she broke up with me.”  Aubrey was trying to hold himself together without much success.  His pain was palpable for his friends.

“Oh...I’m sorry to hear that.”  Caroline reached over and patted the younger man’s shoulder.  “Well, I’ve got to be going…”

As the prosecutor left, Booth glanced at his friend.  “Are you okay?”

“Nah…”  Aubrey was grim as he shrugged his shoulders.  “...but I’m going to be.  See you later…”  

Leaving Booth’s office, Aubrey made his way across the bullpen so he could go check out his new digs.  

“Hey, Aubrey…”

“Oh, hey, Karen.  What’s going on?”  It was a silly question, really, considering the two large buckets of fried chicken she was carrying.

“I wondered if you might need to engage in some emotional eating after your breakup, so I brought you some chicken.” Karen explained.  “Hungry”

Aubrey shrugged slightly.  “Yeah, I could eat.  Let’s go to my office…”

The feast was spread out all over Aubrey’s desk.  He leaned back in his chair, snacking on a drumstick as he watched Karen polish off a couple of wings.  “Thanks for the fried chicken, Karen.  It’s really good.  Nice of you to think about my need for emotional eating.  Pass the coleslaw, okay?”  

He put a couple of big spoonsful of the creamy mixture on his plate before eyeing Karen with mild suspicion.  “So...how did you know that Jessica broke up with me?”

“Oh…”  Concentrating on her mashed potatoes and gravy, Karen shrugged as she flicked her ponytail over her shoulder.  “She called me last night...she was really upset about the whole thing…”

“Jessica talked to you about why she broke up with me instead of talking to me.”  Pursing his lips as he wiped his hands on a napkin, Aubrey shook his head.  “Great.  That’s just great.”  

He groaned softly as he reached for his water bottle.  “I just don’t understand what happened between us.  I thought we were happy together, you know?  Things were going really well.  I mean, this break up just seemed to come from nowhere.  It was like one minute we’re fine, and then the next minute she says we have no future together.  I had no idea she felt that way.”

“Yeah, I know you didn’t.  I think that was part of the problem.”  Karen paused, trying to make sure she chose her words carefully.  

Taking a sip of water, she smiled gently at the confused man sitting behind the desk.  “Jessica cares about you, and she knows you care about her, but you seemed so unsure about what you wanted from her and from your relationship.  You said yourself you were avoiding her, right?  You were awkward and uncomfortable with what your promotion would mean for both of you, and you weren’t exactly honest about that.  She’s smart.  She figured that out very quickly, and it really hurt her feelings.  It’s kind of like you shut her out of your life.”

Pausing as he looked up from his ear of corn, Aubrey glowered at Karen.  “Did you two talk about me and her being a couple while I was passed out in your guest room? That’s hardly fair.  I didn’t even get a chance to defend myself.”

Karen grimaced as she shrugged her shoulders.  “Look Aubrey, I’m a psychologist.  People talk to me whether I want them to or not.  She told me that she wondered what she’d done to make you so uncomfortable...so unhappy with her...and she thought the reason you got so schnockered at the reception was because she’d caught the bouquet and it made you feel trapped...like she’d forced your hand on things when you weren’t ready to take the next step.  The panic on your face when you saw what happened with the bouquet didn’t help things, either.”  

Karen picked up another chicken wing.  “I think you should’ve talked to each other more…”

“That’s crazy, Karen.  I wasn’t unhappy with her.  I have no idea why she’d feel that way.  We talked all the time about all sorts of things.  We like the same things...we had fun together.”  Aubrey sighed heavily.  “I really enjoy her company.  I love her…”

“And I think she loves you, Aubrey, but I’m not sure she’s ready for some sort of committed relationship with you, and maybe you aren’t ready for one with her, either.  That was what you two really needed to talk about...the more serious stuff.  Jessica thinks you asked her to move to LA with you because of peer pressure...because everybody else expected it of you instead of because you really wanted her to go.  If that was true, there’d be a chance that you’d break up once you got there, and then she’d be stuck in LA after giving up her life here in DC.”  

Karen spooned some more potatoes onto her plate.  “She got really nervous, trying to decide what to do about the two of you.  She was waiting for you to say something more about your promotion and about her making the move with you, but you took a long time to say anything to her about it, and she felt like an afterthought.  Then, when you did say something about it, you wanted a decision right away, like you were forcing her into something she wasn’t sure she wanted.  I mean, asking her to move to LA while you’re out looking at a dead body isn’t really conducive to a meaningful discussion about life altering decisions.”

Aubrey cringed, knowing how ill-timed his request had been.  “I know...that was stupid…”

Karen nodded as she continued.  “I guess finally Jessica couldn’t see any way out of the situation other than ending your relationship.  It’s drastic, but it made sense to her.  She was upset, because she didn’t really want to break up with you, but it was like that whole ‘pulling off the band aid’ thing.  It hurt her badly, but she felt backed into a corner so she had to make a clean break.”

“But I’m not going to LA now.”  Aubrey took a chicken breast out of the bucket.  “I don’t see why things have to end this way.  I don’t understand why we can’t work things out.”

 Using his fork to move his baked beans around on his plate, Aubrey thought over the situation.  “If I could only get her to talk to me, maybe we could work it out, but she won’t even answer her phone.”  Chewing her lip, he tapped his fingers nervously on his desk.  “I really need to talk to her.”

Karen shook her head as she listened to Aubrey’s melancholy complaint.  “I’m not sure she wants to talk to you.  Maybe you need to give her some time and let her come to that idea on her own.”

“Nope.  I don’t want to risk it.  I got to try to make her see things differently.  We’ve had too many good times together for me to give her up after five minutes of discussion in an interrogation room at the Hoover.  She said we could finish our conversation later, but with the explosion at the Jeffersonian and everything that happened with Kovacs, we never got the chance.”  Aubrey suddenly wasn’t hungry any more.  “I got to see her one more time.  Maybe I can get her to meet me at the diner, or I could just go by her apartment…”

“She’s probably over at the lab right about now, helping them clean up.”  Karen sighed as she watched Aubrey finish his meal, wondering if he’d really want to hear what Jessica had to say.  “If you want to talk later, I’ll be here to listen, okay?”

“Yeah.  Thanks, Karen.  I appreciate it.  And thanks for the chicken, okay?”  Aubrey grabbed his keys and phone.  “I’ll talk to you later and let you know what happens.”

“Okey-dokey…”  Karen packaged up the leftovers and put them in the breakroom refrigerator, knowing that Aubrey might need to do some more emotional eating later, after Jessica told him what she really thought.

* * *

Standing in the doorway of a damaged office, Aubrey bit his lip as he fidgeted with his keys.  “Hey, Jess…”

She kept working, stacking some small boxes without looking up at him.  “Hi, Aubrey.  Listen, I’m really busy.  I don’t have time to talk.  I have to box up this equipment.”

“Look.”  He held up his phone.  “My phone is turned off.  We won’t have any interruptions while we talk, okay?  No running off to talk to suspects instead of talking to you.  I only need a few minutes.  Please?  For old times sake?”  He tried to smile without much success.  “C’mon, Jess.  What would Princess Leia do for Han Solo?”

“She’d probably tell him to go fuck himself.”  Jessica brushed her hair out of her face as she moved another box.  “Aubrey…”  She clenched her jaw as she tried to control her emotions.  “I’ve got a lot of work to do.  I don’t have time for silly chit chat.”

He took a step closer to her.  “I understand...I really do, but I want...no, I _need_ to finish the conversation we started at the Hoover the other day.  I haven’t really gotten to see you since the explosion here and everything else that happened.”  

He desperately wanted to reach out and embrace her, but her body language made him think better of it.  “I’ve thought about it a lot, and I know I’ve been a real asshole, Jessica.  I know I haven’t treated you the way you deserve to be treated.  I don’t expect you to change your mind about breaking up with me, but I want you to know that I’m sorry I hurt you.  I should’ve been straight with you about the promotion from the beginning, but I wasn’t sure…”

“You weren’t sure you wanted me to be a part of your life anymore...not like that.”  Jessica sniffled, trying not to cry.  “I completely understand.  After all, I’m not sure I want you in my life like that anymore, either.”

“No, it wasn’t like that, Jess.  The problem was that I didn’t know if I even had the right to ask you to move with me...to take you away from your life here.  I guess I wasn’t really sure where we stood...where we stand...God, I’ve fucked everything up so bad…”

“Yeah, you definitely did.”  Jessica stood with her hands on her hips, nodding over her shoulder.  “I have lots of work to do.”

Aubrey wasn’t going to give up that easily.  “Listen, Jessica...you know I love you, right?  I was just scared that I’d do the wrong thing, you know?  It seemed like either way I’d be doing the wrong thing.”  He jammed his hands in his pockets, tapping his foot as he tried to figure out how to explain things better.

“I love you, too, James, but I don’t know if that’s enough right now.  If we love each other, but we’re both scared to make a move together because it might not work out between us, then we need to move on to something else, because what we have right now isn’t working.”  Jessica wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.  “I hate to say it...I really do...but as far as I can tell, there is no future for us together.  We don’t mean enough to each other to make that long term kind of commitment...to move across the country together.”

Aubrey suddenly realized Jessica hadn’t heard about his change in plans.  “Listen, I’m not going to LA after all.  Somebody’s retiring, and I got offered the same promotion here in DC.”  He saw Jessica flinch slightly before she moved another box.  “I know you said we have no future, but I was wondering if there’s any chance we could...if you’d consider...I mean...maybe we could keep in touch...see each other from time to time.  I really don’t want to give up on us, Jessica...not yet.  Would you consider giving us another chance?  Maybe a chance to see if we could grow into having a future together?”

“I don’t know.”  Jessica shook her head as she looked Aubrey in the eyes.  “I’ll have to think about it, but don’t hold your breath, okay?  I’m not sure that’s a good idea.  I think I’d rather be done with the whole thing.  I think I should let you go, and move on with my life.  Now, let me get back to work.  When I decide what I want to do, I’ll be in touch.”

Shoulders drooping, Aubrey nodded sadly.  “I understand.  Okay, see you around...maybe on a case…”

“Yeah.”  Jessica paused as she wiped her hands on her lab coat, watching him walk away.  “If we do see each other at work, we have to be professional, okay?”

“Just like always.”  Aubrey stared at his shoes, sighing heavily as he realized his efforts at a possible reconciliation had failed.

“And afterwards, maybe a cup of coffee?”  Jessica shrugged as Aubrey turned to look at her with a hopeful smile on his face.  “Not that we’ll get back together…”

“Yeah, of course.  No strings...no expectations...no rushing into things, right?  We can at least be on friendly terms.”  Aubrey grinned at Jessica as she tentatively nodded in agreement.

“Exactly.  Now, I really do have to get back to work.”  Jessica gave him an airy wave of her hand to dismiss him.  “Oh, by the way, when you see Karen, tell her I said hello.  I figured she’d tell you everything.”

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to tell me everything yourself, Jessica?”  Aubrey pretended to scowl at her as she smirked at him.

“You don’t always listen to me, Aubrey, but I figured Karen would ply you with food, and then, when you were comfortably full, she’d tell you everything.  She has the hots for you, you know?  She’s probably thrilled that we’re not together anymore.”

Arching an eyebrow, Aubrey chuckled as an idea came to mind.  “Yeah, I know.  You should’ve seen how much chicken she brought me to ease my broken heart.  Two family sized barrels of extra crispy, extra spicy recipe with all the sides and extra biscuits.  You’re right.  She wants me…”

“Two barrels?  Already?  Really?”  Jessica’s voice rose with indignation. It was obvious that she was not amused.  “With all the sides?  That must’ve cost a fortune.”

“And extra biscuits with honey butter.  All that food may have been expensive, but I guess she thinks I’m worth it.” Smirking at Jessica’s twinge of jealousy, Aubrey decided to tease her a little bit for old times’ sake.  “I know that doesn’t make any difference to you, does it?  After all, you’re not my girlfriend any more.  We’re merely work colleagues.”  

He flashed a dimpled smile at her as he ducked out of the way of her pretend slap on his arm.  “See you in a couple of weeks, okay?”

Smiling slightly, Jessica turned back to stacking her boxes.  “Okay, see you soon.”  She watched him leave out of the corner of her eye, wondering how long she’d actually be able to keep that man at arm’s length and completely out of her life.

Chuckling to himself, Aubrey glanced over his shoulder to see Jessica watching him.  He was well aware of the tiny seed of jealousy that he’d planted, and he thought maybe things might work out between them in the long run, but, if not, at least he could count on Karen to bring him some more fried chicken.

Sometimes, he thought to himself, a man just had to make the best of a bad situation.


	2. Reunion at a Crime Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay folks...here we go...

* * *

           “Not a bad day to go look at a crime scene, right, Ms. Warren?  I always say a little rain never hurt anyone. I’m glad we’re getting a head start on everybody else. Dr. Brennan and Booth are going to met us out there.”  Dr. Hodgins said while checking the map on his phone.  “The side road we’re looking for is about five miles up on the north side of the highway...”

            Preoccupied with other thoughts, most of which pertained to how much she missed her former boyfriend, Special Agent James Aubrey, Jessica Warren gazed out a backseat passenger window of the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal SUV as it sped toward the acreage where the body had been found.  She wasn’t really paying complete attention to what Hodgins was saying while he chatted happily with Fred, the technician who was currently serving as his driver.  Dr. Hodgins was enjoying the all the perks that went with truly being the King of the Lab as he described the new accessible van he’d purchased for the lab technicians and interns to use.  

           “...It’s also designed with hand controls for braking.  Maybe next time maybe I’ll be able to drive myself out to some vacant lot in the middle of nowhere.  What do you think about that, Jessica?  You wouldn’t mind going along for the ride when I try it out, right?”

          “Hmmm?  Yeah...whatever you say, Curly.”  Jessica said distractedly before realizing he was talking about his new van.  Offering a smile to hide her distractedness, she spoke further.  “Oh, I get it...your new van.  Are you going to train the rest of us to drive it, too?”

           “Maybe…although I was looking forward to driving myself most of the time.”  Hodgins replied with a shrug as the large Suburban turned off the main highway onto a narrow gravel road, rocking back and forth as it hit several potholes.  “Yeah, maybe it’d be better to let someone else drive.”  

           He laughed as the SUV bounced down the rutted driveway.  “Too bad you never got to ride in my Mini, Jessica. It used to bounce just like this even on a paved street.  It was a real cute little car, even if Aubrey didn’t like it…he said it was way too small...”

           His voice trailed off as he realized he’d said the wrong thing.  “Sorry...I didn’t mean anything by that…”  He grimaced as he looked out the front window.  “Well, that was awkward, wasn’t it?”

           Jessica shrugged slightly before turning to the window again. “Not a problem, Dr. Hodgins.  Aubrey and I aren’t a couple any more, but it’s not like he fell off the face of the earth.  I know you two are friends.”  She bit her lip and sighed softly, hoping to change the subject.  “So do you still have the Mini?”

          "Nah…”  Hodgins sadly shook his head.  “I couldn’t drive it anymore after I was injured.  Besides, there were constant issues with the transmission and the suspension completely sucked.  I ended up selling it to a collector who wanted to restore it.  Okay, here we are…”

          After parking the SUV on the edge of a grassy field, Fred hopped out and went around to the back of the SUV to pull out Hodgins’ wheelchair.  “Here you go, Dr. Hodgins.”  

          The entomologist situated himself in the specially designed wheelchair so that Fred could help him get the chair rolling over the grass.  Waving at the men who were already there, Hodgins motioned one of them over.  “Who’s in charge out here?”

          I’m not sure, really.  The county sheriff called the body dump into the FBI because this rural area isn’t equipped to handle something like that.  At first he thought the remains were that of a dead cow, but most cows don’t wear suits and ties.”  

          The officer paused as he looked through his notes.  “No ID on the body, and the face has been pretty much destroyed, but from what’s left of the clothing, and based on a recent missing person report, we have a good idea of who it is.”  

          The agent held up his phone to show Hodgins a picture.  “We think it’s Louis Vacchio. His wife said he was wearing a gray three piece suit and blue shirt the day he disappeared.  Vacchio was with the SEC...an upper level auditor who dealt with tracking fraudulent security schemes.  Nobody’s heard from him for 3 or 4 days.”

         The agent pointed over to a corner of the field.  “That’s why Special Agent Aubrey is out here...his division will be involved in the case if it really is Vacchio over there…”

          Hodgins called out to the men as he made his way over to the remains.  “Hey, Aubrey!  How’s it going, Buddy?  Long time, no see…”

          Jessica felt her heart skip a beat as she saw a familiar thin, wiry figure apparently giving orders to some other agents as they stood over the body.  She couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride as she watched him begin to lead the investigation into the decedent’s demise.  Smiling to herself as she listened to the friendly banter, she began to pull her equipment from the back of the truck.  She lifted one heavy case out and set it down before retrieving the second one.  

          Realizing she’d left some equipment in the passenger compartment, Jessica walked toward the front of the van, but stopped as she overheard two agents talking on the opposite side of the vehicle.  Not wanting to eavesdrop she turned away to leave until she heard a familiar name being mentioned.  Her curiosity got the better of her, wondering how the two men felt about their new supervisor, so she stopped to listen for a few minutes.

          Agent Sam Westbrook checked his phone for messages before pointing his thumb to the crowd of people standing around in the field. “So, what do you think about the new guy, Joe?  You think Aubrey is going to work out?”

          “Yeah, I think he’s going to be okay.”  Agent Joe Keller gave a noncommittal shrug.  “He’s a hell of a lot better than that nasty old bastard Halko.  I mean, Aubrey doesn’t take any shit from anybody, but he’s not near the hard ass Halko was, so I guess he’ll do.  What about you, Sam?  Are you going to be able to live with him being in charge?”

           Sam scratched his chin as he thought the situation over.  “Well, considering what we had to deal with before, yeah, he’s okay.  I mean, Halko was so bad he made Booth look like a sweet little buttercup, right?  So anyone would be better, but I tell you what, Joe...I sat in on an interrogation with Aubrey the other day, and he verbally nailed the guy to the wall, which really kind of surprised me.  I mean, the new SSA comes off as kind of easy going, you know?  Like he’s nothing special when you first meet him, but then BAM!  He’s like a tiger going in for the kill.  He may not be as intimidating as Booth physically, but he can be so intense when he’s on the trail of a bad guy that it’s kind of scary.  I wouldn’t want to cross him.  From what I’ve seen, he seems to know what he’s doing but he’s not all tight and pointy about how he runs things, and I can deal with that.”

           Chuckling, Joe cocked an eyebrow as he poked Sam in the ribs with his elbow.  “Hey, you want to know who else thinks Aubrey’s okay?  That profiler...you know, the tall redheaded chick?  The one with the big black glasses?  She likes him just fine...”

           “You mean Karen Delfs?  Really?  So what’s going on between them?”  Sam seemed somewhat confused. “She’s a psych consultant for the Bureau, right?  On a contract basis?  So it’s okay if they date…I guess the Bureau doesn’t care much about that shit any more, especially after Booth and his wife have worked so successfully together for so long.  Ms. Delfs is kind of odd, but she’s not bad looking.”

            Smirking, Joe nodded at his friend.  “Yeah, she’s a psych consultant, but I think he’s consulting her on things other than official FBI business.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t getting some nookie from her on a regular basis during his lunch hour.  I think he likes her profile just fine, if you know what I mean...”

           “You mean he’s banging the consultant in his office?  How do you even know that, Joe?  I will say that’s an interesting way to get something to eat for lunch.”  

            The agents both snickered at Sam’s joke.  “Jesus...no wonder Aubrey had the blinds installed on the windows flanking his office door.”  Sam laughed out loud at the thought.  “Hmm...looks like Special Agent Aubrey may be special in more ways than one if he can get away with having sex in his office like that…so he’s humping the help, huh?  See, it’s just like I said...he comes across as a mouse, but I guess he’s really a stud instead.”

            “Yeah...Steve Bower said Dr. Delfs shows up like clockwork around noon every day, stays for an hour or so, and always leaves with a big smile on her face.  That skinny little guy must be hung like a horse or something.”

             Thoroughly shocked and disgusted, Jessica couldn’t help but gasp out loud at what she’d heard.  Seeing the two agents turn toward the noise, she blinked back her hot, angry tears as she busied herself with looking through an equipment bag as they walked over to her.

             “Hey there, Sweetheart…”  Agent Keller flashed a big flirty smile at the intern. “Need some help with these heavy old bags?  They look kind of bulky for a cute little thing like you to be hauling around.”  He leaned toward her to read her name tag.  “Nice to meet you, Ms. Warren…”

             “I don’t need any help, thanks.  I can manage them by myself.”  Trying to hide her irritation, Jessica picked up the two large cases and walked across the field toward the ring of people surrounding the remains.

             “Aw, c’mon, Honey...we just want to help.  We won’t hurt any of your fancy toys.”  Sam turned to grin at Joe as he nodded toward Jessica.  “Hey, maybe later on, you can join us for a cup of coffee.  We’re both really nice guys.  We’re FBI agents, you know?  Perfectly trustworthy.”

              Jessica came slowly trudging up to the remains, glancing back over her shoulder as she put down the cases.  “No, thank you.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do….oh, hello, Dr. Brennan...I didn’t see you there…”  Setting the bags to one side, Jessica pulled on some exam gloves and hunkered down next to her mentor.  “I’d say Caucasian male...mid fifties?”

              Joe wasn’t about to let a cute girl like Jessica ignore him for very long, especially since she looked so good in her Jeffersonian coveralls.  “One cup of coffee...c’mon, Sugar...one little cup...what’s it going to hurt?  After that, maybe a little lovin’ later...just me and you in the backseat of my SUV when it’s parked somewhere dark...”

             “Shut your goddamn mouth, Agent Keller.  Ms. Warren said no, so back off.  In case you’ve forgotten, the FBI’s policy on sexual harassment is very clear, and it extends to the consultants that work with us as well.”  Aubrey stood with his hands on his hips, angrily glaring at Keller.  “I think you need to make your apologies and go crawl back under your rock.”

            Mortified at being so harshly corrected in front of so many people, Keller stuck out his chin defiantly. “Geez, Boss...I didn’t mean anything bad.  You’re making a big deal over nothing.  She knew I was teasing her, even though I really would like to take her out for coffee.  She’s a cutie.”

            Keller winked broadly at Jessica before turning back to Aubrey.  “Anyway, Halko never cared how we talked to the squints.”

            “You don’t work for Halko anymore.  Right now, you work for me, but it may not be that way for very much longer if you don’t treat your coworkers with more respect.  I assume you still want a job?”  Aubrey tapped his foot as he stared at Keller, daring the man to say something else stupid.

             Agent Keller paused as he thought about what Sam had said.  Special Agent Aubrey was not the same kind of bad ass as Special Agent Booth, but he was obviously a man to be reckoned with when he was angry.  

            “Yeah, okay.”  Turning to Jessica, he mumbled an apology.  “Sorry.”

            “No problem, Agent Keller.”  Jessica stood up and opened one of the large bags, looking for some forceps as she avoided eye contact with Aubrey.  “I’m not easily offended, but I don’t want to have coffee with you.”  

             Clearing her throat, Brennan called Jessica’s attention to the remains before pointing to what remained of the left parietal bone.  “Ms. Warren, what do you make of this damage to the skull?”  

             Tilting her head to one side as she bent down to look at the skull, she thought for a few seconds before giving her opinion.  “I’d say gunshot at close range...maybe a large caliber pistol?”

             “Excellent.  I believe your description of the weapon is accurate.”  Brennan turned as she heard her colleague approach.  “What have you found, Dr. Hodgins?”

             “Based on the variety of insects I’ve found, I’d say our victim has been out here at least three days.  I’ve also found some scattered fibers around the body...possibly cotton, but I won’t know for sure until I get them back to the lab.  I’m assuming you want the FBI techs to scour the area?”

             “Yes, that’s correct. I’ll have Booth get them started.”  Brennan looked up at the sky as a light rain began to fall.  “Ms. Warren, could you please retrieve one of the plastic tarps from the SUV?  We need to protect the remains from the elements.”

             “Of course.”  Jessica stood and jogged over to the Suburban, not realizing that she was being closely followed by someone she knew.

             “Hey, Jess...sorry about that asshole Keller.”  Aubrey stammered nervously as he felt his heart racing in his chest.  “I guess Halko was a real jerk who didn’t care how his guys treated the techs.  I’m trying to clean that up that shit.  I can’t believe Joe was hitting on to you like that at a crime scene.”

             Remembering what she heard, it took everything not to burst into tears.  Taking a deep breath, she opened the back of the vehicle.  “It’s not a problem, Agent Aubrey.  I’ve had men hit on to me before, and in many unexpected places. Why should today be any different?”  

             Jessica pulled the tarp from the back of the SUV before she turned to face him.  “However, as a woman in a traditionally male field, I’ve learned to fight my own battles, and I’m in no need of your assistance.  I don’t need you to make some lame attempt to protect my honor by publicly humiliating an agent who works for you.  Now, if you don’t mind, Dr. Brennan needs this tarp…”

            “Wait, hang on a minute…can’t we talk a little bit?”  Aubrey moved slightly to block her way.  “I mean, I haven’t seen you in three weeks, Jessica.  Are you doing okay?  How’s the dissertation coming?”  He gave her a flirty wink.  “Have you missed me?”

            Feeling her composure lessening by the second, she steeled herself.  “I’m afraid I don’t have time for socializing while I’m working at a crime scene.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, Agent Aubrey, Doctor B needs me.”  

            She brushed past him without so much as a backwards glance, leaving Aubrey standing speechless next to the truck.  “What the hell is with the _‘Agent Aubrey’_ shit?” he muttered as he walked back toward the remains.

            Standing opposite of Jessica with the remains between them, he tried to make eye contact with her.  However, she refused to look at him, instead conducting herself in a seriously professional manner as she discussed her findings with Dr. Brennan.  There was no smile, no glimmer of recognition, no funny comment, no hint that she remembered anything that had occurred between them in the past.  He felt a wave of nausea and sadness as she remained cool, detached, and completely collected, seeming to be unaffected by his presence.

            “So what’d you say, Bones?  Is it Vacchio?”  Seeing his wife’s annoyed glare, Booth chuckled slightly.  “Why do I even bother?  I know….let’s take everything back to the lab, right?”

            “You are correct, Booth.  Ms. Warren, I’ll need you and Dr. Hodgins to supervise the recovery, and then have the FBI technicians transport the body to the Jeffersonian.  Booth and I have a parent meeting at Christine’s school in an hour, but I’ll meet you at the lab after that.  Agent Aubrey, even though the face was damaged badly, I believe Angela may be able to tell you tomorrow afternoon if our victim is in actuality the missing auditor.”

            “Thanks, Dr. B.  Just ask her to call me know as soon as she finds out something.  Hodgins, is there anything else I can do to assist you and Ms. Warren in the recovery?”  Aubrey asked with a hopeful look at Hodgins, nodding his head slightly toward Jessica as she began to prepare the remains for removal.  “I’d be glad to help…”

            Seeing Jessica mouth the word ‘no’, Hodgins shrugged his shoulders sadly.  “I don’t think so, Aubrey.”

            The agent watched as Jessica put a nearby pen into an evidence bag and walk it to a table.  When she didn’t even offer another backwards glance, the hollow feeling in his stomach grew.  He was transfixed until he heard Hodgins speaking again.

            “Aubrey, don’t be such a stranger, okay?  You should come over to the lab once in a while, you know?  We could have drone races…you used to like that, remember?  We even let you win occasionally.”

            Shaking his head, Aubrey grimaced slightly.  “I don’t think so, Hodgins.  It feels weird showing up there now...like I don’t really belong.”  

            Hodgins looked over at Jessica before turning back to Aubrey.  “Dude, I don’t think she’s smiled once since you two broke up.  Don’t give up on her just yet.”

            “I’m trying, Hodgins, but…”  Aubrey said.  He stood with his hands in his pants pockets, watching Jessica work the crime scene as she purposefully avoided eye contact with him.  “Okay, well...if you don’t need anything...I’m going to go.”

             He hesitated for a few seconds, hoping that Jessica would give him one little tiny shred of hope, but she was resolute in ignoring him completely.  “Bye…”  

             Striding quickly to his car, he opened the door and got in, pounding on the steering wheel angrily as he thought again about what he’d lost when she’d ended their relationship a few weeks ago. He missed the smiles, her streams of consciousness when she let things build up or was really excited, and their game contests on his X-Box.  He loved their debates on science fiction, classic movies, and stories from her childhood at the cooperative, living there with her five older brothers.

            Aubrey could still feel Jessica’s satin smooth skin on his lips as he remembered his explorations of her body.  He couldn’t make himself change his bed as her unique pheromone remained on his sheets.  He thought of the bottle of cherry vanilla spray she accidentally left behind in his bedroom and the shower gel that remained in his bathroom shower.

             It was obvious that Skinner missed her, too.  More than once, Aubrey would unlock his apartment and open the door only to be greeted with the orange tabby walking away when he saw who arrived.  The cat slept all the time now on the Star Wars fleece cat pad she made him for Christmas last year.

             But most of all...he missed his best friend.

            Realizing he needed to pull himself together, the agent started the car.  Pulling away without even a glance at his rearview mirror, he missed the moment when Jessica brushed a stray tear from her cheek.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

             The redhead watched as the SUV drove away at war with herself.  She remembered what he said to her that last time they talked at the lab.  

_I know you said we have no future together now...but, I was wondering if there's any chance that we could...if you'd consider...I mean…maybe we could keep in touch...see each other from time to time...I really don't want to give up on us, Jessica...not yet. Would you consider giving us another chance? Maybe a chance to see if we could grow into maybe having a future together some day?_

            More than once, she went over what he said in her head.  In the last week or so, she realized that maybe she’d acted too hastily.  She felt so sure that maybe with time they could find their way back to each other again.  

            Then she once again felt how deeply it had cut her to hear about him and Karen being together. However, he had a right to move on with his life.  After all, she was the one who ended things between them when she felt pressured about his request to move to LA with him.  

            They became so close after they decided to take a chance with each other, but it seemed that as time went on, he kept parts of himself from her.  When his father resurfaced, he seemed more insecure and constantly reassured her he would never be like Aubrey Senior.  More than once, she felt disappointment that he didn’t seem to fully trust her commitment to him.

            She hadn’t even got fully past that when she found out about Aubrey’s possible promotion to LA from Doctor B.  He didn’t even speak to her about her opinion of the change in their lives because he was consumed by the Kovacs case.  She was so angry with him for treating her like an afterthought as he kept avoiding her.  

            Then...the wedding and the bouquet.

            Commitment terrified her as it was with their limbo status but his reaction to her catching the bouquet...devastated wasn’t even the best word to describe it.

            She didn’t know where they stood, but did she ever take the bull by the horns and press the issue?  

            No, because she was also afraid of the answer and of the possible changes in her life the closer they grew.  She was afraid of what happened with her parents would happen with her and Aubrey.  She was afraid to lose the only man she ever truly loved.

            But she did.  Not only did she lose him to a woman whom she suspected now was only pretending to her friend, but she lost her best friend and it was her fault.

            Hearing her name, she turned and saw Hodgins waiting for her at the remains.  Gathering herself together, she forced herself to be professional as she went back to her other mentor.

* * *

            The next morning, Aubrey sat in his office with a cup of lukewarm coffee as he attempted once again to read Louis Vacchio’s case file.  It seemed there was nothing remotely interesting about the man...at least nothing that might’ve gotten the man killed.  

             Vacchio had worked for the SEC for twenty years, mostly in the accounting department.  Last year, he’d received a promotion to Special Investigations Auditor.  His caseload was centered on the fraudulent security schemes that often popped up on the internet.  

            The special agent accessed the case notes that the deceased auditor had entered into his work computer to see if there was anything that would point him toward the man’s killer, but found them to be of little use.  Everything seemed to be perfectly normal up to the day before Vacchio had died.  There was nothing to indicate any sort of motive for this man’s grisly death.  At present, the file seemed to be basically worthless in the murder investigation.

             After sending an email to Booth requesting more information about the case, Aubrey threw the file aside and shut down his computer.  Sighing softly as he watched the rain run down his office window, he knew the problem wasn’t really the absence of information in the file.  The real difficulty lay in his inability to concentrate on its contents.  

             He closed his eyes as he leaned back in his chair, wishing that he could forget the way Jessica had brushed him off while they were at the crime scene yesterday.  His bubbly girlfriend...check that...ex-girlfriend...his normally bubbly ex-girlfriend had frozen him out, treating him as if he didn’t exist.  She acted as if there had never been anything between them, like he was just another FBI guy working a murder case.  

             Of course, that sort of professional demeanor was to be expected between them at work, but she hadn’t even wanted to talk to him except to say that she didn’t need his assistance in dealing with obnoxious agents.  For her to ignore him so completely...to avoid even making eye contact with him...was devastating.  It seemed any hope Aubrey might’ve had at reviving his relationship with Jessica had been washed away by yesterday’s rain.

            Aubrey was fairly sure he knew what had happened.  Jessica probably had another man in her life now and she’d decided to make the clean break she’d mentioned when he’d gone to see her at the Jeffersonian after the conclusion of the Kovacs case.  

             Even after hearing her say that the chances of them getting back together were slim, he’d held out hope they could still be on friendly terms.  He knew that he could never be satisfied with merely being Jessica’s friend, but it would be worse to not have her in his life at all.  He’d planned on so much more from their relationship, and it hurt him deeply to know that those plans would never come to fruition.

             Aubrey glanced his watch and groaned softly.  Any minute now, Karen Delfs would be walking into his office for her daily visit.

             It seemed as if Karen had made it her personal mission in life to alleviate the searing pain he’d felt after his break up with Jessica.  The visits hadn’t bothered him much at first, and in fact, he’d welcomed the chance to talk to Karen, hoping that she might be able to give him some insight into Jessica’s state of mind.  

             Here lately, however, the profiler had made some comments indicating that she was becoming much more serious about him than he had ever intended.  They’d gone out for dinner a couple of times, and it had been fun, but it just wasn’t the same as spending time with his best friend.  Karen would never be able to take the Jessica’s place in his heart.  

             No one could.

            Glancing at the time again, he wondered if he might be able to duck out before she got there, but it was too late.  He heard her chirpy voice outside his door as she greeted Agent Bower before entering his office and settling in the chair opposite of him.  

             “Hi, James.  How are you doing today?”  Karen offered a sympathetic smile.  “I heard that you ran into Jessica out at the crime scene yesterday.  That must’ve been difficult for you.”

             Scoffing at the question, Aubrey hoped Karen wouldn’t notice how he was struggling to keep his emotions in check.  “I’m fine, Karen.  We’re both professionals, and we know how to behave appropriately in that sort of situation.  I mean, of course it was slightly awkward at first, but we managed.  It seems Jessica has moved on with her life, just like I have…”

            He paused slightly before continuing.  “I think she has someone new…”

             “Ouch.  That didn’t take long, did it?”  Karen grimaced slightly at Aubrey’s obvious discomfort.  “Well, I know just what you need to help you feel better, James.  I want you to come to Daisy Wick’s wedding with me. It’s in two weeks.”

             “Nah, I don’t think so.  Sorry, Karen.”  Aubrey shrugged off Karen’s disappointment.  “It’s going to be a long time before I go to another wedding.  I learned my lesson the hard way last time.  Weddings and wedding receptions just lead to really bad misunderstandings and the consumption of too much alcohol.”

            “I think you’re overreacting, Aubrey.”  Karen chuckled at his irritation.  “So you’re going to let one bad experience control the rest of your life? I don’t think that’s a good idea. That’s not the Aubrey I know. It’s one of those things, like falling off a horse.  You’ve got to get back on that horse, or you’ll be stuck with your failure forever.  In my professional opinion, since your behavior was less than ideal at the last wedding you attended, you need to go to another one and get over it.  Anyway, this wedding reception is perfect for that.  Do you who Daisy’s going to marry?”

             “I have no idea, and I don’t really care, since I’m not going…”  Aubrey rearranged some papers on his desk.  “I’m not going to change my mind.”

             “I think you should reconsider.  Daisy is going to marry Beau Pixler.  You know who he is, right?”  Ignoring Aubrey’s annoyed expression, Karen kept talking.  “He’s an offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins...pro football, you know?  Anyway, his condo is next door to Daisy’s and he helped her carry in some groceries one day, and one thing led to another, so now the director of the NFL is marrying someone who plays for the NFL. Isn’t that a hoot?  But that’s not even the best part. Guess what?”

             “Yeah, you’re right.  I can’t guess what the best part of that story is.”  Sipping his cold coffee, Aubrey cringed as he set his cup aside.  “I’m not going…”

             “Pixler’s loaded, and not just because he plays football.  His family owns Pixler’s Pig Out Palace...you know, that barbecue chain?  His family’s catering the reception.  It’s going to be an all you can eat barbecue buffet with all the trimmings.  Sounds to me like a perfect way to change your perception of weddings and wedding receptions.”

             “Wait...Pixler’s?  As in the Hog Heaven Ham Hocks?”  

              Aubrey could feel his strength of will faltering as he thought about the wonderful aroma of barbecue coming from an endless supply of slow roasted meat, but he was a man with scruples.  He couldn’t give in.  “Sounds tempting, but I don’t think so.  It’s easier just to go to the restaurant.  Less chance of drama there.”

             Seeing that Aubrey still had doubts, Karen continued.  “Besides, I’m sure Jessica will be at the wedding, since she and Daisy are such good friends, and she’ll probably have her new boyfriend with her.  You need to go to the wedding with me so you can show her that you’ve moved on, too.  Two can play at that game, right?”

             “Yeah...I guess so.”  Aubrey tapped his fingers on his desk as he thought through Karen’s plan.  Her logic was faulty, and he knew he’d regret what he was going to do.  However, his curiosity was getting the better of him, not to mention his love of barbecue, and he wanted to see Jessica’s new boyfriend for himself.  Finally, against his better judgment, he decided he had nothing to lose.

             “Okay...I guess you’re right.  I suppose I can go to Daisy’s wedding with you…”

             “That’s wonderful.  I know we’re going to have a lot of fun. You’ll see.”  Karen smiled happily as she rose from her chair and glanced at her phone.  “Oh, look at the time.  I’ve got to go.  I have an appointment with Agent Booth about another case.  It looks like you’ll have to eat lunch by yourself today, James.”

             “No big deal.  I’ll just order something in.  I need to go over the file for the Vacchio case again.”  Secretly relieved that Karen couldn’t go to lunch with him, he tried to look disappointed as he got up from behind his desk.  “I’ll be fine…”

             “Maybe I can come by after lunch today, if you’d like.  I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to carry around all of those unresolved negative feelings.  You probably still have things you need to talk through, and I’d be glad to listen.”  Karen giggled as she patted his shoulder.  “I’ll always be here for you.”

             “That’s okay, Karen, but thanks anyway. I’ll be fine by myself, I promise.  I’m going to be busy with the case so I won’t have any time for negative feelings.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

             As they walked through the bullpen, Aubrey cleared his throat. “Listen, Karen, I know you’re trying to help me deal with stuff, but I don’t think…”

             “Of course I’m trying to help you.  That’s what friends are for, right?  Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow and we’ll talk about it then.  Bye, James.”  Waving at him and at Agent Bower, Karen walked quickly toward the elevator so she could make it to her next meeting on time.

             “What?”  Aubrey glared at Bower’s snide chuckle.  “Mind your own damn business, Steve.”  

              After watching Karen enter the elevator, Aubrey went back into his office and shut the door before slumping into his chair.  Angry and frustrated, he stared at the ceiling, wondering once again how he had managed to fuck up his life so badly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...what do you all think so far?


	3. This Means War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here we go...another chapter in the collaborative story written by mphs95 and 554Laura. We've had a lot of fun writing this story together, and we hope our readers enjoy it, too. There might be a few surprises along the way. If you have time to leave a review, we'd appreciate it. Laura.

           Agent Aubrey sighed, feeling frustrated as he tried to find a place to park in one of the temporary lots set up around the perimeter of the Jeffersonian.  The repairs to the damaged building were being made rapidly, and it seemed that it would be only a matter of weeks until the entrance to the museum and the Medico-Legal lab were back to their former glory.  In the meantime, makeshift platforms, surrounded by movable dividers, were pressed into use as the members of the Medico-Legal team continued to lend their expertise as they assisted the FBI with some of their more difficult cases.  Crime didn’t stop just because the lab facility was in disarray.  The work had to continue, even as the building seemed ready to fall down around their ears.

           After locking his SUV, Aubrey trudged slowly into the building, trying to figure out where Angela’s new office was hidden in the controlled chaos that surrounded him. He’d hoped the sounds of the ongoing construction would distract him, but it seemed nothing could keep his memories at bay.  Even in its present bedraggled condition, everything at the Jeffersonian seemed to remind him of Jessica and how much he missed talking to her every day.  She had been an important part of his life for many months, and he was feeling adrift without her friendship.  

           It seemed that her love and affection had been as necessary for his happiness as food and coffee.   _But I can’t do anything about that now, can I...that’s over..._

           His sadness over the breakup had given him plenty of reasons to put off coming to the lab again, until finally he’d run out of excuses for avoiding the place.  Angela had called and asked him to meet her in her new office that morning so she could show him something she’d discovered about the Vacchio case...something she couldn’t or wouldn’t share on Skype.   

           Gritting his teeth as he strode across the lab, he tried to give himself a pep talk.  He was grown man...a highly regarded federal agent in a supervisory position, in charge of his own division at the Hoover.  He had an important case to investigate, and moping around like some lovesick teenager over his break up with Jessica just wasn’t going to cut it.  They’d always managed to maintain their professional behavior when they were a couple.  Surely they could do the same now that they were no longer in a romantic relationship.

            _If anything, it should be easier, right?  We won’t be distracted by all the flirting and aimless chitchat or by being so near each other.  We’ll just say what we need to say and be done with it.  I have my own life now, and she has hers, and what happens outside of work isn’t important any more, is it? It’s none of my business, anyway. She has someone new, and I have to move on, too…_

           After asking one of the new interns for directions, Aubrey stood outside an unfamiliar office space.  Peering around the door frame, he called out tentatively.  “Angela?”

           “Yes, in here.”  Angela smiled as she waved for him to come in.  “Long time, no see, Aubrey.  I was beginning to think you didn’t love us squints anymore.”  

            Swallowing hard, Aubrey grimaced as he watched her bustle around the small room.  “Nah, I’ve just been really busy. Taking over the new position has been a challenge, you know?  Getting things arranged like I want them...stuff like that.”  

            He pointed to the large computer screen hanging on one of the walls.  “I’m surprised you got all of your equipment up and running so quickly.  Very impressive.”

            “A lot of it is on loan from the University of Virginia and American University.  Brennan and Hodgins called in a lot of favors to get this stuff over here for me to use.”  Angela smirked as she accessed the case file.  “And I’ve kept secret backup files of everything on a set of flash drives that I’d stashed away in a special wall safe.  I’ve made extra copies of everything ever since Christopher Pelant hacked into the Jeffersonian computers several years ago.  All I had to do was install the programs in a temporary file on these loaners.  When our computers are finally replaced permanently, I’ll just pull the files off before I send these little jewels back home.  Oh, sorry…”  She gave him an apologetic smile as her phone rang.  “I’m expecting an important call from my OB/GYN about some lab results.  I’ll just be a minute…”

            “No problem.  Take your time.  That stuff’s important.  You got to take that call.”  Aubrey stepped away from her to allow her some privacy, stopping to examine some of the new paintings that graced Angela’s temporary office.  One in particular caught his eye.  It was an oil painting of a seascape, done in blues and greens.  It had a dreamy quality about it, and he found himself studying it closely, admiring the intricate brushwork.

            “Okay, all done.  I’m glad that’s over.”  Angela moved back to her computer and saw the question in Aubrey’s expression.  “Everything’s fine.  Oh...you want to know about the painting, right?”

            “Yeah, I really like it.  I wonder why I’ve never noticed it before…”  Aubrey moved closer to get a better look.  “I like the way the colors swirl together…”

             “Well, don’t get too attached to it.  Unlike my photographs, this painting isn’t for sale.  It’s a wedding gift for Daisy and her fiance’ Beau.  They’re going to Tahiti for their honeymoon, so I thought a picture of the ocean might be a nice way for them to remember the trip.”

             “Jeez...I just got them a set of steak knives…”  Jamming his hands in his pockets, Aubrey shrugged, slightly embarrassed as he explained.  “Not very romantic, but very useful, you know...very practical.  I’m not sure what Karen got for them…”

             “Karen?  As in Karen Delfs?”  Angela’s naturally inquisitive nature was piqued.  “Why would you wonder about her wedding gift for Daisy and Beau?”

             “Well…”  Aubrey bit his lip as he avoided eye contact with the artist.  “Karen and I are going to Daisy’s wedding together.  I guess you could say she’s my date…”

             “Oh…wow.  Way to go, Aubrey.” Angela exclaimed as she arched an eyebrow at him.  “Not wasting any time, are you?  Moving on quickly, I see.  No use crying over spilled milk, huh?  And Karen Delfs, right?  I guess someone around here has a thing for redheads.” She chuckled at his slight indignation.  “How long have you two been a couple?”

             “It’s not really like that, Angela…I mean, Karen and me...we’re not a couple, okay?  We’re not together like that, really...we’re just friends.  It’s hard to explain, you know?  I mean we hang out together sometimes, or have a meal together but...” Aubrey stammered nervously.  “Can we just get to work on the case?  I’ve got to get back to the Hoover.  You said you had something to show me...”

              They both turned as a soft cough came from the doorway.  Jessica was standing there quietly, wearing a pained expression, and Aubrey felt his stomach lurch as he realized she’d heard the discussion about his plans to go to Daisy’s wedding with Karen.  He took a deep breath, hoping to appear calm.  “Good morning, Ms. Warren.”

              “Agent Aubrey.”  Jessica nodded slightly before turning her attention to the computer screen.  “You wanted to see me, Angela?”

              “Um...yeah.”  Angela pretended to concentrate on accessing the file as she tried to ignore the obvious tension between her two co-workers. “Actually, I wanted to show both of you something.  Vacchio’s work and home computers, his tablets, and his phones have been wiped clean of almost everything useful.  Whoever did it was experienced in that kind of work. There’s nothing left to work with on any of them.  However…”  

               Angela pulled up another picture.  “Remember this pen that you found at the crime scene, Jessica?”

               “Yes.”  The intern sighed softly as she remembered the recovery and how painful it had been to see her former boyfriend at the crime scene.  “Why?  Is it important?”

               “Very.  This isn’t really a pen.  It’s a digital recorder...very high tech.  Probably government issue.”  Angela pointed at one end of the object.  “That’s actually a tiny microphone.”

                Aubrey’s brows knit as he tried to understand what Angela was telling him.  “So Vacchio was trying to gather some information from a contact without wearing a wire, right?  Were you able to get any of the information from it?”

               “Part of it.  It looks like it was stepped on, like maybe someone was trying to break it, but I was able to salvage some of the audio. Here, listen.”  She clicked on a sound file.

                A low, gravelly voice was speaking.  “I know what you’ve been doing.  Those securities...they’re fraudulent, right?  You’ve made millions by selling worthless pieces of paper to unsuspecting people.”  The sound was garbled for a few seconds.   “I also know who’s running the show.  He thinks he’s untouchable where he’s sitting now, but he’s wrong.”  After a few more seconds of static, the voice was heard again.  “If you turn yourself in and tell us what we want to know, it’ll go easier for you.  We can offer you immunity…”  

                Suddenly there was panic in the voice.  “Hey, wait...we can work this out...you don’t want to do that…”  Two loud shots were heard on the recording, and then there was nothing but static.

                “Wow…”  Aubrey shuddered slightly as he shook his head in surprise.  “I guess we just listened to the murder, right?  Angela, will you send me a copy of this?”  

                 He smiled as he turned to look at Jessica, but she studiously avoided eye contact with him.  “Excellent work, Ms. Warren.  I’m glad you were able to preserve this evidence for us.”

                 He was interrupted as Angela’s phone rang again.  She grimaced slightly as she checked her caller ID.  “Sorry.  I’ve got to take this call…Michael-Vincent’s school.”  Shrugging an apology, Angela stepped out of the office.

                 “I really should go as well…” Jessica began as she turned to leave.  “Dr. Brennan needs me…”

                 “Wait, Jess...can we talk for a minute?  How are you?”  Aubrey reached out and gently took hold of her hand.  “I’ve missed you…so much...”

                 “Really? You’ve missed me? Because you seemed to have adjusted quite easily to the way things are now…”  Jessica quickly pulled her hand away from him as she glanced toward the door, hoping to get away before her anger got the best of her.  “I hope you and Karen have a good time at the wedding.  She’ll be very happy with you as her date.  She’s crazy about you…”

                 “But it’s not like that.  She’s not really my date…”  Aubrey squirmed slightly as he tried to explain what he meant.  “It’s not the same as it was with you and me…not like we were.  I don’t feel the same way about her as I do about you.  I don’t love her...not like that...”

                 Jessica rolled her eyes as she laughed sarcastically.  “I see.  Well, I guess you’re right, Superman.  You really were faster than a speeding bullet when it came to getting over me, weren’t you?  So it’s not the same with her as it was between us, is it?  That must be true, because it appears that perhaps you feel more for Karen than you ever felt for me, especially since you have such an important date with her so soon after we broke up. It’s only been a few weeks, but you’ve already moved on, right? It sounds like Karen is taking the sting out of any hurt you might’ve felt over us splitting up, especially since it seems you’re spending most of your evenings with her.  I’m sure she’s been helpful in kissing away any residual heartache.  So much for the long term commitment you wanted with me, Aubrey, but I know it’s hard to resist a woman like Karen who thinks you’re just perfect, isn’t it?  And don’t lie to me about not having a date with her. That’s not what you told Angela.  You said that Karen was your date for the wedding.”  

                 Jessica finally looked up at Aubrey, trying to blink back her tears.  “I hope you have a lot of fun together.  I have to go help Dr. B.”

                 “So I’m supposed to feel bad about going out somewhere with Karen just because you’re jealous of her?”  Aubrey stood with his hands on his hips, angry and frustrated with Jessica’s tirade.  “You know, Jessica, you really don’t have a right to be angry with me about having a date with someone else for that stupid wedding.  You can’t have it both ways, okay? After all, you broke up with me, remember? That wasn’t my idea, was it?  I really didn’t want to end things that way, but that’s what you wanted, so now it’s over, alright?  We’re both free now to see whoever we want.  So why do you care what I do?  I’m not a part of your life any more, and it really shouldn’t make any difference to you if I go to the wedding with Karen or anyone else, for that matter.”  

                 He paused, exhaling slowly as he tried to calm down.  “But if you’d just listen to what I have to say instead of jumping to conclusions, you’d find out that there’s nothing romantic going on between Karen and me...and I don’t have anyone else in my life, either.  C’mon, Jess...surely you know how much I still love you...you should know I wouldn’t hurt you like that.  Jessica, please don’t walk away from me...I really want to explain what’s going on here…seriously, Jessica...please...”  

                “Sorry, but I have work to do.”  Shaking her head as she swiftly moved away from him, Jessica held up her hands to indicate that the conversation was over.  “You can explain things all you want, but I don’t have to listen.  Good bye, Agent Aubrey…”

                 “Jessica…c’mon.  Just give me a minute...”  Aubrey started to follow the redhead out of the office just as Angela entered.  “Great…of all the annoying, irritating women...she won’t even listen to reason...” he muttered to himself.  Realizing Angela might’ve misunderstood, he tried to smile.  “Everything okay?”  

                 Accessing the file again, Angela shrugged as she chuckled.  “A slight mishap at school, but no stitches this time.  Sorry.  No more phone calls, alright?  Now, where were we?”

                 As he watched Jessica walk away, Aubrey sighed deeply, hoping Angela wouldn’t see how upset he was. Pointing to the computer, he tried to focus on the case.  “Why don’t you play that recording again….”

  **Oooooooooooooooooooooooo**

                 Glancing at the time on her phone as she hurried down the street toward the diner, Jessica bit her lip nervously, hoping to avoid a fresh onslaught of tears.  After her argument with Aubrey in Angela’s office, she’d allowed herself the luxury of a good cry in the women’s restroom before returning to the lab platform.  Thankfully, Dr. Brennan had chosen to ignore the younger woman’s runny red nose and smeared mascara as she explained which technique she wished her intern to use when she defleshed the set of remains they’d recently received.  

                 Now Jessica was running late for her lunch appointment, frustrated with the situation at work and annoyed with herself as well.  Whether she liked it or not, she had to admit that Aubrey had been right this morning.  She shouldn’t have any interest in who he took to the wedding, or who he was seeing at the present time...and she didn’t need to know how he spent his evenings.  It truly was none of her business any more.  

                 She’d been satisfied that breaking up with him had been the right thing to do until she thought about him dating someone else.  Her confidence shaken, she tried once again to convince herself she’d been correct...that he didn’t really care all that much for her, or he would’ve asked for her thoughts about his possible move to Los Angeles before he’d said yes to taking the new position.  

                 Of course, he changed his mind about that, deciding to stay in town to take a similar position with the DC office, and for a brief moment in time Jessica had thought he’d stayed because of her...but now it was plain, no matter what he’d said this morning about how much he still loved her, that he’d stayed because of Karen instead.

                 Pausing as she reached the diner’s door, Jessica smiled ruefully.  Here she was, meeting Daisy for lunch to help with some last minute wedding details, and she wasn’t even sure if she was going to have the nerve to go to the ceremony by herself.  The thought of watching her Superman and Karen together, enjoying each other’s company in such a romantic setting, was almost more than she could stomach.  However, she’d offered to help plan the wedding since Daisy didn’t have any family, and she couldn’t back out now.

                 Daisy waved at Jessica, smiling broadly as soon as her friend entered the diner.  “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about lunch.”

                  “No, of course not.”  Jessica forced a pleasant smile as she sat opposite of Daisy.  “Things are just crazy at work, you know?  Dr. Brennan has been on the warpath, trying to get things rearranged in the lab as it’s being rebuilt, and we still have cases coming in.  I had to set some bones to soak before I could get away, and it took longer than I expected.”  

                  Smiling at the waitress, Jessica ordered a chef salad for lunch.  “So where are we today?  You said something about last minute wedding details…”

                  Taking a sip of her water, Daisy shrugged.  “Well, everything seems set except for one tiny but very important detail that I forgot.  I need a maid of honor…”  She giggled softly at Jessica’s shocked expression.  

                  “How could you forget something like that?” Jessica exclaimed.  “Isn’t that usually the first thing you do after you set a date?”

                  “Well, I guess so, but Beau and I ended up doing the whole wedding thing kind of backwards, I guess.  We planned a trip to Tahiti first, and then we decided to get married before we went.  His parents are going to watch Seeley for us while we’re gone, but they wanted us to make our relationship ‘legal’ before we left in case something happened while we were gone.  Silly, right?  Anyway, Mrs. Pixler has helped me make most of the arrangements for the wedding and the reception, which will be held at their family’s estate, and I found a beautiful dress at a clothing consignment shop.  Everything was pretty much done, but I didn’t even think about a maid of honor until Beau said his brother was going to be the best man.”  

                   Daisy ate a French fry as she glanced out the window.  “The problem is who to choose?  It’s not like I have a lot of friends since I’ve been so busy with work and the baby over the past couple of years.  But after I thought about it for a few minutes, it was obvious.  I think you’d be perfect, Jessica.  So, what do you think?  Would you be my maid of honor?”

                   “Oh…”  Jessica gasped softly.  “Actually, Daisy, I was going to tell you that I can’t be at the wedding….something has come up, and I have to be away that weekend…”

                   “Really?  But I was counting on you being there…”  Daisy was obviously upset.  “Are you sure you can’t change your plans?  I’d really like for you to be there with me.  You don’t even have to get a new dress.  Anything you already have would be fine.  Please?”

                    “I don’t think I can…”  Jessica brushed away the tears clinging to her lashes, knowing that she owed her friend an explanation for her sudden change of heart.  “The truth is...Aubrey is bringing Karen Delfs to your wedding, and I don’t think I can stand to watch them having fun and enjoying each other’s company while I’m there all by myself.  I mean, Aubrey and I...we’re not together any more, but...it’s hard to explain…”

                    “You didn’t expect him to get over you so quickly, right?”  Daisy gave Jessica a compassionate smile.  “Well, I know just what to do to solve that little problem.  You need to get a date of your own for the wedding, and I know just who it should be.  Remember Gerald Maxwell?”

                    “You mean Gerald, the intern from the Antiquities Department?  Oh, Daisy, I don’t know…”  Jessica shook her head as she reached for her coffee cup.  “I mean, he’s cute…”

                    “Cute?  He’s gorgeous…every tall, well-built square inch of him is spectacular.  If I didn’t already have Beau, I’d definitely be very interested.  I mean, those green eyes, that tan, that perfect smile… all that old family money.  Rumor has it that he’s a lot of fun on a date, and I bet all you’d have to do is ask him to go, Jessica.  I’ve seen how he’s flirted with you in the past…”

                     Jessica blushed as she ate a bite of her salad.  “He’s asked me out in the past, but I was with Aubrey at the time.  Do you really think Gerald would go to the wedding with me?”

                    “There’s only one way to find out.  When you get back to the lab, you need to go find him and ask.  Then call me and tell me you’ll be my maid of honor, okay?”  Daisy giggled at Jessica’s shy smile.  “With Gerald Maxwell standing next to you in a great looking suit, you’ll forget all about what Aubrey and Karen are doing…”

                     “Speaking of which…”  Jessica grimaced as she saw Karen enter the diner.  The profiler smiled happily and waved.  “It looks like Karen is going to join us…”

                     Not noticing the uncomfortable glances between Daisy and Jessica, Karen came bouncing over to their table to join them.  “Imagine seeing you two here.  Finalizing things for the wedding, I suppose.  Oh, look…”  She pulled up a picture on her phone and handed it to Jessica.  “I’ve been shopping all morning but I think I finally found the perfect dress to wear…”

                     Jessica had to bite her tongue to avoid saying something unkind when she saw the hot pink satin halter dress.  The low cut bodice was embroidered with large purple and blue flowers, each set with a large faceted plastic jewel in the center.  There was matching floral embroidery accentuating the hem of the very short gathered skirt.  “It’s very...bright, Karen.  It’s definitely a fashion forward choice.  Not everyone can pull off a dress like that...”  

                    “Thanks.  I hope James likes it.”  Karen pretended to be apologetic as she patted Jessica’s hand.  “I’m sorry.  I hope you’re not too upset that he and I are going to the wedding together.  As a psychologist, I felt it was my duty to encourage him to get ‘back into circulation’, so to speak.”  

                    Karen smiled as she glanced at the picture on her phone again.  “He’s much too handsome to be on the shelf for long, you know, so I had to take advantage of the situation while he was still available.  I’m so glad he agreed to go with me.”  Apparently realizing she might’ve said too much, Karen tried to change the subject.  “It sounds like the weather will be nice for the wedding…”

                   “Yes, it does.”  Jessica concentrated on her plate as she listened to Karen chatter away about absolutely nothing important, until finally she couldn’t stand it any longer.  “It’s fortunate for Aubrey that he has someone like you to look out for his emotional well-being, Karen.  I’m glad he’s able to seek you out when he needs advice.”  

                    Karen gave Jessica an airy wave of her hand as she giggled coyly.  “Well, it’s not like that, exactly.  You know how stubborn men can be, Jessica.  They never think they need any help where their emotions are concerned, but we know better, don’t we?  I usually stop by the office to check on Aubrey every other day or so to see if he needs anything.”  

                    Startled slightly as her phone rang, Karen answered it before the second ring.  “This is Karen. Yes...okay.  You bet.  I’ll be right there.”  Flashing a dazzling smile, she quickly rose from her seat.  “James needs me to help him with the case.  Gotta run.”  Winking slyly at Jessica, Karen flicked her ponytail over her shoulder as she adjusted her glasses.  “See you at the wedding…toodles...”

                    Glowering at Karen’s back, Jessica stabbed the last bit of lettuce left on her plate.  “She helps him...with all sorts of things, I imagine.  Oh, Daisy...why did I let Aubrey get away?  And how do I get him back?”

                    Daisy shook her head sadly.  “I don’t know why you let him go...but I do know you’re coming to my wedding with Gerald Maxwell, right?”  

                    Leaning over the table, Daisy lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.  “Just so you know, I didn’t invite Karen to the wedding.  I invited Aubrey, thinking he’d want to come with you, but not her.  I think Karen manipulated him into inviting her to be his date...maybe she told him we’re having barbeque at the reception or something like that.  In any case, you can’t let her get away with it.  You need to show up with a handsome man on your arm, and let Aubrey get a good look at what he’s missing.”  

                    Crossing her arms over her chest, Daisy gave Jessica a stern look.  “This is no longer just the Battle of the Sexes, Jessica.  This is WAR!”


	4. Daisy's Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here's the next chapter in our story. mphs95 and 554Laura are really having fun writing this story, and we hope you're enjoying it. Just a reminder, it is slightly AU.
> 
> Now, without any further ado, let's go to Daisy's wedding...

          After lunch, Jessica walked back to the Jeffersonian with a purpose.  She got into the elevator and took it to the second floor.  Getting off she headed to the antiquities wing.  When she got to the doorway, she looked around and wasn’t disappointed.

            Gerald Maxwell.  6’3”, blond hair, broad shoulders, green eyes.  His family was one of the biggest donors to the Jeffersonian.  He was also a bit of a ladies’ man.  Sure, he was fun on a date…until he found another interest...or another pretty face...

            Every time he flirted with her, she got bored as he mentioned his father’s new yacht in Richmond, or the latest trip he took to Aspen.  He was intelligent, but also arrogant.  However, she wasn’t looking for everlasting love…just a date for Daisy’s wedding.  If Aubrey could bring a date, she sure as hell would, too.

            Suddenly, doubts arose as she remembered what Aubrey told her earlier.

          _If you’d just listen to what I have to say instead of jumping to conclusions, you’d find out that there’s nothing romantic going on between Karen and me...and I don’t have anyone else in my life, either.  C’mon, Jess...surely you know how much I still love you...you should know I wouldn’t hurt you like that._

 She wanted desperately to believe him, but then she remembered what she’d heard the agents discussing at the crime scene.  Steeling her spine, she entered and headed over to the intern.

            “Hi, Gerald.  Got a minute?  I need to talk to you about something...”

            The intern turned around and gave his perfect toothpaste smile in return.  “Jessica Warren…what brings you over to my neck of the woods?”

            Pushing aside the nausea in her stomach, the redhead gathered her courage.  “I wanted to ask you if...you...had any plans next Saturday?”

            “Not that I’m aware of.”, Gerald said in reply.  “Why do you ask?”

            Jessica took a deep breath.  “I wanted to know…if you…wanted to go to Daisy Wick’s wedding with me?”

            Gerald smiled.  He had been wanting to get into Jessica Warren’s good graces…and her bed...since she came to work at the Jeffersonian almost two and a half years ago.  She always acted like she had better things to do, but he knew her reputation.  Before she started dating that FBI agent, she was a friendly girl around the Jeffersonian…one he could have fun with.

            Now, he had his chance.  He’d already made a date with Audrey from Paleontology for next Saturday, but oh well.  He’d just call and cancel.  No big deal.  “Of course, Jessica.  I would be honored.  When and where?”

            “I’m the maid of honor, so I’m spending the day with her getting ready and the wedding’s at 2:00 on the Pixler estate.  Do you mind meeting me there?  You can give me a ride home if that’s okay.”

            “Sure, not a problem.”

            “Great.”, Jessica said without much enthusiasm.  “We’ll coordinate more as we get closer to the wedding.”

            “Perhaps we can get together before the wedding...you know, we could get to know each other better...”

            “Um, we’ll see.”, Jessica said.  “I’m swamped with helping Daisy, so I don’t have much free time with the wedding and my dissertation. Oh, look at the time.  I have to get back to the lab.”

            “I’ll see you soon, Jess.”

            Nausea, followed by white hot anger balled up inside her.  “My name is Jessica.  Not Jess.”

            Gerald realized he’d miscalculated badly and he quickly backtracked.  “My apologies…Jessica.”

            “Thank you.”

            Before Jessica could change her mind, she hastily walked back to the lab, not seeing the smarmy grin the antiquities intern was wearing.

* * *

            Over the next several days, Jessica and Aubrey managed to successfully avoid each other.  However, unbeknownst to the other, they still followed each other on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  

            Jessica was playing around on Instagram Tuesday when she saw Aubrey had updated his page.  When she went on, he had just posted a video of Skinner dragging himself across the couch.  She could hear him laughing in the background and she cracked up, too.  That cat was his baby...and he’d become hers, too.

            Or was.  Now he would be Karen’s baby.  Just like the special relationship she once had with his owner, Skinner was gone, too.  That thought made Jessica break down as it began to sink in what she had lost.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

             Aubrey was at home Wednesday night when he got an update on his Facebook.  When he looked, he saw it was from Jessica’s account.  Unable to stop himself, he opened it to be greeted with photos of what looked like Daisy’s bachelorette party.  Andie, Cam, Brennan, Angela, who was holding what looked like a Sprite, and Jessica were surrounding the anthropologist who was wearing a rhinestone crown that said BRIDE.

            Jessica looked slightly buzzed, but she seemed to be having fun.  Her smiles...her infectious laughter...her stream of consciousness…

            The more he thought about what he had lost, the closer tears came before a few fell.  He remembered what she said that night they kissed for the first time...that what they had was special.

            It was...and his life would never be the same without it.

* * *

            By Thursday, each was dreading Daisy’s wedding, but they kept their feelings to themselves.

            At the lab, Jessica was reexamining the bones of their victim in the Bone Room.  Using her emotional instability to help her focus, Jessica made quick work of documenting all minutiae she found on the bones.  She hoped that would bring the killer to justice.

            Any victim that was a member of a law enforcement organization always affected her deeply.  She knew it was because Aubrey was in law enforcement.  Of course, he was well trained, and he took good care of himself, but it was a worry she had every day.

           She scolded herself as she shook off those thoughts.  James Aubrey wasn’t hers to worry about anymore.  Karen Delfs had jumped in and taken her place with ease, almost as if that had been the plan all along.  Putting her feelings aside, the redhead was almost finished with her exam when she heard what sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard.

            “Hi, Jessica.  I hope I’m not interrupting something important...” .

            Stiffening her spine, the squintern slowly turned around.  “Hi, Karen.  What can I do for you today?”

            Wearing a broad smile, Karen casually strolled over to Jessica.  “I was hoping to get your advice about something...that is, if you have time.  We don’t want to keep you from your work, do we?”

            Taking a deep breath, the intern clenched her fists as she steeled herself.  “Sure.  What can I help you with?”

            Karen held up a fashion magazine.  “Which kind of necklace do you think goes the best with my new dress?  I don’t want to embarrass James at the wedding.”

            Jessica felt tears well up at Karen’s use of Aubrey’s first name, something she only called him when they were alone, but she refused to let them fall.  Taking the magazine, she looked at the options and strongly considered sabotaging the woman.  However, she realized it wasn’t right, especially when Karen could sabotage herself all on her own.

            After a brief perusing, she pointed to a small square amethyst pendant on a silver chain.  “This one.  It will go with the color of your dress but give a little contrast.”

            Karen smiled.  “Oh, thank you, Jessica.  You’re being so understanding about me going to the wedding with your ex-boyfriend.  I feel just terrible that things didn’t work out with you two, but perhaps it’s for the best.  You are 28 years old and still a graduate student.  James will be turning 33 next month and he needs someone more settled, don’t you think?”

            “Of course.”, Jessica said in an unconvincing tone.  Feeling suffocated, she took a step back.  “Here’s your magazine. I have to get back to work, Karen.”

            “Oh, of course, of course.”, Karen said.  “Maybe we can get together for lunch next week?  I need some good gossip about James, and who better to provide that than his best friend?”

            “I don’t know.  I-I’ll check my schedule.”

            “Thanks so much.  I’m glad we can still be friends. Call me and let me know about lunch, okay?”

            “S-sure.”, Jessica said.  “I have to get back to work now.”

            “Oh, of course.”, Karen said before walking out.

             The redhead took a deep breath to steady her nerves.  When she felt emotionally stable…or as stable as she was going to get, she returned to her duties.

  ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Karen stepped out of the Bone Room with a self-serving smile on her face.  Confident that she’d hammered another nail in the coffin of James Aubrey’s relationship with Jessica Warren, she walked out.

            However, she missed Temperance Brennan standing to the side, arms crossed with a look of annoyance on her face.                

* * *

           “She came to visit you at the lab?”, Daisy said as she arranged her pillows on Jessica’s bed.

            “Yeah.”, Jessica said while plugging in her phone.  “She made sure I knew how much more suitable she is for Aubrey than me.  She even asked me to help pick out jewelry for her to wear with her dress tomorrow.”

           “That bitch!”, Daisy said before getting into bed.  “At least you have Gerald as your date.”

            “Daisy…I’ve got a vibe telling me that bringing him is not a good idea…”, Jessica said with a worried look.

            “Why not?  If Aubrey can bring that annoying See You Next Tuesday to my wedding as his date, then you can bring Gerald.  It’s not like you’re going to marry the guy.”, the future bride proclaimed.  “Just have a fling with him.  You’ve earned it.”

            “I don’t want that, Daisy.”, Jessica said with a slight choke.  “I want Aubrey, but he’s…”

            “Have you told him about the shit she’s pulling?”, the other woman asked.  “I’m not his biggest fan right now, but I can’t see him condoning any of this.”

            “No, because who he sees is no longer any of my business.  I just have to ignore her.  Obviously…he moved on from me if he’s going out with her.”

           Daisy hated seeing her friend hurt.   “Jessica, I can make sure she’s turned away at the wedding tomorrow.”

            “No, don’t.”, the redhead said as she got into bed.  “That wouldn’t be fair to Aubrey.”          

            “Are you sure?”, Daisy said.  “Or I can sneak some eye drops in her champagne and give her a wicked case of the runs.  She’ll shit all over that ugly dress while running to the bathroom!”

            The two ladies laughed loudly with the bride-to-be holding her stomach and Jessica crying tears from cackling.  After about a minute, they calmed down.

            “Thanks, Dais…I needed that.”

            Daisy laid down in the bed.  “I needed it too.”

            “Why?”

             The other woman was quiet for a minute before she talked.  “Oliver came by before I headed over here to spend the night.”

            “Oliver Wells?  Why?”

            Daisy took a deep breath.  “To tell me I was making a big mistake marrying Beau…that I need someone who challenges me...”

            “Like who?  Him?”,  Jessica said as she faced her friend on the other side of the bed.

            “I asked him that and he said nothing.  Now that I’ve moved on to a great guy, he wants me.  Fuck him.”

            The redhead debated for a moment before deciding to speak up.  “Daisy, Beau is a nice guy, but is he really the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?  Marriage is a pretty big commitment and this wedding came on pretty fast.”

            “Yes, I’m sure. Beau is kind, considerate, gorgeous, wealthy, and he’s good to Lance.  I’m marrying the cream of the crop tomorrow.”

            “Okay.”, Jessica said, conflicted.  “We should probably get some sleep.  We have a big day tomorrow.”

            “That we do.”, Daisy said.  “Thanks for letting me crash here the night before my wedding.”

            “That’s what friends are for, girlfriend.”, the redhead replied before turning out the light.  “See you in the morning.”

            “Night, Jessica.”

            Both ladies turned over in the darkness so their backs were to each other.  However, neither one got much sleep that night.

* * *

            Fourteen hours later, Aubrey was shaving as he got ready for the wedding.  He was happy for Daisy but he really didn’t want to go.  Even the barbecue Karen had used to entice him didn’t sound very good anymore.

            Today was the day...the day when he saw Jessica’s new beau…and it made him want to vomit.

             For the last several days, he’d been second guessing his decision to accompany Karen to the wedding.  Yes, there was going to be a lot of good food and his curiosity over his ex-girlfriend’s new significant other was driving him crazy.  However, he kept recalling Jessica nearly in tears in Angela’s office after she found out about the two of them going together to the wedding.

            She wouldn’t listen to him when he tried telling her that he and Karen were just friends.  Jessica was stubborn that way sometimes.  If she would just quit being unreasonable and listen to him, they could clear everything up quickly and then get back together.  She infuriated and frustrated him like no other person ever had.

            But he missed it…and her smiles…and her anthropological theories when she applied them to science fiction and things like Star Wars.

            He missed his best friend…and it was killing him emotionally.

            It didn’t help that Karen was becoming even more of a pest than normal.  Ever since he’d agreed to go with her to the wedding as ‘friends’, she’d called him several nights a week to talk to him.  She offered to come over and sit with him so he wouldn’t be lonely, but he always gave excuses for her not to.  She also hinted at an invitation to spend the night with her tonight after the wedding…one he played dumb with.

            He didn’t want a one night stand with Karen…he wanted to make love with Jessica.

           After this weekend, he knew he needed to sit Karen down and lay down some boundaries.  It was becoming obvious that she wanted more than friendship from him, but he just wasn’t interested.  He was looking for a friend, but her presence seemed to make him feel worse.

            More than anything, he didn’t want to go with her to the wedding.  He had a gnawing suspicion that it was going to be a bad idea.  However, he was a gentleman.  He promised Karen he would go with her to the wedding and it would be rude to cancel on her at the last minute, making her go alone.

           Even so, when she hinted at riding together, he made an excuse of other plans so he could meet her there.  His instincts were telling him that letting her know where he lived would also be a bad idea.

            After he finished in the bathroom, he went into his bedroom where Skinner was laying on the bed watching him.  He had just put on his boxers when he heard a knock on his door.  Surprised, he put on his bathrobe and walked to the door.  Looking in the Judas Hole, his eyes widened when he saw who was standing there.  With a heavy sigh, Aubrey opened to the door.

            “Karen…I…thought I was meeting you at the wedding?”

            The profiler walked in and almost blinded the agent when one of the plastic jewels on her dress reflected the afternoon sun as it shone through the living room window.  “I know, but I thought I would just wait for you here while you got ready, so I looked up your address in the FBI database and took a cab here.  That way we could talk and hang out before the wedding.”

            “Great…”, Aubrey said with a pained smile, but the profiler didn’t notice as she continued speaking.

            “How do you like my dress?” Doing a model’s twirl, Karen smiled at her date.   “I picked it out just for you, Aubrey.”

            The man struggled to keep from laughing as he took in the fluorescent pink…thing Karen was wearing.  It was two inches too short and more appropriate for a teenager.  Even worse, it looked like a Bedazzler threw up on it.  She’d finished off the outfit with a rhinestone necklace with a big magenta jewel in the center.

            “Do you like it?”, Karen repeated.  “I know you like shorter dresses on women.”

             _‘Yeah, on Jessica.’_ , he thought.  Her dresses, while short, never strayed from tasteful and she had a great pair of legs that her attire showed off.

            Strong legs from yoga that had on more than one occasion wrapped around his shoulders, neck, or waist while they were intimate.

            He didn’t want to hurt the woman’s feelings, so he thought quickly.  “It’s definitely an eye-catcher, Karen.  That’s for sure.”

            “Great.”, Karen said before noticing an orange tabby cat come into the room and rub against Aubrey’s leg.  “This must be the infamous Skinner.”

            The profiler called the cat over, but he refused to leave his owner.  Frustrated, she tried calling him again.

            “He’s not a super social cat, Karen.”, Aubrey said.  “He tends to take a while to warm up to people.”

            “I don’t believe that, Aubrey.  Animals love me.”, she said.  “Quit being stubborn, Skinner.  You know what.  I’ll just come to you.”

            The profiler stepped closer but stopped in her tracks when the cat let out a low growl.  Stunned, she stepped back.  “Aubrey, your cat is not being very friendly.”

           “Skinner!”  Aubrey knelt down to stroke his cat, pretending to scold him while holding back a snicker.  “That’s not nice.”

            The two watched as the cat swished his tail with indignation while he sauntered away back into Aubrey’s bedroom.  “Karen, I’m sorry.  He can be a bit…persnickety around new people.”

            “If he was this way with me, I’m sure he was a major bitch with Jessica.”, Karen said before putting her hand on her mouth.  “I’m sorry, Aubrey.  I probably shouldn’t mention her...”

            “It’s all right, Karen.”, Aubrey said

             The agent remembered how Skinner took to Jessica when Hodgins first brought him back to the Jeffersonian after his original owner was murdered.  The first time his former girlfriend came over to his apartment after he adopted the orphan cat he immediately jumped on her lap and purred.  More than once when she stayed over, he slept with her instead of his owner.

             It was obvious Skinner missed Jessica, too.  However, he wouldn’t tell Karen that.

            “Well, you should finish getting ready, Superman.”, Karen said.

            “Don’t call me that!”, Aubrey snapped.  Immediately feeling bad for his emotional response, he gulped.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

            Karen took his emotional outburst in stride.  “It’s okay.  I should come up with a new nickname for you since we’re closer now.”

            “Aubrey is fine, Karen.”, the agent said, feeling a wave of nausea in his stomach.   Going into the kitchen, he gave Skinner extra food so he wouldn’t be awakened early the next morning.  “I have to finish getting ready.  Make yourself comfortable.  My remote is on the end table.”

           “Thank you, Aubrey.”, Karen said as she watched the man walk back towards his bedroom.   _‘I can’t wait to get my hands on that cute ass of his.’_

 The woman looked around at the simple décor.  Her mood changed when she saw a group of pictures on the wall that consisted of the object of her affection and Jessica.

            “These photos need to go.”

            Karen walked over and removed all the pictures from the wall.  Stacking them neatly on the couch, she then looked around and saw a green and white blanket folded on the other end.  Opening it up, she became more annoyed.

            “A Syracuse alumnus with a Michigan State blanket?”, Karen asked to herself.  “No way.”

            Wrapping the pictures up in the blanket, she shoved them into the living room closet before shutting the door.  Snooping around, she saw a room with a door opened.  Pushing the door, she saw it had a small futon bed.  On the walls were various science fiction movie posters along with film noir from the 1940s.  There were three bookshelves full of Star Wars action figures along various movie props and memorabilia.  Walking in, she went to the shelf and picked up a couple of figurines.  Shaking her head, Karen turned to her right and got a shock as she came face to face with a seven foot tall statue of Han Solo frozen in carbonite.

            “It’s okay, Karen.”, she said to herself.  “Just Harrison Ford from that _Star Wars_ thing.  Jessica may have tolerated that sort of thing around here, but I won’t.”

            Deciding she didn’t want to be caught snooping, the profiler made a hasty exit.  She looked around and smiled _.  ‘Much better place to come back to after the wedding.  The kitchen looks it will be easy enough to get around when I make Aubrey breakfast tomorrow morning after we have another round.’_

 “Are you ready?”

            “Huh?”, Karen said, startled before she had to contain the drool she felt coming.

            Aubrey was dressed in a pair of gray pants and dark blue button up shirt with the first two buttons undone.  He completed the look with a black sports jacket.

            Karen wanted to gobble him up.  However, she decided she’d do that later.  Now, she had other plans.  Smiling brightly, she picked up her purse.  “Yes, I’m ready.”

            Aubrey was too distracted by the prospect of seeing Jessica and her date to notice the changes Karen made to his living room.  Grabbing his keys, phone, wallet, and gift, the two walked out the door and locked it.

* * *

Twenty minutes before the wedding, Jessica finished putting on her maid of honor dress.  Looking at herself in the mirror, she stared.

            Her A line dress was knee length and made of chiffon.  The color was called _‘Garden Green’_ and it had a cascading ruffle in the front.  It was simple and beautiful.  Her hair was pinned up in a French twist and she wore diamond studs earring with a single diamond pendant, a gift from Daisy, thanks to her fiancé.

            Once again, vibes were telling her that something was going to happen tonight…and it wouldn’t be good.  The closer the wedding came, the more she regretted being talked into asking Gerald Maxwell to be her date.  She knew his reputation and hoped he didn’t expect to get more out of her than time spent at a wedding.

           But Aubrey didn’t need to know that.  Knowing Karen, she would be offering to drop her panties for him in her ugly ass, way too short dress for him to regret much.

           Hearing her friend hyperventilate again, she turned around and got the paper bag.  “Daisy, breathe into the bag.  Andie will be back soon with some champagne.”

            “OMG…I’m so nervous.”, Daisy said, fluttering her hands in front of her face.

            Andie came back into the bridal suite wearing the same dress as Jessica except in a shade of violet called _‘Orchid’_.  “Here Dais…drink this.”

            The bride grabbed her flute and chugged it.  After about thirty seconds, she relaxed.  “Thanks…I needed that.”

            Jessica put the glass down and pulled on her friend’s arm.  “Come on, Daisy.  It’s time to get you in this dress.”

            Andie pulled it over and laid it gently on the floor.  “All right, Daisy, step in.”

            When the bride stepped in, her two friends helped pull it up.  As Andie held it together, Jessica pulled on the lace for the corset.  When Daisy said it was snug but she could still breathe, she tied it before Andie put the jewel flower covering it on the back.  When the three looked in the mirror, they were awestruck.

            Daisy’s silver dress was strapless and satin.  It had a sweetheart neckline and a Watteau train that glided behind her endlessly.  There was ruching on the bodice with ruffled lace.

            “Girl, you are so beautiful.”, Andie said.

           “Yeah, you are, Daisy.”

            Andie snapped out of their moment.  “Oh Jess, your date is out there if you want to talk to him for a minute.”

            “O-okay.”, the redhead said.  “Can you help—“

            “I’ve got this.”, Andie said as she helped Daisy with her jewelry.  “Just bring us back a bottle of champagne, all right?”

            “Got it.”

            Jessica walked out and headed for the ballroom where the guests were waiting due to a last minute rainstorm.  She spotted Gerald and walked over.

            “Hi, Gerald.  Glad you got here okay.”

            The intern smiled.  “Not a problem.  My family’s estate is only five miles from here.”

            “Okay, so there’s champagne.  At the reception, Daisy and Beau will have a table of their own and the attendants have one of their own where they can sit with their dates.”

            Gerald put his arm around Jessica, making her jump as he brushed her breast with his fingertips.  “Sounds wonderful.”

            “Jessica!”

            Feeling sick to her stomach, she turned and saw Karen with Aubrey.  Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the agent looking very handsome in his attire.  Forcing a smile, she pressed on.  “Hi Karen…Aubrey.”

            For the agent, he was blown away by Jessica’s appearance.  The dress was classy, stylish, and accentuated her lithe figure to perfection.  The green was a perfect shade to make the color of her eyes pop.  She looked absolutely amazing.

            Then he took another look at her date and felt some insecurities _.  ‘That son of a bitch didn’t wait long to move in on Jessica.  Perfect hair, perfect smile…the perfect Ken doll.’_

            “Hi, Jess.”

            Karen grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.  “Jessica…who’s your friend?”

            “This is—“

            “Gerald Maxwell.  He’s an intern in…antiquities at the Jeffersonian.”, Aubrey said while barely holding back his snark.  “It’s…antiquities, right?”

            “It is.  I’m in my fourth year while I’m studying for my PhD at George Washington University.  My family is one of the biggest contributors to the Jeffersonian.”, Gerald said before looking at Aubrey while tightening his hold on Jessica.  “So what is it that you do…Aubrey?”

            “James Aubrey.”, the agent said, trying to control his jealousy and the urge to shoot the smile off the bastard’s face.  “I’m the Special Agent in Charge of the Major Crimes Division of the FBI DC Field Office.  I collaborate frequently with the lab.”

             Gerald continued to play stupid as he flashed his perfect teeth.  “Yes, I think I remember hearing about you once or twice.”

            Jessica wasn’t in the mood for the dick measuring contest that was commencing.  “I have to get back to Daisy.  Excuse me.”

            Aubrey didn’t miss the small shove Jessica gave as she got out from under Gerald’s grip and walked away.   _‘Jess never liked being paraded around like a prize at the county fair.’_

 “A little feisty, that Jessica.”, Gerald said, appreciating the view as she quickly walked away from him.

           “Well, she grew up in a house with five older brothers.”, Aubrey said.  “She’s very independent.”        

            “Well, I always did like a challenge.”, Gerald said as he spotted one of his father’s business associates.  “Excuse me.  Gotta make nice with the old guys.”

            The two remaining figures watched the intern’s kiss up act.  “Fucking asshole.”, Aubrey muttered.

            “I thought he was very pleasant, Aubrey.  Jessica was kind of rude to him, shoving his arm off her like that.  She needs to be more appreciative with men.”

            “Excuse me?”, Aubrey said, his hackles raised.

            “Well, I mean, she should be grateful that any man will spend his time with her with the attitude she has.  She needs to get over herself and be more demure with her dates.  By the way, what the hell is with that green toenail polish?  She’s at a wedding, not an MSU pep rally.  Have some class, little girl.”

             _‘Like you do?’_ Aubrey thought as he glimpsed his date’s attire again.  Honestly, he found Jessica’s sense of style sexy as hell because she didn’t care what others thought.  Before he could stop himself, he grabbed a glass of champagne and told Karen exactly what he was thinking.

            “Jessica does things like that because she’s confident in herself and it shows in everything she does, but especially in her appearance.  Yeah, to some her sense of style may be immature or not _‘politically correct’_ , but it’s always tasteful.  She doesn’t feel the need to have her breasts hang out or wear skirts she can’t bend over in.  She can be simply dressed and still be absolutely stunning.”

            Appropriately rebuked, Karen grabbed another glass of bubbly and the two drank in strained silence.  Aubrey glanced over at his _‘date’_ in her gaudy dress, wishing more than ever that he was back home with his cat on his lap as he watched some old movie on television.

            As he looked around the ballroom, he thought of Jessica looking gorgeous and elegant in her beautiful green gown, almost like she was taunting him.  The thought of her being with Gerald after the wedding was enough to make the agent lose his appetite for barbecue.  However, there was nothing he could do about it now except to acknowledge the regret he felt over what he’d lost.

            Finally, the wedding planner called for everyone’s attention.  “Ladies and gentlemen, it seems the storm has passed.  If you’ll take your seats, we’re about to begin the ceremony.”

            “Thank God!”, Aubrey muttered under his breath.  “The sooner Daisy is married, the sooner I can go home.”  Turning toward Karen, he sighed.  “You ready?  Let’s go.”

             Disappointed in the fact that Aubrey still insisted on defending Jessica, a subdued Karen nodded as she followed him to their seats.  It seemed she still had some work to do to make him forget his former girlfriend, but she was up for the task.  She was determined to make him forget all about that nasty little squint before the evening was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are Jessica's bridesmaid dress and Daisy's wedding dress.


	5. Misunderstandings and Misery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just like the title says, there will be misunderstandings galore. However, don't lose hope just yet. Keep on reading. Remember, sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.
> 
> A/N: For those who don't know the song "Turn Down For What", look it up on the forbidden site under The Slow Cheese. It's set to Spongebob Squarepants and is hilarious.

          Three hours later, the reception was in full swing in the beautifully decorated main ballroom of the Pixler estate. Then it came time for the speeches, with Beau’s brother standing up first to speak as best man.  Of course, his speech ran too short and then it was Jessica’s turn.  Standing up, the redhead took a deep breath and spoke the speech she memorized.

          “What can I say about Daisy?”, Jessica began.  “For those who don’t know, we met when I came to the Jeffersonian back in 2014.  On my first day, I went on a date with her ex-fiancé.”

          There were laughs in the room as Jessica continued.  “Obviously, Sweets and I weren’t meant to be together.  He got back with Daisy and they had a beautiful son.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          At the Jeffersonian table, Karen scoffed.  “Of course she doesn’t mention that Lance Sweets knocked Daisy up as he and Jessica started dating.”

          Aubrey saw the looks everyone was giving them, so he turned to the woman next to him, whispering furiously.  “Obviously Beau’s family doesn’t need to know that part of the story, okay, Karen?”

          “My apologies.”, the profiler whispered to the table, which consisted of Booth, Brennan, Angela, Hodgins, Cam, Arastoo, Clark, and his date.  However, she was annoyed as they only responded with dirty looks before turning back to Jessica’s speech.  As she turned to Aubrey, she was frustrated even more to see the sheer adoration in his eyes as he watched his ex-girlfriend speak.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          “Love is fun…passionate…scary…infuriating…but it’s also the best thing in the world, especially with your best friend.”  Jessica couldn’t take her eyes off Aubrey as she continued to speak.  “If you ever have that, you hang on tight.  Daisy and Beau will do that…together.  Congratulations, you two.  May you live a long, happy life together.”

          As everyone toasted the couple, Jessica sat down and took a breath to steady herself.  Feeling an arm around her, she turned to her right into the bright white smile of Gerald Maxwell.

          “Would you like a drink, Jessica?”

          “Yes.”, the anthropologist said.  “A shot of Jameson, please.”

          “You got it, Sugar.”, Gerald said.  As he got up, she stopped him.

          “Make it two, please.”

           _‘Yes!  Easy lay tonight.’_  The antiquities intern thought to himself. “No problem.”

           As the dance floor was opened after the traditional first dance of the married couple, Jessica looked in her bag for a small mirror, hoping her eyes weren’t red.  Suddenly, she heard a voice next to her.

          “Jess, that was a…really good speech you made.  It was very beautiful.”

          Turning, she saw Aubrey standing next to her, with his hand on the back of her chair.  She took a deep breath to control her emotions.  “Thank you, Aubrey.  I meant every word.”

          The agent felt a little emotional as well.  “Maybe later on we can talk...about things.  I mean—“

           "There you are, Aubrey.  Let’s go dance.  This is one of my favorite songs.”

          The estranged couple turned to see Karen moving her hips along to the music of DJ Snake & Lil Jon _‘Turn Down for What.’_ As she continued with twist her body as she _‘danced’_ , Aubrey shook his head.

“Sorry, Karen, I don’t dance to this…shit.”

          The profiler had noticed the slight thawing of the ice between the couple and was determined to freeze it back.  Reluctantly, she stopped dancing.  “Well, then let’s get drinks.  Come on.”

          It was then that Gerald returned with four shots of Jameson’s.  “Here you go, Jessica.  Two for me and two for you.”

          “Thank you.”

          “Come on, Aubrey.”, Karen said as she pulled the lanky man with her.

          Seeing her ex-boyfriend with Karen reminded Jessica once again what she’d lost.  In rapid succession, she tipped back both shots and turned to her date.  “Thanks.  I needed that.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Later on, Aubrey was finishing a beer when the song changed to Spandau Ballet’s _‘True’_ , Karen grabbed her date’s arm.  “Come on, Aubrey.  We’re dancing.”

          “Sure, why not?”, the agent said as he put down the beer bottle.

          The two walked to the dance floor and Aubrey held his dance partner at arm’s length as they danced to a song he and Jessica had made fun of more than once.  Turning, he saw his ex dancing with Gerald.  A few seconds later, he saw the intern’s hand move down by the redhead’s posterior, making steam come out of his ears.

          Jessica danced with Gerald but her heart wasn’t in it.  First of all, she hated the song.  More than once, she and Aubrey had mocked it together.  Then she spotted her former boyfriend and his date on the dance floor and her heart sunk.  The last time she and Aubrey had danced together was at Cam and Arastoo’s wedding and he was already buzzed, but he seemed to be making an effort to stay sober this evening.  

_He probably doesn’t want the alcohol to affect his love machine tonight…_

         Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand on her ass.  Immediately, she moved her hand and bent his fingers back hard, a move her brother Aaron showed her years ago.

          “Ow…what the fuck…”  Wincing in pain, Gerald flexed his injured fingers as he glared at Jessica.  “That hurt!”

          “Keep your hands off my ass, Gerald.  Maybe some women like being groped on the dance floor, but I’m not one of them.”

          Aubrey saw what Jessica did and chuckled while Karen scowled.

* * *

          Ninety minutes later, Jessica and Andie were talking to Brennan, Cam, and Angela when there was an announcement being made.

          “It’s time for the bride to throw her bouquet…”

          “Come on, Jessica.”, Andie said.

          “No…no…not again.”, the redhead said.  “Obviously,  bridal bouquets and I don’t get along.  You go, Andie.”

          “Fine.”, Andie said before she looked out toward the dance floor.  “Oh my God, is Karen hyped up on something?  She looks determined to get that bouquet.  She just might hurt someone who gets in her way.”

          “Then get it from her, Andie.”, Angela said.  “That twit has gotten on my last nerve tonight.”

          The oncology nurse walked out and joined the others, standing next to Karen.  She almost laughed as she saw her look like a rabid bull getting ready to charge a matador.  When the flowers were tossed, the profiler knocked several women over in a move that rivaled one of Beau’s NFL teammates.   Andie laughed as she saw where the bouquet landed.

           In Jessica’s arms…again.  

           Andie watched as the redhead stood in shock while Brennan and Angela smirked at the fact she caught a bouquet by accident a second time.  When she saw Wendell coming to help her, she put her hand up to let her boyfriend know she was all right.  When she stood and saw how pissed Karen was, she laughed even harder.   _‘Karma’s a bitch, Karen.”_

          Across the room, the guys went back to talking as Aubrey stood transfixed on a very flustered Jessica.  When the garter toss was announced, Booth, Wendell, Arastoo, and Clark pushed their reluctant friend onto the floor.

          “I don’t want to do this, guys.”, Aubrey groused.  “This is a stupid tradition, anyway…”

          “Sure you do.”, Clark said, grinning as he elbowed Wendell.  “You don’t have to lie to us.  We’re your friends.”

          “No, I don’t, because I’m not looking to get married, all right?”, Aubrey said, feeling defeated.  “I—“

          The agent was interrupted when the garter landed like a ring around his beer bottle.  Aubrey stood grinding his teeth for a second before turning to his friends, who were laughing at his discomfort.

          “Not funny, guys…”, Aubrey said, pulling the garter from the neck of the bottle as he walked back over to join them.

          Suddenly Karen appeared and gave her object of affection a knowing look. “Look at that, Aubrey.  You’re next to get married.”

          Turning to his right, he saw the shell shocked look on Jessica’s face as she stared at the bouquet she caught.  Not wanting to make things awkward for her and trying to quell the nausea from Karen’s last comment, Aubrey decided he had enough _‘fun’_ for a while.   

          “I need some air.”

          The profiler watched her date slam his beer bottle down before storming off to go out on the side porch.  Forming a plan, she smiled, biding her time.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          An hour later, Jessica was helping Hodgins and Angela put a few things in their car.  Booth and Brennan along with Cam and Arastoo had left about thirty minutes earlier.

          “Okay, Chica, I think we have everything here.”, Jessica said as she helped shut the trunk.  “So you guys heard Daisy and Beau aren’t leaving until Monday, right?”

          “Yeah.”, Angela said.  “Beau is third string for tomorrow’s game against Philadelphia.”

          “Yeah…I get the feeling that football will rule that household.”, Hodgins said.

          “Jessica, are you sure you don’t need a ride home?”, Angela said.

          “Yes, Gerald is taking me home.”, Jessica said.  Seeing the faces of the couple, she qualified her remark.  “Taking ME home, not taking US home.”

          “All right…if you’re sure.”, Angela said.  “Call Hodgins and me if you need us.”

          Jessica hugged the woman she considered her surrogate older sister.  “I will.”

          After they let go, Hodgins opened the  car door with his fob.  He pulled himself in the driver’s seat of the custom designed Toyota Prius they’d purchased recently for the entomologist so he could drive by himself.  He attempted to put the wheelchair in the back seat by himself but he struggled, finally giving up in frustration as he threw his hands in the air.  Angela came around and helped him put it in.  When she backed away, he pushed a button so the specially designed gull wing door closed.  

         “He’s still getting used to putting the chair in the back seat.  Another week and it’ll be nothing.”

         “With Hodgins, I totally believe it.”, Jessica said.

          After another hug, Angela got into the car.  After he started it up, they drove away.  Watching them leave, Jessica waved goodbye before going back inside to get the rest of Daisy’s stuff.  As she walked by, she caught the sight of Aubrey leaning back against a wall as Karen kissed him.  Feeling bile in her stomach, she felt the warm feelings she had for her ex earlier ice over again.

          She needed Gerald’s keys so she could load up the car and get out of there.  Looking around, she found her date…up at the bar putting down more shots of Jameson.

          “Gerald…what the hell?  You’re supposed to be my ride home!”

          The muscular man turned to the redhead.  “Well, my plans for tonight also included sex but that’s not happening since you’re such a damn prude.  So, I’m making my own fun.”

          “Well, give me your damn keys then so I can load the car and go home.”

          After her drunken date gave her the keys, she grabbed Daisy’s stuff from the bridal suite and walked out towards the circular driveway.  Unlocking the trunk of his red sports car, she threw everything in there.  Resolving to leave Gerald’s drunken ass there at the reception, Jessica opened the car door and groaned.

          “Son of a bitch!”

          “Jess, what’s wrong?”

          Turning around, she saw Aubrey standing there looking concerned.  She wasn’t sure if she felt more relieved or embarrassed.

          “My date is wasted and I want to go home.  Of course, Gerald drives a stick and I haven’t driven one since I was seventeen years old.”

          Aubrey wanted to be relieved, but he was angry at Gerald for putting Jessica in this position.  “I can take you home if you want.  Karen and I are ready to go…well, I am.”  He pointed to the packages in the sport car’s tiny trunk.  “Let’s just put this stuff in the back of the SUV…”

          Jessica was going to say no, unable to stomach being around the two in a confined space.  Then, she saw the woman in question sauntering over like a cat about to mark her territory.  Suddenly, she didn’t feel so sick anymore.

          “Yes, Aubrey.  Thank you.  It would be appreciated.”

          Aubrey didn’t see Karen’s eyes narrow, but Jessica did.  No matter how she felt about her ex-boyfriend, he was being the gentleman he always was.

* * *

         The ride was silent except for Karen’s chattering about the wedding.  Jessica saw Aubrey tighten his hand on the gear shift the longer the profiler talked, a sign he was getting irritated.  However, he chose her, so Karen was his problem now.

          In the driver’s seat, Aubrey was tuning out Karen’s annoying chatter as he glimpsed back at Jessica, who was staring out the window.  He recognized the sadness in her expression.  While he hoped it was because of missing him, it was obvious that it was because her new boyfriend was an asshole who’d gotten drunk even though he was supposed to be getting her home safely.

          But he couldn’t talk because he had gotten himself shitfaced at Cam and Arastoo’s wedding, embarrassing Jessica in the process.  What was it she had said?  She and Karen were afraid he was going to throw up in the cab, so they’d gone to the profiler’s apartment instead of taking him home.  So _I’m just as much of an asshole as Gerald, right?_  He’d messed up badly and now he had to live with it.

          Spotting Jessica’s building, he pulled into the parking lot of the Korean grocery store she lived above.  As he was putting the car into PARK, Jessica opened the door, desperate to get out.

          “Thanks for the ride, Aubrey.  Have a good one.”

          “Wait.”,  Aubrey said as he got out.  “I’ll walk you to your door.”

          “That’s not necessary—“

          “Yes it is, Jessica.”, Aubrey said as he stood next to her.

          He followed her up the steps and waited as she unlocked the door to enter the stairwell to her third floor apartment.  After they started up the stairs, he continued to think of Gerald taking his place and with each floor, he grew more infuriated.

          ‘ _Why the hell was I dumped for some rich asshole who groped her in public and then got trashed?  She deserves so much better than that.’_

While they did the short walk to her door, Jessica pulled her keys out of her purse.  Turning around, she couldn’t look him in the eye.

          “Thank you for the ride home, Aubrey.  I might have been stuck waiting for a cab for quite a while.”

           When the agent heard the overly polite tone, the dam finally broke. “Jess, what the fuck do you see in that steroid pumped, toothpaste ad Ken doll?  I can’t believe you dumped me for that piece of crap!”

            Fury rose up in Jessica as she took a deep breath to keep from punching Aubrey.  “Me?  What about you?  You pledged a long term commitment to me but you are now spending time with that clingy, annoying twit.”

           All of Aubrey’s insecurities came to a head and he couldn't stop the words. “You dumped me, Jessica!  I guess it happened because I wasn’t perfect enough for you, huh?  Guess if you are looking for something perfect without any brains behind it, Gerald is your man.  Must be a stud in bed—“

          Jessica snapped and smacked him across the face.  She could feel the tears in her eyes as she spoke.  “You have no right to lecture me on who I sleep with, especially with Miss Katy Perry wannabee in your car with that hideous dress.  Obviously you want someone who hangs on your every fucking word and thinks you’re just perfect.”

          Aubrey saw the tears in her eyes and realized he’d gone too far.  “Jess, I’m so—“  He reached out to embrace her.

          The redhead pushed his hand away.  “Get away from me, Aubrey.  Apparently what is good for the FBI agent isn’t good enough for the anthropologist.  You’re a hypocrite and I want you out of my life for good!”

          Quickly unlocking the door, she slammed it in Aubrey’s face.  Losing her composure, she cried as she slid down on the floor with her back to the door.

          Outside, Aubrey heard her crying and felt tears well up in his eyes as well.  What he’d said to her was uncalled for and unacceptable.  Any hopes he had of her getting back with him were now gone.

          He wanted more than anything to knock on the door and plead his case, but he’d blown it…and it was all his fault.  Losing her as a lover was bad enough, but it was obvious now that he lost her friendship and it devastated him more.

          Deciding to offer her the one gift he could give, he walked away quietly down the stairs and headed to his SUV.   When he opened the door, Karen was re-applying her make up.  Suddenly, the sight of her made him sick.

          “I bet Jessica was grateful for the ride home.  Too bad her boyfriend got drunk.  Definitely her type.”, Karen said as Aubrey started the motor and drove out of the parking lot.

          “Karen, I don’t want to talk about Jessica anymore.”, the agent said as he white knuckled the steering wheel.

          Karen misread Aubrey’s expression and decided to make her move.  “I bet you could use some company tonight.”  

           _‘I just want to forget for a while, but not with Karen.’_  Aubrey thought.  “Actually, no.  I think I need some time alone.”

          Undeterred, she continued.  “How about tomorrow we go to _Satay Sarinah_ for dinner?  I know you like pigeon heads and then we can go to a movie or take a walk…”

          Aubrey felt his stomach churn.  He would not go to _Satay Sarinah_ again…never.  He couldn’t...not after losing Jessica.  “No thanks, Karen.  I have things to work on tomorrow in my apartment.”

          “Maybe I can come over tomorrow and help you…”

          “No, Karen.  I’ve got it.  Thanks, but no thanks.”  Aubrey said while trying to avoid being an ass when he felt her suddenly groping his thigh.  “What the…”

          “I’m wearing hot pink panties under my dress, Aubrey.  I bought them just for you.  I would love to show them to you tonight…at your apartment…I could make us breakfast in the morning.”

          _‘Whoa…okay, too much information.’_ Aubrey thought.  ' _When Jessica would say things like that it was hot, but from Karen it’s just…creepy.’_

Suddenly, he felt her hand move inches away from his genitals but managed to grab it just as she was about to close in.  “Karen…stop!”

          “You need a woman who will give you what you need….like I can.  Let me help you forget that flighty redhead by being with a real woman tonight.”

          At his breaking point, Aubrey pulled the car into a parking lot and hit the brakes hard.  Turning to Karen, he let loose all of his pent up anger and frustration.

          “I’m not interested in a one night stand tonight, Karen…or any night.  I’m in love with Jessica and right now, she’s the only real woman I want to make love with.  I know you’re interested in being more than friends with me, but I’m not interested in you that way.  I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.  It was bad enough you ambushed me with a kiss out of nowhere at the reception, but now you’re crossing a line here.  I’m willing to forget all this ever happened, but don’t ever overstep again.  Do you hear me?”

           _‘That bitch got to him, but I can fix that.’_  Karen thought.  “Of course, Aubrey.”                 

          “Good.”, Aubrey said.  “We’ll be at your apartment in a few minutes.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Thirty minutes later, Aubrey walked into Founding Fathers and sidled up to the bar.  Seeing it was 11:30, he figured he had some time.  He just needed to forget for a while.

          “Aubrey, what can I get you?”, the bartender asked.

          “Double shot of whiskey, Mike.”

          Mike pulled out a bottle Jack Daniels and poured a glass.  Aubrey immediately tipped it back.  “Again.”

          “Almost out of Jack and the shipment doesn’t come until tomorrow.  All I have left is Jameson.”

          Aubrey thought of Jessica again.  His heart hurt and he needed the pain to stop.  “Works for me.”

* * *

          At midnight, Angela put her magazine when she heard the knock at her door.  Opening the door, her heart went out to the redhead with tear-stained cheeks and red eyes.

          “I’m sorry, Angela.  I didn’t mean to wake you, but I…”

          The artist merely pulled the young woman, wearing a Michigan State hoodie with a tank top and yoga pants, into the house.  Setting her down, she walked into the kitchen and brought out a fifth of whiskey and a glass.  Pouring a shot, she gave it to Jessica and watched as she tipped it back.

          “Do you want to talk about it?”

          Jessica nodded, then told her friend about what happened at the wedding and her argument with Aubrey.  “....and then I slapped him hard,” she sniffled,  “...and I told him I wanted him completely out of my life…but that’s not really what I want, Angela.  What am I going to do?.  What if I’ve ruined everything between us?  What if he hates me now?”

          “Oh, Sweetie, I’m so sorry…”  The more Angela listened, the more she wanted to wring Karen Delfs’ neck.  It was obvious from tonight that the FBI profiler was way more into Aubrey than he was into her. However, Jessica was in no condition to hear that now.

           “Hodgins, Michael Vincent, me, and the baby are all here for you, Jessica.  You’re part of our family…you know that.”

          “C-can I stay here tonight?”

          “You know you’re welcome anytime, Jessica.”  Angela said.

           Giving the redhead a chance to compose herself, the artist grabbed the glass and liquor and put it back in the kitchen.  Returning, she sat with her another few minutes until she stopped crying.  After giving her another hug, Angela walked her upstairs to one of the guest rooms.  

          “Here’s your room, Sweetie.”

          “I’ll call a cab in the morning.”, Jessica said as she crawled under the covers.

          “No, you won’t.  You’re having breakfast with Hodgins and Michael Vincent.  You’re also going to help Brennan and me assist Daisy with organizing her gifts.”

          Jessica groaned.  “I left her stuff in Aubrey’s trunk.”

          “I’ll take care of it tomorrow.  Now, get some sleep, okay?”  Angela said.

          “Okay.”  Jessica said before turning over.

          Shutting the door, the artist walked back to the room she shared with her husband and got into bed.  

         “How is she, Angie?”

          “Devastated.”

          Hodgins listened as Angela told him about what happened with Jessica and Aubrey earlier.  He groaned, but said something else.

         “Doctor B said she saw Karen talking to Jessica at the lab Friday.”

          Angela growled.  “I’m going to kick Karen Delfs’ ass, Hodgins, when I’m no longer pregnant.  That bitch is messing with Aubrey and Jessica and I don’t like it.  I’m--”       

          Hodgins stopped his wife’s diatribe with a kiss.  “Angie…as King of the Lab, I will consider it an honor to take care of it if she shows up again.”

          Angela kissed her husband again.  “Our hero…”

* * *

         Around 1:00 AM, Booth walked into Founding Fathers and instantly found what he was looking for.  Walking up to the bar, he saw an inebriated Aubrey ask for another shot.

          “Aubrey, you’re done for the evening.”, Booth said.  “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

          “Don’t want...to go...home, Booth.”, the lanky man slurred.  “I want another shot.”

          “No, I’m driving you back to your apartment.”

          Booth pulled Aubrey off the stool and almost fell from his dead weight.  Booth pulled his arm over his shoulder and walked them out.  “Thanks for calling, Mike.”

          “Have a good one, Booth.”

          Booth had Aubrey about halfway to his SUV when the younger man vomited on the sidewalk.  Shaking his head, he pulled his former partner to the passenger side and stood him up.  “Do you have to puke again?”

          “I…..I….don’t….think…so.”

          Booth made a decision.  “Forget your apartment.  You’re coming back to my house so I can make sure you don’t drown in your own puke.  Hopefully, you fed your cat before the wedding.”

         Aubrey gave Booth a drunken grin.  “Always…Skinner is my sweet widdle kitty cat and I wuvs him so much...I wuv my good kitty to pieces....”

        “Right…whatever you say, Buddy.” Booth said while opening the car door. “Okay, here we go.”

         As he got the man into his passenger seat and buckled him in, he heard it.

         “I love my Jessie, too….I miss Jessie’s pretty red hair...her pretty green eyes...God, I just love her so much, you know?  What am I gonna do, Booth?  I miss her so much...and now she hates me because I’m such a fuck up...”

         Shaking his head, Booth got into his side, got situated, and started the vehicle before pulling out into the street.

         “If you puke in here Aubrey, I’m going to kick your ass.”


	6. A Hard Lesson Learned Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay folks...it's the day after Daisy's wedding. What does Aubrey do now? How does Booth come into play? Read and find out.

          Aubrey heard a drum blasting in his head and he groaned, hoping it would stop.  Then the pleasant blackness was overtaken by a bright light.  He tried blocking it out with a pillow to no avail and he slowly became conscious.  When he opened his eyes, he looked around and groaned again as he recognized Booth and Brennan’s guest room.  

         “This can’t be good…”

          Turning his head, he saw the trash can beside the bed and remembered drinking copious amounts of whiskey the night before.  There was a faint memory of his shoes being pulled off his feet and what sounded like Booth saying, _“Don’t puke in my bed.”_

          Startled when he heard the front door slam hard, Aubrey looked at his phone, where 11:15 glowed large on his screen.  He realized that Booth was home from Mass…and possibly getting ready to kick his ass because he’d had to come get him from the bar late last night...no, make that early this morning.

           _‘Man...I’m in deep shit now.’,_ he thought, cringing at the thought of what would probably happen next.   _‘Time to face the music.’_

           Slowly, he got out of bed and shuffled out towards the living room.  In the kitchen, he saw Booth with his back to him, making coffee.  When he turned around, Aubrey realized that his friend looked exhausted.

           “Good morning, Aubrey.  Must be nice to sleep past 11:00.”, Booth said before pointing to the center island, where a bottle of water sat.  “There’s some aspirin for you.  I’m making a pot of coffee so you can get your bearings, and then we’re going to have a little chat.”

           The younger man’s head bent down.  “Shit.”, he said in a low tone before walking over to the counter.  Hoping to delay the inevitable, Aubrey changed the subject.

           “Where’s Doctor B and the kids?”

           “Hank and Christine are next door and Bones is out of town.”  Booth said before taking a breath.  “Russ called us about 4:00 this morning.  They had to take Hayley to Duke University Hospital.”

           “That’s your niece, right?”, Aubrey asked.  “The one with cystic fibrosis?”

           “Yeah.”  Booth nodded as he poured two cups of coffee.  He brought one to Aubrey with a shaker of cinnamon.  “She’s developed pneumonia and whatever antibiotic they gave her by IV is giving her issues with her kidneys.  She’s getting another antibiotic now to see if that can be used.”

           “How old is she?”

           “Fifteen.”, Booth said.  “Bones went down to help with Emma while Russ and Amy are camping out at the hospital.  She also called a specialist friend of hers that is at Duke right now with Hayley.”

           “Sorry, Booth.”, Aubrey said.

           “Thank you, Aubrey.”, Booth said.  “Now finish your coffee.”

           For the next ten minutes, Aubrey nursed his coffee. By the time he finished his cup, he graduated from praying for death to feeling like hammered shit.  He got up and moved slowly towards the coffee machine.  As he poured another cup of the sweet nectar of life, he saw Booth watching him intently.

           “Booth, stop staring at me.  It’s creepy.”

           “No problem.”, the other man said.  “Now sit down.”

           Aubrey knew better than to fight with his ride home so he sat down and faced to his friend.  “I’m ready.”

          Booth leaned against the sink and crossed his arms as he glared at his friend, just like he did when he wanted to make a suspect squirm.  “I was not happy to get a phone call from Mike at 12:30 in the morning saying that a fellow Special Agent in Charge was wasted at his bar.”

           It was the first time Aubrey had an inkling of what a suspect felt like in a Booth interrogation.  “I…had a bad night.”

           “Oh, I remember Karen annoying the hell out of you...and all of us at the wedding, but that’s not why you got yourself so drunk you couldn’t even walk.  What really happened, Aubrey?”, Booth asked before he made a realization.  “Jessica...something happened with her, didn’t it?”

           Taking a breath, the agent told Booth about Karen kissing him, taking Jessica home, and Gerald’s presence.  He hesitated, but then told him about the fight they’d had.

           “She slapped you?  Jessica?”, Booth said.  “Jesus...I guess you must’ve really fucked up good.”

           “Yes…I did, and I deserved what I got. I practically called her a whore and I was an asshole.”  Aubrey moaned before putting his head in his arms.  “My life is a big clusterfuck right now and I can’t figure out why.”

           Booth stared in disbelief.  “Really?”  

           “Yes, really Booth.”, Aubrey said.  “Professionally, I’m now the SAC of the Major Crimes division, one of the youngest in FBI history.  I’m going places, and I know I should be happy, but my love life sucks.”

          Booth took a drink of his coffee and decided to poke the dragon.  “It can’t be that bad since you have Karen now.”

           “I have Karen?”, Aubrey asked, staring at his friend in surprise.  “What are you talking out, Booth?”

           “Karen…your very annoying girlfriend?  You remember...tall, big glasses, never knows when to shut her mouth...”

           Aubrey’s eyes got large.  “She’s not my girlfriend, Booth.”

           He hated to lower the boom, but the older man knew it had to be done.  “That’s not what the scuttlebutt around the office is saying….”

           It took a second for Booth’s words to sink in.  “W-what?  What are you talking about?”, Aubrey stammered.

           “You really don’t know, do you?”, Booth said.  When Aubrey answered in the negative, he continued.  “Apparently you’re carrying on a hot affair with Karen Delfs almost every day in your office at lunch.  Really like those redheads, don’t you?”

           “Why do people keep saying that?”, Aubrey said, obviously irritated.  “Karen and I aren’t having any kind of affair, Booth.  I went out to dinner with her twice as friends because I needed someone to talk to about Jessica and we hung out a few times to talk.  I figured since she and Jessica were friends, maybe she could help me get her back.  I’ve never been interested in Karen in that way…ever.  She’s nice, but really irritating after a while.”

           “Well, she visits your office almost every day…”

           “Because she has made it her mission to _‘console’_ me.”

           “So, you’re figured out finally that she’s interested in you as more than a friend?”, Booth asked quietly.  “If you are not into her that way, tell her, Aubrey.”

           “I did, last night after the wedding when she tried grabbing my junk and told me about her pink panties.  I think she was trying to turn me on so I would invite her home with me for sex.  A hook up with Karen? I would rather eat soy cheese.”

             “What else is going on, Aubrey?”, Booth asked.  “Angela said you and Jessica had a bit of a…discussion in her office last week, too.”

          The younger man took a drink of his coffee.  “She overheard me telling Angela that I was going to the wedding with Karen and it upset her.  I tried to tell her it wasn’t a date but she got on her high horse about how quickly I moved on from her, how I was full of it when I said I loved her and wanted a commitment, but moved right on to Karen, who thinks I’m perfect.”

           Booth nodded as Aubrey continued.  “Where does she get off getting all high and mighty?  She dumped me, remember?  She said we had no future together…not in LA and not in DC.  At the Vacchio crime scene, she completely froze me out.  Of course, it’s probably because Gerald Maxwell’s her new boyfriend.”

           “He wasn’t just her date for the wedding?  Did she tell you that they’re now together?”,  Booth asked.  He was really surprised.  From what Bones had said last night, Jessica hadn’t gone on any dates since she broke up with Aubrey.  

           “No.”, Aubrey said, his voice cracking.  “She didn’t have to.  Why else would she ignore me at the crime scene like that?  She wouldn’t even…look at me, Booth.  She just acted like I was just a bee buzzing by her head.  If it wasn’t for the fact Gerald got shitfaced at the reception, he would have taken her home and spent the night.”

           “Why did you go to the wedding with Karen, Aubrey?  Hell, why did you even go?”,  Booth asked.  “You were dead set against going when I asked if you wanted to come with Bones and me, saying you had better things to do.”

          Aubrey began to squirm.  “Because the Pixlers were having barbecue at the reception, obviously.”

          Booth took a drink and pressed further.  “Is that the only reason, Aubrey?”

          The younger man tried avoiding Booth’s eyes, but they dogged him.  “Karen thought it would be a good idea to show Jessica I’m moving on, so she suggested we go together.”

           _‘This just keeps getting better.’_ Booth thought to himself.  “Wait, you didn’t ask her to be your date?”

           “No, Booth.”, Aubrey said.  “I didn't want to go at all, but...I needed to see this guy Jessica decided was better for her than me.  Out of all the guys, she chose that conceited, one night stand butthole.  God, he was such a pig.”

           “You went to a wedding with someone you can barely tolerate just to see the supposed new boyfriend of your ex-girlfriend that you’d never heard about by name until you got there?”,  Booth asked, dumbfounded at his friend.  “When you got there, did you ask Jessica if she was seeing him or did she come out and tell you they were an item?”

           Aubrey grabbed a nearby napkin that he started to wring before ripping it into little pieces.  “No, because Gerald kept...touching her...looking at her like a piece of meat...trying to grope her in public.   Ugh….what does she see in that veneer clad, fake tan, asshat piece of shit, anyway?  Besides, Karen was always close at my heels, so it’s not like I actually had a minute to even talk to Jessica about anything important.”

           “Was Jessica being close with Gerald, or was it all on his end?”, Booth asked, incredulous that his friend was such an idiot.  “Did it look to you like she was enjoying what he was doing?”

           “No, but it wasn’t like I was watching her all night.”

           “Bullshit, Aubrey.”,  Booth said.  “You were watching her all night just like she was watching you when she thought no one was looking.”

           Aubrey felt a flutter in his stomach, but pushed it away.  “Did not.  I had a date, you know.”

          “Believe me, Aubrey, we know.  Karen stalked you all night like a cat watching a mouse hole.  My God, did she even let you take a shit by yourself?”

          “Booth!”,  Aubrey said.  “Karen and I aren’t like that.”

           “So, you’ve said.”  Booth replied.  “When did you start going to Karen for advice about Jessica?”

           “I don’t know.  I didn’t really come right out and ask Karen for advice, you know?  But I was kind of worried about where Jessica and I were going in our relationship, because right before Jessica left for the University of Edinburgh...I tried telling her how I felt but when I said I was serious about her, she froze.  Of course, then she was offered that last minute spot in that bone calcification class and accepted it without even asking if I minded her being gone for three weeks. Not that I would have told her not to go, but it would have been nice to have my opinion be considered.  I’m just glad I had you guys and Karen to talk to while she was gone.  So while Karen and I were working a case together, she asked how things were going between Jessica and me, and since I thought they were friends, I asked her if I’d done the right thing, and she said yes.  Then, when Karen brought me chicken after Jessica dumped me, we talked some more...”

           “Wait, didn’t you and Jessica talk to each other almost every day while she was over there?”  Booth asked.  “I remember more than once you in your office talking to her before going home because Scotland is five hours ahead of us.  You even got up at the butt crack of dawn a few times.”

           “Yeah, but Jess and I couldn’t talk too long because she had class.”

            Patiently, Booth continued his line of questioning.  “Did you call Jessica when your dad was arrested?”

           Aubrey took a breath.  “Yeah.  She apologized for not being here but when she offered to get on a plane home I told her not to.  I promised her I was fine because I had you guys if I needed anything.  We ended up talking until like 2:00 in the morning before she had to go to her class.”

          Nodding, Booth continued.   “Did you two talk about your dad after she got home?”

           “Yeah.  She kept forcing the issue even when told her I didn’t want her involved in all that crap.  When I would reassure her that I wasn’t my dad, she got offended.  I mean, what was so wrong with that?”

           “Did you ask her about it?”, Booth asked.  “Maybe there was a reason she was upset when you would do that.”

           “No, because...well...after a while it didn’t matter, Booth.  Things were going well, but then that promotion to LA came up.  Yeah, Doctor B accidentally told her before I could, but when we talked later, she seemed okay with it.”

           “She found out about it from Bones, ripped you a new one six ways from Sunday, but later after you talked...Jessica was _‘okay with it’_?”   

           “Yeah.”,  The younger man said before taking a drink of his coffee.  “I didn’t talk to her right away about moving with me, but I thought it was implied.  It was a little quick and…I wasn’t ready to live together but I thought we could still date in LA.  Eventually, we would probably get to living together and maybe more down the road.  I didn’t want to ask her to move to California with me at the crime scene, but Hodgins and Karen pushed me into it and it needed to be done.”

           Booth made a realization.  “I know we talked about you and Jessica going west.  I’m also remembering that you talked to Caroline, Karen, and Hodgins before Jessica caught the bouquet at Cam’s wedding.”  

             “Yeah…”, Aubrey said.  “What’s your point?”

            “My point is that you talked to four people about asking Jessica to move with you before you discussed it with her...the person it would affect the most.”  Booth put his cup down and looked Aubrey in the eye.  “Did it occur to you that your squintern might have been extremely hurt that you talked to everyone else but her, Aubrey?”

             “I needed advice, Booth.  I didn’t know what to do.”

             “I told you to talk to Jessica right away before making any decisions.  Why did you feel the need to not follow my advice?”

             “I…”,  Aubrey responded slowly, unable to come up with a good answer.  “Shit…”

             “Exactly.”  Booth saw Aubrey’s hesitation and decided he had a question that he needed answered.  “I’m going to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me.”

           The younger man couldn’t look his friend in the eye.  “All right.”

           “Before Jessica broke up with you, if she said she couldn’t come to LA…would you have stayed?”

           Aubrey didn’t hesitate.  “Yes.”

           “Even though you didn’t know there would be a promotion for you here at the DC field office?”

           “Yeah.”

           “Does she know that, Aubrey?”, Booth said.  “Have you told her that?”

           Aubrey shook his head.  “It doesn’t matter now.”

          “How do you know that?”, Booth said.  “You should tell her, Aubrey.”

           “And risk her telling me that I’m too late because she’s all into Asshole Maxwell now?  She’s moved on and I need to also.”

           Booth looked at his friend and decided he needed to know some hard truths.  “James Aubrey, grow the fuck up.”

           Shocked, Aubrey’s eyes bulged.  “Excuse me?  I’m the one with the broken heart here.”

           “Yeah, you are…because you’re being a dumbass.”

           “I’m not a dumbass, Booth.”

           Booth finished his coffee.  “You’re right.  You’re a bratty, immature dumbass!”

           “Bite me, Booth.”,  Aubrey said, pushing away from the counter.  “I don’t have to listen to this.”

          To the younger man’s surprise, Booth gripped him and held his arm to the counter.  “Yeah, you do, Aubrey.  Either you sit and listen to what I have to say or I’ll drop you off halfway to your apartment and you can walk the rest of the way home and find another way to get your government issued SUV.  Your choice.”

          Aubrey knew that Booth wasn’t bluffing.  Taking a deep breath, he sat back down.  “Go ahead, Booth.”

           “It seems to me you’re sad about the break up, but you’re also pissed off at her…maybe even trying to punish her.”

           Aubrey shook his head.  “No!  I would never do that to her, Booth.  I love her—“

           Booth didn’t let up.   “Then why are you throwing Karen in her face?”

           The younger man continued to be in denial.  “I’m not doing that.  I went with her to a wedding—“

           “Where Jessica just happened to be the maid of honor...where she would see you with another woman.  Not just any woman, but one that she knew has been pursuing you for months.”,  Booth said while tapping his finger on the island to make his points.  “Now, when did you find out she actually had a date?  Not when you thought, but when you…actually…knew.  Think carefully about your answer.”

          As he considered Booth’s question, Aubrey came to a realization.  “When I saw him at the wedding.”

           “I see.”,  Booth said.  “Now, you said Jessica overheard a conversation you had with Angela saying that you and Karen were hanging out, doing stuff, but not dating, right?”

           “Yeah, Jessica overheard it and got on her high horse.”

           “Got on her high horse.”, Booth said with a nod.  “Tell me, what did you and Jessica do before making things official?”

           “We used to go out most Fridays after work to Founding Fathers, hang out, have dinner…”,  Aubrey said before trailing off.  “...but I tried telling her it wasn’t like it was with Karen and me, and that I was still in love with her, but she got all pissed off.  She threw the things I said to her, like wanting a long term commitment, back in my face and yelled about how I moved on so quickly.”

             “So you responded how?”

             “I told her that she had no right to judge me and that I had the right to do what I wanted since she was the one that broke up with me...which I didn’t want.  Then I tried to apologize and get her to listen to me so we could get back together but she didn’t want to hear any of it.”

             “So Jessica blew you off after hearing all this and didn’t swoon over you.  What a shocker.”, Booth said sarcastically.  “What else did you do, Aubrey?  Don’t lie to me.”

             Aubrey developed a large knot in his stomach as he thought about those first few weeks after the breakup.  “I may...have...told her...right after we broke up that Karen had brought me a few meals just to let her know I’m a catch, but she has no right to be mad because she dumped me!  Now Karen’s thinking we’re a couple and we’re so not.  Why couldn’t Jessica just listen to me when I tried talking to her?  We could be together and happy now instead of both of us being miserable.”

             Booth knew he needed to be blunt.  “I see what’s going on now, Aubrey.  You stoked some jealousy in Jessica because you were angry and hurt that she broke up with you.  You went to Karen for advice because you wanted your squintern back.”

             “Yeah, I’m in love with her and I was desperate--”

             “But...instead of going to Angela, Daisy, Andie, or even Bones for advice, you went to someone that obviously had feelings for you other than friendship...someone who just happened to spend some time with your now ex-girlfriend.  Instead of just a dinner or one sit down, you went to multiple dinners together...alone.”

             “I didn’t want my business all over the FBI.  I don’t understand--”

             “You used Karen, Aubrey.”, Booth said bluntly.  “You don’t have any romantic feelings for her, but Karen’s interest in you flattered you.  Yes, you wanted Jessica, but you were hurt and alone, so you enjoyed another woman’s attention and interest while getting what you wanted.  However, you didn’t consider the consequences of your actions because you were so caught up in _‘me, me, me’._  Now, your little ego boost and childish antics have blown up in your face because Karen seems to think there’s more between you two…as does Jessica.”  

             “You make it sound—“

              Booth felt like he was talking to Parker instead of a man in his early thirties.  “You’re not in junior high anymore, Aubrey.  You’re an adult who should have outgrown this stupid shit by now.”

             “But Booth--”

              “You were right in your argument with Jessica that you had the right to date anyone you wanted and that what you did shouldn’t matter to her anymore.  But as much as you love her, you wanted her to hurt like you were hurting, and you succeeded, beautifully.  Congratulations. You’re officially an asshole.”

              “I didn’t--”

              “What...you didn’t know that Jessica had been hurt?  Then she finds out that her ex-boyfriend, whom it's obvious to everyone she still loves, is taking someone who is supposed to be her friend to a wedding where everyone will see them together?”

               “But Booth--”

              “Also, here’s a news flash for you, Dumbass.  Jessica doesn’t have a boyfriend nor has she gone on any dates since you two broke up.  Bones said a couple guys from work have asked her out since the breakup, but she’s turned them down.  She and Angela also told me that she didn’t have a date for the wedding until she found out YOU had one...with the one person who always had her eye on you before and during your relationship.”

          Surprised, Aubrey became dumbfounded.  “But—“

          “Oh, and Daisy let me know at the wedding that Karen wasn’t invited.  She manipulated you into inviting her, probably to rub Jessica’s nose into the relationship rumor that you unknowingly encouraged.  You, being the idiot who assumed things, were easy pickings.”

           “I didn’t mean to—“

           “Almost forgot.  Bones also said that Karen has been bothering Jessica the last few weeks.  She ran into her and Daisy at the diner the day you two had that blow up in Angela’s office, showing off her dress and bragged about how much time you two spend together.  She topped that off with a phone call she said was from you calling her back on important FBI business.”

           “I didn’t talk to her at all that day—“

           Booth continued, knowing how important it was to make Aubrey see things as they really were.  “She came to the lab on Friday.  Bones doesn’t know what was said, but Jessica was very upset afterwards.”

          Aubrey felt his stomach drop.  “I…I…”

          “My opinion, that rumor about you two?  Not only is Karen visiting you because she’s interested and knows it will start gossip, I think she started it.  You want to know how I heard about it?”

           Aubrey took a deep breath.  “Hit me.”

           “At the Vacchio crime scene.  I overheard Agents Keller and Westbrook talking about it…quite vocally with a couple of other agents.  Let’s just say they were really blunt about how they think you spend your time with Karen during lunch, and it doesn’t involve food. It wouldn’t surprise me if Jessica overheard them, too.  Hodgins said when she saw you working the scene she smiled and kept peeking at you.  Then after she came back from getting equipment, her whole demeanor changed.  After you left, she was very quiet and obviously upset.”

           The younger man let Booth’s last words sink in before remembering that day.  She seemed pleasant from what he observed when he arrived, and he’d enjoyed checking her out when she wasn’t looking.  Then, after he got after the two agents for harassing her, she was surly and completely shut him out.

           Sitting back, he felt tears in his eyes as he finally hit him how bad things were.  Gulping, he looked to his friend.  “Booth…what do I do?”

           The older man set his cup down.  “First, own up to what you did.  Jessica fucked up, too but you were an asshole with both her and Karen.  If you had let it lie, you two may be back together now without all his drama...or at least rebuilding your friendship.  Karen should have known better but she did take advantage of you.  However, you did the same thing and you owe her an apology.”

             When Aubrey nodded, Booth continued.  “Which leads to my next point.  You didn’t mean to, but you led Karen on so you need to nip this Karen problem in the bud now.  Don’t be available for her to visit for lunch or be so willing to go to dinner with her.  Go to lunch with Bones and me or come over for dinner here sometimes.  You’re the SAC of Major Crimes and have more to do than have some profiler fawn all over you.  Hopefully, that will work.  If not, you’re going to have to be blunt with her, even to the point of hurting her feelings.

          “I told her last night I just wanted to be friends after she...you know.”

           “Good, Aubrey.  Good start.”, Booth said.  “Next, leave Jessica alone for a few days.  She needs some space, buddy, because I think she’s been bombarded enough of late.”

           Aubrey was shaking his head.  “But I need to apologize--”

          “Yeah, you do, but don’t do it at the lab or the FBI.  Maybe call her in a few days and ask her to meet you somewhere away from work.  If she won’t, write her a letter if you have to.  Just remember that when you do finally talk to her, don’t make excuses but be honest.  You fucked up good, Aubrey.  She’s not innocent of blame, but you have to take your share of it.  Not just for this weekend, but for your break up, too.”

          Booth finished his coffee.  “Finally, you need to do some long and hard soul searching.  A relationship takes two people, Aubrey.  I can’t see her not being ready to move with you to LA being the main reason for this break up.  Be honest with yourself, because in my opinion, neither of you two are ready for a real relationship.”

         “Why do you say that?”, Aubrey said.

           “Aubrey, when two people are in a relationship, they talk to each other before making big decisions that affect the other.  They communicate to each other when they feel something is off or are uncomfortable, not to everyone else.  Both of you swept things under the rug out of fear.  Why?  That, my friend, is what you need to figure out.”

             “Yeah…”,  Aubrey said with a nod.

             “When you do that, then think about what you want for your future with Jessica, whether it is professional, friendship, and/or being lovers again.  Yeah, you’re in love with Jessica and it’s obvious she’s still in love with you, but a real relationship takes work, Aubrey.  It’s not just great sex and doing nerd shit together.  It’s hard, occasionally painful, but the best thing in the world.  Anything easy is not worth much and I think you’re finding that out now.”

           The younger man traced his finger across the counter.  He had a question in mind, but debated on how to ask before deciding to go for it.  “Is that what you and Doctor B did after you two came back from Afghanistan and wherever she was all those years ago?”

           Booth wasn’t prepared for that question.  It was a time in his life he and his wife tried not to discuss because it only brought up old hurts.  However, his friend needed honesty and he would give it to him.

             “We...were both hurting.  Hannah was a lifeline when I needed it the most.  I was so determined to move on past Bones that I built this...dream around Hannah and worked my tail off to make things perfect.  Bones was...an intrusion into that perfection.”

             “Why?”, Aubrey asked.  “She was your best friend.”

            “Because Aubrey, she broke my heart and when I had found someone I could maybe build something with, Bones...made it messy and complicated.  Then, when she told me during the Lauren Eames case that she missed her chance...a part of me resented her.”

             The agent was confused.  “I would have thought you would be stoked.”

             “Back then, I wasn’t stoked.  I was angry that my attempt at moving on with my life was blown up in a few seconds.  Plus, I was involved with someone else and I wanted to honor that commitment and yes...I was angry at her for her timing.  However, it wasn’t until later that I realized that part of the issue was me.”

            “How?”, the younger man asked.

             “Because, Aubrey, the night I told her how I felt, I should have said I loved her and I would wait for her until she was ready.  Instead, I pushed and told her to take a damn chance on me.  I knew how Bones was about love, but I didn’t remember all that.  I had this vision that I needed to have marriage or nothing at all...that I needed the white picket fence...but I didn’t.  I really just needed her, but I was too stupid to figure that out.  So we just went along being friends and partners.”

              “That must have...been really difficult.”,  Aubrey said.  “But you two got together after Hannah left, right?”

              “Not exactly.”,  Booth said before crossing his arms.  He looked down for a minute as he chose his words before looking up.  “When Hannah left, I was so angry at the world...at love…the women I wanted to give myself to didn’t seem to want me.  The night Hannah turned down my proposal--”

               The younger man almost dropped his coffee cup.  “Holy shit, you proposed to her?”

               Booth answered by leaning in.  “Do you want to hear this story or not, Aubrey?”

               “Sorry…”, Aubrey said.  “H-how did you two work it out?”  

               “Hannah called Bones, and later that night she found me drunk at Founding Fathers, much like I found you last night.  I gave her the choice to stay and drink or leave and we were no longer partners.  Bones didn’t leave...just sat with me and drank shots.  After that, no matter what I was feeling, she was there, Aubrey.  She helped me get through Valentine’s Day and each day after that.  After a while, we started putting our friendship back together.  We hadn’t forgotten about our feelings for each other and we knew we needed to talk, but getting there…”

             Booth took a breath.  “One day, we got stuck in an elevator during a blizzard while bringing my stadium seats up to my apartment.  Sweets hounded us to talk about stuff, but when he brought up Hannah, I threw some frozen peas at him.  When he left, we talked a little bit, but we figured out who our killer was when the electricity came back on.  After arresting our suspect, I was given medication because I was exposed to some Conga virus--”

              “What?”, Aubrey asked.

             “Never mind.”, Booth said.  “Anyway, we went up to my apartment and had something to eat.  After we settled in, we finished our talk.  It was awkward, but we made a decision to work on our difficulties with the goal of someday being together.  We never stopped talking after that and we kept our lines of communication open, Aubrey.  By trusting in our friendship again, it helped guide us to where we got Christine, a life together, then Hank.”

             Aubrey thought how the world dropped out from under him that day in the interrogation room.  As he looked back he realized he was so caught up in his hurt about Jessica, he didn’t see how confiding in Karen and her presence had made things worse.  It shamed him as she realized Booth was right about his actions with Karen.  He knew how the other woman felt about him, but he didn’t care.  He just wanted his ex-girlfriend’s attention and was going to get it, no matter what.

             Maybe Booth was also right about Jessica.  Perhaps deep down, he was angry that the redhead broke through his defenses and left him behind.  All he wanted was for her to reconsider so the emptiness would be gone and instead it blew up in his face and alienated her.

           “Do you think Jess and I will get back together?”, Aubrey said as a tear fell.  “I love her so much it hurts and to think I hurt her that much kills me.”

           Booth crossed his arms.  “No guarantees…but I think if any two people can do it, it’s you two.  I just hope you two can work through your stuff so you don’t wait years to be together like Bones and I…or even Hodgins and Angela.  Most important, Aubrey…don’t rush her.  You tell her you will wait as long as it takes because it’s going to take time for both of you to move past all this, whether you get back together or just be friends again.”

           “Okay.”, the younger man said as he wiped his tears away.  Getting up, he rushed Booth with a bear hug.

          “Whoa….whoa.”, Booth said.  “Okay…Aubrey, enough hugging.”

           “Sorry.”, he said.  “Can I get a ride to Founding Fathers now to get my SUV?”

           “Sure.”, Booth said.  “I just have to run next door and let them know I’m leaving for a bit in case the kids need something.”

           “Wait, Booth?”, Aubrey said.  When the other man turned around, he spoke.  “Can we stop at the diner first?  I’m kind of hungry.”

* * *

           Ninety minutes later, Aubrey walked into his apartment with an invitation to dinner later with Booth and the kids.  He still felt like crap, but not as badly as this morning.  As he shut the door, Skinner greeted him with an accusing meow.

           “Hey buddy.  Sorry Daddy wasn’t home.  I got drunk because I was sad about your Aunt Jessica.  Let’s get you some food, shall we?”

           The agent fed his cat, who munched happily.  Realizing that he had some time, he decided to get his apartment to rights.  He put fresh towels in his bathroom, gathered up clothes and other items to do laundry, scooped out Skinner’s litter box, and cleaned out the fridge for trash collection the next day.

            When Aubrey went to strip his bed, he stopped.  Not yet.  He wasn’t ready.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          By 4:00, he had finished putting the last load of laundry away in his dresser and was ready to chill for a few before showering.  Going into his living room, he plopped down in the chair.  He felt a sense of accomplishment, something that hadn’t been around since the breakup.  He was hopeful for the future after his talk with Booth.

             Seeing he had a text message, he saw it was Angela asking him to drop off Daisy’s stuff at her house.  It burned for a moment that Jessica couldn’t ask him, but she needed some space and he couldn’t blame her.  Responding back, he let her know he could do it on his way to Booth and Doctor’s B’s for dinner.

               Putting his phone down, he looked up at his wall and his eyes got large.  Getting up, he moved over to be sure but there was no doubt.  

               All his pictures of him and Jessica were gone.

              Nothing else was missing, so what the hell was going on?  He searched his living room for several minutes before going into his spare bedroom.  Looking at his Star Wars lunch box and his Ewoks, he saw they had been moved and it hit him.

              Going back out, he looked into the living room closet and saw the wrapped blanket on the floor.  Picking it up, he recognized it as one of Jessica’s old ones.  He knew he should tell her she forgot it but he couldn’t part with it.  Feeling the weight, he carried them to the couch and unwrapped the blanket gingerly, where the photo of him and Jessica at Booth and Brennan’s backyard picnic they had the weekend in June revealed itself.

           They had so much fun that day and it spilled over as they made love the first time that night at Jessica’s apartment when he took her home…and twice more after that, including once that next morning.

           He knew it had to be Karen who’d tampered with them while he was getting dressed yesterday.  Who else would remove only Jessica’s pictures?  Holding back his fury, he hung them back up where they belonged and set the blanket on the couch.  Sitting down, he contemplated his next move.

          This was obviously done before he told her he wasn’t interested, so he would just make himself unavailable to her unless it was work related.  Perhaps that would clear things up.  If it didn’t, he would go further, but he hoped to avoid that.

           Making his decision, he walked back into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready to head over to the Booth-Brennan home for dinner.

* * *

            At 10:30 pm, Karen was in bed going over notes for profiles she needed to present to Charlie Burns in International Operations and for the joint case for Aubrey’s Major Crimes and Booth’s Homicide Divisions.  When satisfied, she put them aside and thought about Aubrey.

           He said he wanted to be friends, but he didn’t call her to yell about his missing pictures from the living room.  Surely, he noticed it by now while with his asshole feline.  When she and Aubrey made things official, the first thing to go would be that fucking cat.  She wouldn’t tolerate disrespect and the agent would get over it in time.  Cats were a dime a dozen.

           She knew she’d gone too far at the wedding.  In her eagerness to imprint herself in James Aubrey’s life, she overstepped by criticizing Jessica in front of him and his friends.  She knew that in time she could win them over.  All she needed to do was have patience and continue to keep the forensic anthropologist intern off kilter.

           However, her patience with the man was wearing thin.  She needed to find a way to speed the process along.  It was getting more difficult to keep that flighty redhead angry at her ex-boyfriend.  It was even more difficult to keep her hands off her Aubrey and that ass…

           She tried implanting a subtle wedge between the two during the summer after she returned from Kansas City.  It took all she had to tolerate the indifferent attitudes of Jessica’s friends.  She was a brilliant psychologist, though, and played up to what the redhead needed, which was another older sister.  However, nothing had worked so she decided to be Aubrey’s friend instead.  Once his father was arrested, she put her feelings aside to be there for him.  

           Even when Aubrey’s LA promotion came up, she played his friend, especially once she realized those two could self-destruct on their own with their neurosis.  Aubrey’s reaction at the wedding and his intoxication had helped her a great deal.  Being goaded into asking her to move with him at the crime scene was even better.

            Of course she helped him when he and Jessica broke up because he needed someone to talk to.  She cared enough to be honest with him when he asked her advice.

           Then, when they didn’t get back together within a couple of weeks, she knew she had a chance.  If they were so meant to be then they should have been a couple again by now.  In Karen’s view, Jessica had her chance and blew it.  Now, it was her turn.

            Karen wanted to be there for him in his time of need, but he seemed to be taking her for granted.  She pondered for a moment before coming up with a solution.  Maybe the problem was she was too available for him.   

             Yes, she needed to send him a message that she would not be ignored just because he was having second thoughts about their evolving relationship.  Aubrey needed to realize that the person he needed in his life...and in his bed, was not some flighty redhead but a woman whom would be more suitable for his future.  It was time she got something for herself and the Jessicas of the world could find another Star Wars geek of their own.  She wanted a prize that she could show off for a change.  

             James Aubrey would be hers...and only hers.

             Now, how to accomplish that?  She was thinking when her phone rang.  Seeing who it was, she picked up.

            “Hey, Jake.  What’s up?”, Karen said.  “No kidding…of course I can.  I have my profiles done for IO and the Vacchio case for Agents Aubrey and Booth.  I’ll email them tonight and leave my number for any questions.”

            The profiler jumped on a website.  “Yeah, I’m looking at flights now.  I’ll take the expense report to the Seattle office for the ticket.  Am I just taking Janis’ room at the hotel?”

            Karen listened as she picked her flight.  “Great.  Yes, I’ve got my ticket now to fly out at 9:30 AM.  I’ll just get a car at the field office…no problem, Jake.  I’m a team player, remember?  All right.  Tell Janis I hope her daughter is okay and I’ve got her back…no problem.  Good night.”

          Karen hung up and chuckled.  The perfect answer to her issue.  Since Aubrey thought women like her grew on trees, she’d just make herself unavailable because she was needed by the Seattle field office.  By the time she got home, he’d regret blowing off a chance at sex with her.

           Saving her profiles, she sent them to the agents along with an explanation of where she was going.  Remembering to leave contact information, she finished the emails and shut down her laptop.  Getting up, she grabbed her small suitcase and began packing.

           Aubrey would miss her and her sage advice so much that he’d be waiting desperately for her phone call.   Then, when she returned, she’d have him back.


	7. A Hard Lesson Learned Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So last week, Aubrey learned a hard lesson from Booth. Will Jessica have one of her own this week? Read and find out.

                  On Wednesday morning, Jessica Warren grumbled to herself as she walked up the steps to the lab platform, wishing that she hadn’t glanced at the calendar in her locker.  This coming Saturday had been circled several times with a red marker, and she’d even gone so far as to draw hearts around the number.

                  “So stupid...making a big deal out of a day of the week.”  

                   Drawing a shuddering sigh, she tried to convince herself that it was no big deal, but without much success.  She had been looking forward to going to the Star Wars Convention with James for months.  They’d decided what their costumes would be and had looked over the agenda carefully to choose which breakout sessions they’d wanted to attend.

                   Of course, that was before all Hell broke loose with Booth’s suggestion that he take a promotion and move to Los Angeles.  Now they were no longer a couple and her ex-boyfriend would probably want to share his love for the movies about a galaxy far, far away with Karen instead.  

                   Shaking her head as she pulled on her exam gloves, Jessica scolded herself as she prepared to assemble a random set of newly cleaned bones into a skeleton.   

  _‘I broke up with him because I thought it was the right thing to do, and now I have to deal with the consequences of that decision.  Our relationship wasn’t going anywhere, and I want something different from my life. I’m an adult, and I understand that it’s natural that he’d want to move on to someone new.  I can’t have it both ways…maybe I need to find someone new as well…’_

                  “Are you alright, Sweetie?”  Walking onto the platform, Angela smiled kindly at the young intern.  “You seem upset.  Anything you want to talk about?”

                 “Oh.  Hi, Angela.”  Pinching her lips together, Jessica quickly turned away from her friend and continued her work on the remains.  “I’m fine.  It’s nothing…”, she sniffled.  “I’ve just got something in my eye, that’s all.”  

                 “I know better than that, Jessica.”  Angela came over to stand next to her young friend.  “I think something else is bothering you.  You’re not still upset about Aubrey and Karen being at the wedding together, are you?  Because I know for a fact he did not enjoy spending time with her at the reception.  He was miserable, okay?  She was pretty obnoxious, and I think there were a couple of times when he was ready to choke her…”

                  “I’ve gotten over that whole wedding date thing.  Aubrey can date whoever he wants. I don’t care about that anymore.”  Jessica knew she was lying, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit the truth, not even to Angela.  “It’s just...this is so silly...we were supposed to go to a Star Wars convention together this weekend, and now we’re not a couple, and it makes me sad…we always had so much fun together when we went to things like that...we made plans months ago, and now...”

                  Angela nodded as she commiserated with Jessica.  “I understand.  Sometimes that’s the hardest part about breaking up...changing the long range plans you’ve made...lots of plans had to be changed, right?”  

                   Seeing Jessica quickly wipe away a tear, Angela continued softly.  “I guess you could go by yourself…or maybe you should call Aubrey and ask him about it.  I bet he’d be thrilled to go to the convention with you.  He probably doesn’t want to go by himself either.”

                   “Actually, I don’t think I’ll go at all.  It wouldn’t be much fun to go by myself, and I think it would be really awkward to call Aubrey and ask him to go with me, especially if he’s serious about Karen.”  Jessica tried to shrug off her tears as she ignored Angela’s irritated glare.   Sniffling again, she quickly turned back to the skeleton.  “I need to focus on my work right now anyway…”

                   “Okay, if you say so, Sweetie.  Personally, I think you’re making a big mistake when it comes to Aubrey.  I know he still loves you very much.  He couldn’t take his eyes off you at Daisy’s wedding.”

  _He still loves me, huh?_ Jessica thought as she examined a femur.   _If he’s still so in love with me, why hasn’t he tried calling me, or emailed me an apology for his shitty attitude after the wedding?  Why isn’t he trying to win me back?_

                    Obviously, it was because he’d found himself another quirky redheaded chick.

                    Hearing Jessica’s exasperated sigh, Angela nodded as she picked up her tablet.  “I guess I’ll go work on the facial reconstruction.”  Reaching over to pat Jessica’s hand, the artist tried to comfort her friend.  “You know, I think everything’s going to work out just fine.  You’ll see.  You and Aubrey belong together.”

                   “Thanks, but I’m not going to hold my breath when it comes to us getting back together.  Now, I really need to take these measurements.”  

                   When her friend walked away, Jessica began to closely examine the wound tracks on the bone.  Dr. Brennan had often commented that concentrating on her work had often helped her forget about things that bothered her.  However, it remained in her thoughts.

  _‘Maybe Angela is right and I should go to the convention by myself.  Why should I miss out on something I love just because I’m no longer with Aubrey?’_

                   It annoyed the intern that she couldn’t totally commit to that idea.  Deciding to put those thoughts aside for the time being, she sighed softly as she picked up a fibula to examine it under the microscope.  She was so intent on her task that she didn’t hear her visitor approach.

                  He finally cleared his throat loudly.  “Good morning, Jessica…”

                   Startled, she turned quickly toward the man’s voice.  “Oh….hi, Gerald.”  Trying to hide her disappointment, she adjusted the focus on the microscope and continued to study the bone.  “I’m really busy right now.”

                  “I know...but I wonder if we could talk for a few minutes.”  Gerald shifted from one foot to another nervously.  “Or, rather, maybe I could talk to you, if you don’t mind, that is.  Listen, I know I was a jerk at the wedding…”

                   Flipping her ponytail over her shoulder, Jessica gave him a cold glare as she turned from the microscope. “Yes, you were a real jerk.  I was so embarrassed by your crude behavior.  I mean, first you were pawing at me in front of everyone, then you got so drunk you couldn’t take me home like you’d said you would and I had to beg for a ride with someone else.  That’s not really the way to impress your date, is it?  Anyway, I have work to do, so...”  She removed the specimen from the stage, and replaced it with another bone.

                  “No, you’re right.  I know I made a bad impression, but I was nervous.  I mean, you’re really cute and I wanted to be smooth, you know? And then meeting your old boyfriend kind of put me on edge, and I just didn’t handle things well.”  

                  Obviously surprised, Jessica turned back toward Gerald. “How did you know he was my old boyfriend?”, she asked impatiently.

                   “I remembered seeing him on the news and I overheard a couple people talking about him...how you two were an item.”  Gerald managed to look suitably contrite as he continued.  “Anyway, I was wondering if I could have a second chance with you.”  

                   Seeing Jessica’s scowl, he held up his hands in surrender.  “I know I don’t deserve it, but maybe we could hang out together this weekend...that is, if you’re not busy.  You’ll see...I’m not really a bad guy…”  

                  “Really?”  The redhead replied as she crossed her arms.

                  Gerald responded by flashing a brilliant smile and going for the jugular.  “C’mon, Jessica...it’ll be fun.  You aren’t going to just sit around this weekend waiting for that idiot to call, are you?  I mean, I’m sorry to say this, but I think he’s really into that weird chick he was with at the wedding...”

                  She thought over Gerald’s invitation carefully, realizing that this might be the opportunity she needed to move on, especially if Aubrey was now interested in Karen.  

                 “Well...I was thinking about going to the Star Wars Convention at the Dulles Center this weekend...maybe you could meet me there about ten Saturday morning.”  She gave him a shrug and a small smile.  “A lot of people attend in costume, if you’re into that sort of thing…personally, I love cosplay.”

                 “Yeah, that sounds like fun.”  Gerald nodded enthusiastically.  “I’ve even got a costume to wear.  Okay, great.  10:00 on Saturday morning.  I’ll call you when I get there.”

                 “Okay.”  Jessica nodded toward the bones.  “I have to get back to work…”

                 “Yeah, I do, too.  Dr. Miller can be a pain in the ass if he thinks I’m slacking.  I’ll see you Saturday.”  

                 Waving at Jessica as he left the platform, Gerald smirked to himself as he walked back to the antiquities department.  Spending Saturday afternoon with a bunch of geeks wasn’t really his cup of tea, but it would be worth it if it got him into Jessica’s pants that evening.  He’d heard the rumors that she was a great lay and he couldn’t wait to find out for himself.

* * *

                  Thursday morning, Brennan returned to DC.  After a quick lunch with Booth, she returned to the lab to get caught up on things due to her unexpected absence.  Everyone was happy for her as she talked about Hayley’s dramatic improvement after her specialist friend switched her niece’s protocol with a new antibiotic.  

                 As her mentor was working in her office, Jessica was helping Hodgins set up a demonstration to determine the distance of the assailant to the victim.  Aubrey’s thoughts were if it was at close range, then the victim knew his killer.  The artist could do a demonstration on the Angelatron, but Hodgins had a better idea.

                “So, Curly, we’re using these silicone Spam blend heads to measure distance?”

                The entomologist wheeled his way over with the last dummy.  “Yes, Jessica.  The silicone spam simulates human tissue on the cheap.  Plus, it’s a lot more fun than a computer simulation.”

                “Cool.”

                Hodgins looked around.  “Crap, forgot the blank ammo.  Can you finish setting up the wall behind the targets while I get the ammo?”

                “Sure can, Curly.”, Jessica said.

                As the scientist wheeled away, Jessica worked on the final touches of stabilizing the wall.  She loved helping Curly with his experiments.  They both believed Aubrey’s theory was correct, but as Hodgins said a long time ago, _‘…these experiments are vital for confirming our data.  You can never be too thorough.’_

                 As she worked, she looked up and saw her ex enter Brennan’s office.  She felt a little wave of excitement but she pushed it down, trying to focus on the task at hand.  She assumed that when he was finished talking to Dr. B he would stop by and apologize for what happened Saturday.  Jessica smiled to herself. She wouldn’t let him off scot free but she knew he was a gentleman, and he didn’t mean the things he said.  

                When she finished setting things up, she turned around only to see her Aubrey leaving the lab, and she was furious.  He was an ass to her Saturday night and apparently he came by today to spy on her with some stupid excuse regarding the case.  Before her mind wandered further, Hodgins arrived back and the two arranged their weapons to get the correct angle.

                “Ready to shoot some Spam, Ms. Warren?”

                “More than ready, Curly.”, Jessica said as she aimed at her target with glee.

                 The self-proclaimed “King of the Lab” noted the redhead’s extreme enthusiasm for the targets and her impressive aim.  He realized she probably saw Aubrey talking to Brennan earlier and decided it was time to take the gun away.

                “Well, Jessica, the bullet entered the victim at a distance of no more than two feet.”

                 “So Vacchio knew his killer.”, Jessica said.  “I had a vibe that he had to know his assailant to allow the shooter to get so close.”

                 “I think your vibe is right, Jessica.  Now, I’ll clean this up and you call Aubrey with what we found.”

                 “Um….”, Jessica said.  “I can clean this up, Curly.”

                 “I got this.”, Hodgins said, knowing what the redhead was up to.  He felt for her but he had to be her boss at that moment.  “Please call Aubrey immediately...that’s not a request, Jessica.”

                 “Of course, Dr. Hodgins.”, the redhead replied, embarrassed at her chastisement.

                 “Thank you.”  Hodgins said before going to work on the mess left by their experiment.

                 Pulling off her gloves, she tossed them in the trash before washing her hands.  When done, she pulled out her phone.  Without thinking, she found him on speed dial and pushed his number.  Hearing it ring, she felt butterflies in her stomach.  When she heard his voice mail, she felt a mix of relief and regret.

                 “Aubrey, this is Jessica.  Curly and I did an experiment and figured out that Vacchio’s killer was no more than two feet away from him.  It was definitely someone that he knew.  Just wanted to let you know.”

                 The redhead hung up the phone.  Before she could put it in her pocket, she felt a buzz.  When she read the text message, she felt her blood begin to boil.

                  ** _Have hot d8 w Aubrey Sat nite.  Going 2 VS l8r.  What kind of panties does he like?  We’re so going 2 fuck._**

 Jessica let out a loud growl and she barely held herself back from throwing her phone.  Turning around, she saw Doctor B and Angela walking towards her.

                 “Ms. Warren, you seem stressed.”, the anthropologist said.  “However, I do need an update on your findings for the case.  How about we get a cup of coffee?  It’s a lovely day out.”

                 Embarrassed for her emotional outburst, she put her phone in her coat pocket.  “Sure.  Sounds good.”

* * *

                Twenty minutes later, Brennan and Angela were enjoying coffee while Jessica had her catnip tea in the courtyard.  The older women listened to the younger one vent her frustrations.

               “It’s bad enough she acts like she’s my friend, but now Aubrey’s dating her, although he denies it.  He also brought her to Daisy’s wedding but according to him it wasn’t really a date.  Then he got his boxers in a twist because I brought Gerald, accusing me of wanting him because he was perfect.  I mean, what the hell, right?”

                 The two women merely nodded.

                 “He says it’s not the same as it was with me.  Apparently he misses me so much and he still loves me, but he’s boffing Karen in his office almost every day.  It didn’t take him long to go back into circulation…”

                “Wow…”, Angela said.

                “Yeah…get this.”, Jessica said with a sniffle.  “He said if I wouldn’t jump to conclusions and actually listen to him, I would know that there’s no one else in his life and he would never hurt me like that, but he did.  He always shut me out in regards to his father and constantly reminded me that he wasn’t like the fucking douchebag, because apparently I’m shallow that way.  First he doesn't tell me himself that he may accept a promotion 3000 miles away, so instead I find out from my graduate advisor.  Then, he avoids me because he’s too much of a chicken shit to talk to me about it…”  

                 Brennan had a comment, but kept it to herself.  Instead, she and Angela took simultaneous drinks of their coffee as the intern continued to speak.

                 “...Now, we can’t forget Dr. Saroyan’s wedding where he talks about me to everyone except me about how he feels about things, and then he gets shit faced after I catch the bouquet. He was terrified that I might think that stupid tradition might mean something, I guess. Then he asks me to move all the way across the country with him…at a damn crime scene and only after Curly and Karen push him into it.”

                “Hmm…”, Brennan said.

                “Obviously, I did the right thing breaking up with him because if we loved each other enough, I would have moved with him to LA or he would have stayed here for me, but we didn’t.  I actually thought for a minute that he may have stayed in DC for me, but he stayed for Karen.  She’s obviously his new flavor of the month…one who thinks he’s just fucking perfect.”

                 “Jessica,”, Angela said.  “He told me they are not a couple and got really upset when I teased him about it.  How do you know Aubrey and Karen are hooking up?  Did she tell you herself?”

                “No.  I overheard two asshole agents at the scene talking about how she comes to his office every day for lunch and the curtains are drawn.  Apparently, it’s common knowledge at the Hoover.  It seems that Aubrey viewed our relationship differently than I did.”

                 Brennan looked at the young woman, who was wiping her eyes with her sleeve.  “Did you ask Aubrey about this or did you just assume it was true?”

                “Two of his agents said he was.  I think it’s fairly obvious, Doctor B.”, Jessica said before wiping her eyes again as fresh tears began to fall.  “All this talk of wanting a long term commitment and a future together was all bullshit.”

                Angela was about to speak when Brennan held her back.  “Ms. Warren, may I speak freely?”

                Jessica relaxed.  While she wrapped it up in clinical terms and was blunt, Doctor Brennan always knew what to say, as did Angela.  “Of course.”

                Remembering words of wisdom from Pops, Brennan spoke.  “Grow up and get a pair of steel ovaries.”

                Jessica’s eyes bugged out.  “W-what?”

               “It occurs to me that all of your issues with Aubrey are not based on fact, but on possible half-truths and rumor.  Not once have you faced him with your questions.”

              “Because I didn’t need to.”

               “No…because it was safer…easier.”, Brennan said in a serious tone.  “It’s easier to place all the blame on Aubrey instead of facing up to your part in your breakup and this current situation.”

               Her mentor’s words struck a nerve with the young woman.   “He’s the one who jumped into Karen’s panties after the wedding—“

               “Which he has a right to, since you are no longer a monogamous duo, but you have no confirmation of this other than innuendo and rumor.”, Brennan said firmly.  “However, I know for a fact he didn’t go home with Karen after the wedding.”

               “Yeah, how?”

               “Booth had to pick him up at Founding Fathers around 1:00 Sunday morning because he was extremely inebriated.  My husband said all he talked about on the way to our house was how much he missed and loved you...when he wasn’t talking about his cat, that is.”

                Jessica thought for a moment.  “He did?”

               “Yes, he did.  After Booth returned later from Mass and dropped our children off to our neighbor’s house for a playdate, he had a long, frank discussion with a very hungover Aubrey.  It seems that he was quite upset about seeing you with Gerald at the wedding.  I can also tell you that Dr. Delfs made a few derogatory comments about you at the wedding and Aubrey defended you.  Yes, they kissed, but according to Aubrey, it was uninvited and unwelcome.  Furthermore, that profiler”, Brennan said with a tone that made Angela smile.  “...made another sexual pass after he took you home, which he rejected, choosing instead to get himself inebriated.”

              “Oh.”, Jessica began.  “I--”

              “I’m not done yet, Ms. Warren.”, Brennan said firmly.  “He wasn’t planning on going to Daisy’s wedding, but he was quite upset after you were rude to him at the crime scene.  Of course, like you, he assumed that it was because you wanted a clean break with him and you had a new boyfriend.  It seems that Dr. Delfs talked him into attending with her, saying something to the regard that he needed to show you that he could move on, too.”

              “She probably used the fact there would be barbecue there.  Aubrey loves barbecue, especially Santa Maria style.”, Jessica said with a catch in her throat.  “But…”

“After listening to your account of the situation, it seems to me that perhaps Aubrey is just doing what you requested of him.  He is respecting your wishes by giving you space--”

              “Giving me space?  He’s using work to spy on me here.”, Jessica said in a halting voice.

              “How is that, Jessica?”, Angela said.

               "He came by work to see Dr. B earlier today, and he didn’t even look at me…he ignored me...”, Jessica said sadly.

               “Like you ignored him at the crime scene, Jessica?”,  Angela asked.  When she saw the realization in the redhead’s eyes, she continued.  “You can’t have it both ways, you know.”

                Jessica’s cheeks turned red as she realized her friend had a valid point.  Before she could ponder further, Brennan pressed forward.

                “As for your other theory, he was not here to spy on you.  He brought over some paperwork Booth needed me to sign, and then I gave him money to go to Philadelphia tonight to pick up my anniversary present for Booth.  He’s on a flight there now and is doing it so my husband won’t suspect anything as a favor to me.”

                Jessica felt a major case of the stupids come over her.  “Oh…”

                “As part of their discussion Sunday, my husband advised Aubrey about the rumors of his alleged sexual relationship with Karen.  Needless to say, his response after vigorous denial ranged from guilt over inadvertently leading Karen on to anger that you heard about it.”

                “But she always visited him for lunch--”

                “According to Aubrey, it was never due to invitation from him, but on her own in her attempts to _‘help him’._ ”, Brennan said with quotations.  “From what Booth told me, Aubrey at first welcomed her friendship in an attempt to help him possibly convince you to resume your relationship.”

                “Really?”   Jessica said.

                “Yes, really.”, Brennan said as she chose her next words carefully.  “However, after a couple of dinners, Aubrey started to become uncomfortable with Karen’s actions and her almost daily lunches.  Of course, he didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but it was obvious he was also vulnerable after your breakup.  Karen undoubtedly saw that, and as one whose career is tied to a soft science, she used it on both of you by playing on Aubrey’s emotions as well as yours with her multiple contacts with you.”

                 “Multiple?”, Jessica asked.  

                 “Daisy told us about her running into you two at the diner.”, Angela responded.

                 “I also saw her talking to you here one day and I don’t know what she told you, but whatever it was had you very shaken and upset.”, Brennan said.  

                 “She asked me to help her pick out a necklace to wear to Daisy’s wedding before bringing up the fact that he’s almost five years older than me and that he needed someone more suitable than a graduate student.”

                 “You picked out that thing she wore?”  Angela asked.

                 Jessica merely shook her head in response.  Brennan saw this but continued.  “There was a lot that Aubrey didn’t know which Booth explained to him Sunday and when he finished it seemed that Aubrey was upset and shaken as well.”

                 “So, Jessica wasn’t the only one to buy into rumor and assumptions?”,  Angela piped in.

                 “Correct, Angela.  As for his lack of contact today, Aubrey was following the advice of my husband.  Booth suggested not only that he back off from you for a few days but also that when he was ready to talk to you about what happened at the wedding and later that evening, to suggest a venue other than the FBI or here at the lab.”  Brennan said.

                 “I...I...I didn’t know…”, Jessica stammered.

                 “Of course not, Ms. Warren, because you were too busy trying to justify your actions as it now seems you had second thoughts about ending your relationship with Aubrey.”,  Brennan said bluntly before pressing forward.  “Before you broke up, did you want a future with him?”

                   Jessica wiped a tear.  “Someday…I just wasn’t ready to move in together or get married.  I thought he was going to ask me to marry him after we found out his father had come back.  It freaked me out but then he didn’t say anything about it.  After that, sometimes he seemed to put me at arm’s length and we were like in some kind of relationship limbo.  If I’d gone to LA with him, we probably would have broken up by now, and I would be stuck there alone.”

                 “When you went to the class that I recommended you for in July, did you discuss it with him?”

                  Jessica was confused.  “No, it was for my career.  It sucked that we would be apart for three weeks, but he understood.”

                 “Even though it was at approximately the same time his father came back to the States?”, Angela said.  “He had to arrest his own father while you were gone.”

                 “I don’t understand—“

                 “Did you ever talk to him about how you were feeling about being shut out from issues with his father?”,  Brennan said.

                 “No…because he never wanted to discuss it.”

                 “Did you ever talk to him about feeling rushed that night you thought he was proposing?”,  Angela said.

                 “No, because he never brought up being serious again.  I told him when he asked if he said the wrong thing that it was okay…because it was…but there was a lot going on, you know.  We were already exclusive anyway.”

                  Angela took Jessica’s hand.  “Did you ever think that maybe he was afraid to bring it up again in fear of spooking you?”

                 “Or that maybe he didn’t want to bother you about his father because…his return possibly brought up a lot of feelings that he found overwhelming?” Brennan said.  “He may have been scared…that he would be like him…or…”

                 “Or what…”, Jessica said.

                  Brennan hesitated to say it, but knew she had to as she had personal experience.  “Or perhaps he was afraid that you would run away and leave him behind like his father left his mother and him?”

                  “I would never have---“

                 “Maybe not, but Aubrey never knew that because you were scared to talk about your fears.  It’s a dangerous thing, Jessica…”, Angela said.  “…to let your fear of the unknown push you towards running away from the man you love because the complications scare the hell out of you.  It’s easier to break up…emotions and commitment isn’t all sunshine and roses.  It’s hard work and sometimes, it’s painful, but…it’s so…beautiful…magical…wonderful when you have that person to share yourself with.  When you do hit a bump in the road, you have to fight together, especially best friends.”

                 “Aubrey didn’t trust the friendship you two had, Ms. Warren.”, Brennan said.  “However, it seems you didn’t trust it either.”

                 Jessica sat as the wise advice from the two women sank in.   “So what do I do?”

                 Angela turned to her best friend, who years earlier said that she couldn’t connect with people.  With pride, she watched her put her hand on the intern’s shoulder and give sage advice to someone who needed to hear it.

               “It’s easier to blame Aubrey for everything, Ms. Warren.  However, the things you’re faulting him on though, you’ve done them also, so you need to take your share of the blame for your failed relationship with him.  Then, I think you need to figure out what it is that will make you whole.  It’s only then you will know what to do about your conundrum with Aubrey.”

                 After the three women finished their beverages, they went inside.  As Jessica went back to her earlier task, she realized that she had a lot to think about.  However, not all of it put her in a positive light and it shamed her as she realized it.                 

* * *

               Ninety minutes later, Aubrey got off his flight and checked his phone.  He saw the number and he got hopeful.  Listening the voice mail, his enthusiasm tapered down as he heard Jessica’s message about their victim.

                 As he got into a cab, he continued thinking about what Booth said.  He also knew he had to apologize to Jessica.  It killed him not to talk to her today, but he couldn’t approach her about what happened at the lab.  Booth was right about that.

                 Maybe Jessica would go to the Star Wars Convention this weekend.  If they saw each other, maybe he could talk to her.  At the very least, he can apologize for being an ass and hopefully get their friendship back.  He ached for more, but he would take what he could get.  Not having her in his life left a hole that couldn’t be filled with anything...or anyone else.

                 When the cab arrived at the destination, Aubrey got out and headed in.  Booth was going to shit when he saw his wife’s wedding anniversary gift to him.

* * *

                 At 11:00, Jessica got ready for bed before stripping down to her underwear.  Opening a drawer, she grabbed a t-shirt to wear when she saw another one.  Touching it, she admired it for a moment.

                 It was one of Aubrey’s favorites...an old fraternity shirt from Kappa Rho when he attended Syracuse University.  He gave it to her to wear one night at his apartment when they were going to bed, but she stole it.  Jessica had a moment of guilt when she realized that she should have given it back to him, but she couldn’t make herself part with it.

                 Putting it on, she smelled it and detected his pheromone mixed with his aftershave.  She missed sleeping with him.  He always pulled her close to him, saying he always slept better with her.  Usually, Skinner would then snuggle up by her belly and the three of them would stay close all night.

                Suddenly a few tears fell as she realized that was done now.  She’d messed up and she needed to move on with her life.  She would do what Doctor B recommended.  Maybe someday, they could be friends again.  She missed his arms around her, but she missed his unconditional friendship more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Text Message Legend:
> 
> d8 = date
> 
> w = with
> 
> VS = Victoria's Secret
> 
> l8r = later


	8. A Stormtrooper To The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today is the Star Wars Convention. How does a Stormtrooper save the day? Read and find out...

           Groaning as her alarm clock went off early Saturday morning, Jessica slapped at it before falling back against her pillow.  She stared at the ceiling, trying to decide if there was any way she could get out of going to the Star Wars Convention with that idiot Gerald Maxwell.  However, she soon realized it was too late to do that without looking like a total bitch.  She’d already accused the antiquities intern of being rude to her, and there was no way she wanted that label thrown back in her face. It seemed this was one of those  _‘you made your bed, you lie in it’_  times that she’d often heard about as a child.  Her father had used that expression many times, and Jessica had often wondered if he was referring to life in general or his marriage in particular.

           At least the good news, if there was any for the day, was that she was meeting Gerald at the convention.  That way, if the date turned out to be a dud she’d be able to get a cab home without having to rely on him.  After the fiasco at Daisy’s wedding, that seemed to be a prudent plan.  She doubted he would get drunk at the convention, but he could be pompous and overbearing, and it was nice to know that if he became too obnoxious she could leave whenever she wanted

           Grabbing a box of cereal from the kitchen cabinet, she poured herself a bowl and made herself a cup of tea.  Even though she tried to be excited about her date today, she couldn’t help but wonder what Aubrey was going to do that afternoon.  The original plan was that they would go to the convention together, but Jessica suspected he’d find someone else to go with him instead...probably Karen.

            Sighing heavily, Jessica thought about her discussion Thursday afternoon with Angela and Dr. B.  It was upsetting to realize that her friends had been right...she was as much to blame for the break up with Aubrey as he was.  In fact, maybe in some ways it had been more her fault than his.  

            She’d cried herself to sleep last night, wishing that things could be different between them.  However, it was probably too late for regrets, especially since she’d lost her temper and slapped his face after he’d gone out of his way to help her get home after Daisy’s wedding.  Cringing as she sipped her tea, she had to admit to herself that Aubrey would be within his rights to hate her.  He’d done her a favor that night, taking her home when Gerald had left her high and dry, and she’d been ungrateful.  

            While it was true that what he’d said was crude and disrespectful, she’d gone too far, letting her emotions get the best of her.  No matter how frustrated and hurt she was, it had been wrong for her to lash out at him the way she did.  No wonder Aubrey already had a new girlfriend.  He was a great guy, and he could have any woman he wanted.  He didn’t have to tolerate the antics of a childish brat who acted so badly, hitting someone when she didn’t get her way.

            After carrying her dishes to the sink, Jessica ran the back of her hand across her eyes, trying to wipe away her tears.  She sniffled as she walked to her bedroom.  As she thought about her actions while they were together, she wondered if he deserved someone better than her.  First she couldn’t find the words to tell him how she felt about him, and then, when she realized how much she cared for him, she got scared and metaphorically ran in the other direction.  It seemed obvious now that Aubrey needed more than fantastic sex, concerns about his diet, and consolation over his father to show him how deep her feelings were for him.  

           Now it was too late to tell him, because her time with Aubrey were over.  Someday soon, she would apologize for treating him the way she did.   She owed him that much, and maybe, in time, they’d get to a point where they could work on repairing their friendship.  As much as she missed being with him as his girlfriend, it hurt more to not have her best friend by her side.   

           Today, though, she needed to start moving on with her life.  Maybe the date with Gerald would help her do so.  She had another vibe that it wouldn’t go well, but she pushed it aside as she got dressed.  As Dr. B  had said, it was time to grow up and develop a pair of steel ovaries, whatever that meant.

            She would be strong and courageous at the convention, just like her hero, Princess Leia. 

* * *

 

           Aubrey’s government issued SUV cruised slowly through the parking lot surrounding the Dulles Expo Center as he searched for just the right spot to leave his vehicle.  He didn’t want to walk a half mile to get to the front door, but he didn’t want to be too close, either.  The fewer people who noticed his massive company car, the better off he’d be.  

           He wasn’t sure anyone would understand this personality quirk of his and he figured it might be better if he didn’t call too much attention to himself this afternoon.  He knew it really wasn’t anybody’s business if he liked cosplay, but he also realized something important about his hobby.  No way did he want word of his participation in any of the day’s festivities to get back to Booth, or he’d never, ever hear the end of it.

          After finding a good spot, Aubrey turned off the car and hopped out.  Hiding behind the heavy car door, he quickly pulled some shiny white plastic shin guards and thigh guards over his black jeans and fastened the Velcro snugly for the lower part of the white plastic armor around his slim waist before buckling the upper body portion of his armor over his long sleeved black tee shirt.  The white plastic gauntlets and upper arm guards went on next, and then it was time for the crowning glory.  

          Wearing a silly grin, he reached over to the passenger seat for his helmet.  Pulling it on, he checked out his image in the side mirror and laughed happily.  Mild mannered Special Agent in Charge James Aubrey had just been transformed into a fearsome Stormtrooper direct from the Death Star, ready for an afternoon of fun with hundreds of other fans who appreciated George Lucas’s body of work as much as he did.

           He hesitated as he locked his car, taking a deep breath as he took one last look at his reflection.  He’d looked forward to attending this convention with Jessica, but since they were no longer together, that wasn’t an option.  After spending many hours in indecision about what to do, he’d finally decided to attend alone, even though he realized it probably wouldn’t be as much fun.  He needed to get used to doing things by himself now, and this would be a first step toward accomplishing that goal.  Squaring his shoulders, he made up his mind. He was going to have fun today, no matter what happened.

           Aubrey chuckled to himself as he joined the large crowd filing in for the annual Imagicon Star Wars Convention. He’d been to many Star Wars conventions over the last several years.  However, over a decade had passed since he’d gone to a convention in costume, when he and two of his fraternity brothers from Syracuse had gone to New York City for the weekend to attend their first Star Wars convention.  

           Gibby had gone as Luke Skywalker, and Rodney had been dressed as Han Solo.  Perhaps overly concerned about what people might think of almost grown young men pretending to be movie characters, Aubrey had chosen to be a Stormtrooper so he could wear a helmet that covered his face, hoping to keep his identity safe from the public eye.  He’d been in the process of applying to law school, so discretion seemed to be important at the time.

           Smirking as he remembered that evening from so long ago, he had to admit the costumes had definitely served their intended purpose, which was basically to attract interested females.  They’d introduced themselves to three attractive young women who were dressed as Jabba the Hutt’s slave girls.  The girls had certainly appreciated the young men’s outfits, and they definitely hadn’t been shy in expressing that appreciation later that evening. What a wonderful night that had been…remembering it still made Aubrey grin.

           In the ten years or so that had passed since that memorable convention, the three friends had since gone their separate ways.  Gibby was in marketing with a professional hockey team in Canada and Rodney was an associate rector for a large Episcopal church in Boston.  

           Aubrey nodded to himself as he waited in line to purchase his ticket.  Maybe he’d get in touch with those guys soon, just to talk about old times.  Maybe they could get together for a weekend, just to have a few beers and to swap a few stories about the good old days.   _After all...I’ve got plenty of time on my hands…now that Jessica has Gerald to hang out with…_

           Nostalgia washed over Aubrey as he entered the cavernous hall and for a moment it seemed the year was 1993 and he was ten years old all over again.  

           He’d had a really bad case of chickenpox that year, and his mother, desperate to keep him entertained while he was away from school, had borrowed a neighbor’s VCR tapes of  _Star Wars_ ,  _The Empire Strikes Back_ , and  _The Return of the Jedi._   After watching the videos over and over again for the next week while he recuperated, he’d become obsessed with the stories of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo.  He soon had a  _Star Wars_ lunch box,  _Star Wars_ pajamas, a boxed set of the  _Star Wars_ videos and an almost complete set of  _Star Wars_ action figures.  

           Chuckling to himself, he realized that even though the pajamas had been outgrown long ago, he still enjoyed having the lunchbox and the action figures in his collection of movie memorabilia.  Maybe someday he’d grow up, but it wouldn’t be today.  Today he was going to enjoy being a small child in a grown man’s body.  It was time to have some pure escapist fun.

           Aubrey walked around the hall, enjoying the several booths with their different displays of articles for sale.  There were board games, bobble head toys representing the different characters, accessories for costumes...the assortment of  _Star Wars_ themed merchandise seemed endless. Every episode and version of Star Wars seemed to have at least a dozen different vendors peddling everything from full sized droids to Millennium Falcon replacement parts.  The variety was both entertaining and dizzying.  After making his initial inspection of the show, Aubrey decided it was time for lunch, so he headed toward the concessions area in the back of the hall.

           He ordered his normal four chili dogs with all the toppings, a supersized bag of French fries, and a large soda.  After surveying the dining area, he finally found a table in a darkened corner and sat down to enjoy his meal.  Grimacing slightly, he realized his helmet wasn’t designed for actually eating something, so he pulled off his helmet and put it on the chair next to him.  He hated to break character in front of everyone, but lunch was a more pressing matter.

           Taking a big sip from his soft drink, he admired the dining area’s decor.  It had been arranged to look like the Cantina from  _A New Hope_ , complete with dim lighting and a central bar where the food and drinks dispensed.  Tables were set around the room and customers in various costumes swayed to the piped in mood music as they ate their lunch.  The effect was amazing.  It almost seemed that he was on some faraway outpost in a distant galaxy, watching as individuals from the various star systems tried to arrange transportation home.

           As he dunked his fries in some ketchup, Aubrey made a mental shopping list of the things he wanted to check out.   _Definitely the Darth Vader coffee mug for work...a Lando Calrissian action figure if I can find one….some sort of Jedi socks for Booth…maybe a little something for Michael Vincent, Christine, and Hank...Booth might not be pleased if I make Star Wars fans out of his kids...he seems more like the Battlestar Galactica type…_   

           Nodding to himself, Aubrey figured maybe he’d take in an hour of shopping before he went to hear Mark Hamill and maybe Rick Baker, the artist who’d designed the make up for the original franchise.  That would work...he could spend a couple of hours enjoying the convention by himself, just to prove that he could…just to show himself how well he’d moved on.

           But then he saw  _her._

           Jessica Warren stood in the entry of the Cantina, dressed as the young Princess Leia Organa.  Her filmy white gown flowed gracefully from the belt around her slender waist as she moved toward a table to sit down.  Somehow the redhead even managed to arrange her hair into the type of braids that Leia wore, which were partially hidden under her loose cowl.  Aubrey was completely entranced.  He’d always thought Jessica was beautiful, but for some reason, wearing the simple white robe of a make believe space princess, she looked incredible.

           Shrinking back into the corner, Aubrey watched as she sipped her water while she checked her phone.   _Probably waiting for that lummox, Gerald,_ he thought bitterly. It was almost more than he could stomach, thinking about Gerald Maxwell escorting Jessica around the convention hall instead of him.  He was seriously rethinking his own convention plans when he heard her phone ring.  He just couldn’t resist the urge to eavesdrop.

           “Hello?”  Jessica said with an obviously irritated tone.  “Let me guess.  You overslept, right?  Okay, never mind.  I’m in the concessions area, so why don’t you just meet me here?  It’s in the back of the hall.  Yes, I’m sure.  Bye.”  

            She puffed out a sigh as she ended the call, taking another swig of her water.  “Two hours late and he doesn’t get why I’m annoyed…”

            Deciding it was time for some FBI Special Agent reconnaissance, Aubrey casually wadded up his food wrappers and placed them on his tray.  Putting his helmet back on, he stood up and slowly carried the remnants of his lunch toward the trash container near Jessica’s table.  He paused as he disposed of the wrappers, wanting to catch a glimpse of the cocky bastard as he made his way across the floor of the convention center.

            Finally, Aubrey’s patience was rewarded as a breathless Gerald came racing toward the Cantina, flushed and sweaty from his exertion.  When the agent saw the other man’s costume, his mouth dropped in shock and disgust.

            _‘What the hell…’_

            “Sorry I’m late, Jessica.  I overslept, and then I couldn’t find part of my costume, and I had to get gas on the way since I’ve been riding on E for a couple of days….”  Gerald pulled on the hem of his bright red shirt before pointing to the Starfleet insignia on his chest.  “Whadd’ya think?  Looks pretty good, right?  Almost like the genuine article.”

            “What are you wearing?”  An incredulous Princess Jessica stood with her hands on her hips as she cast a critical eye at her perspective date.  “Isn’t that a Star Trek Red Shirt uniform?”

             “Yeah, of course.  You said we were going to be at a Star Trek convention, right?”  He gave her a puzzled look as he noticed her costume.  “Funny...I don’t remember anyone on any of the shows dressing like that…not even on Next Generation...”

             Rolling her eyes at her  _‘date’_ , Jessica clenched her fists in frustration.  “It’s Star WARS, Gerald...not Star TREK!  They’re like two completely different Universes! You must be some kind of stupid moron!  First you practically stand me up because you overslept, and then you don’t even know what we’re supposed to be doing together…I distinctly said Star WARS.  Surely even an idiot like you would know the difference. Have you been living in a cave while you studied all that old crap at the Jeffersonian?”  

             “Where the fuck do you get off talking to me like that?”, Gerald retorted angrily.  “I made a mistake.  So what?  It’s not like this stupid convention is anything important.”

              Jessica merely scowled at him as she continued her tirade.  “Did you even listen to what I was telling you at the lab or were you too busy thinking about getting me into bed?”

              “Listen, you crazy bitch…”  Frustrated, Gerald’s voice rose in anger as he shook his finger in Jessica’s face.  “If you were even halfway normal instead of being some sort of nerd freak who spends all her time watching old sci fi flicks, maybe that FBI agent would still be your boyfriend instead of nailing that other chick and probably getting all the ass he can handle…”  

              “You don’t really want a relationship with me, do you?  You were just going to humor me before using your supposed charm to get me to drop my panties for you.”  Jessica stood with her hands on her hips, feeling stupid for ignoring her earlier vibe.  “You rat bastard…”

               Grimacing in disgust, he waved his hand to dismiss her complaint.  “Of course I don’t want a relationship with you.  My parents have social standing in this town and I need someone normal, not some weirdo dork who gets her kicks by dressing up like some stupid character in a movie.  You act all high and mighty now, but I remember how you much got around when you first started at the Jeffersonian. You were an easy lay back then and I bet you still are now.  You’re nothing more than a good blow job or a quickie in the bathroom--”  

               Gerald was suddenly interrupted by an angry Stormtrooper’s hand grabbing a fistful of his red shirt.

               “You watch how you talk to her, you big ape.  You don’t want to spend time with her, fine, but don’t treat her like she’s some sort of cheap slut…”  Aubrey was fuming, forgetting where he was as he stood between Gerald and Jessica.  “You need to apologize to the lady and then you need to leave her alone…”

                “Who the hell are you, anyway?” Gerald blustered.  “She’s my date, and I’ll talk to her anyway I please.”

                Chuckling under his breath, Aubrey decided to play a bluff.  “Ms. Warren works for the Jeffersonian, right?  Just like you do…”

                Gerald paused, looking over the Stormtrooper suspiciously. “Who are you? How do you know where I work?”  

                “That’s not the point, is it? You don’t need to worry about who I am.  I’ll tell you what you really need to worry about instead.  Federal employees, like those who work at the Jeffersonian, have a code of conduct for their public behavior.  As an FBI Agent…”  

                 Aubrey heard Jessica softly giggle behind him when she realized who he was.  “...I have the authority to enforce that code.  So if you want to keep your internship at that museum, you better do as I say and apologize to Ms. Warren before you beam yourself out of here.”

                 Gerald hesitated, clearly flummoxed by this new bit of information.  He shrugged slightly as he flicked his eyes toward Jessica.  “Um, sorry…”

                 “Is that satisfactory, Ms. Warren?  Or would you like to file a formal complaint?”  The Stormtrooper tapped his foot as he turned to Gerald.  “Please?  I’d love to take this jackass down a few notches…”

                 “That won’t be necessary.  I think you’ve made your point, sir.” Jessica stated primly, biting back her grin before her countenance changed as she glared at the other man, who was burning with embarrassment.  “Gerald, I don’t have anything more to say to you.  Good bye.”

                  “You heard her, Gerald...get lost…”  Aubrey pointed toward the door.  “Hopefully you won’t be attacked by some rabid Ewoks on the way out.”

                  Laughing at Gerald’s hasty retreat, the agent pulled off his white helmet and ran his fingers through his thick dark hair as he grinned at Jessica.  “I thought he’d never leave…”

                  “I know this goes against the grain for Princess Leia, but I have to say it...you’re my hero, Mr. Stormtrooper.”  She giggled again as she gestured for him to sit down at the table.  “So what is all that garbage about the federal employee code of conduct?”

                  “Did you like that?  Not bad for thinking on my feet, right?  I learned that from Booth. He’s always making up shit to tell suspects when he wants them to squeal.”  

                   Jessica rubbed her finger up and down her water bottle.  “Booth has taught you very well.”

                  “Thank you.”  Fidgeting with his helmet, Aubrey glanced shyly across the table.  “So...since I’m already here alone...and you’re already here, and now you’re alone...and originally we planned be here together...would you like to take a little walk with me?  I have a list of things I want to look for at the vendors’ booths…”

                  “I think I’d like that, Aubrey…”  Jessica bit her lip as she avoided eye contact with him.  She gathered her belongings from the table and put them into her bag.  “That is, if you don’t mind...I mean, I was going to be someone else’s date, you know.  I...I don’t want you to feel like an afterthought...like you’re second fiddle…like maybe the only reason I’m hanging out with you is because I got ditched by a loser.”

                  He nodded, understanding what she meant.  “Nah, it’s no big deal.  I’ll be glad to have the company.  I’ve got to say, though, Jess...what’s up with that guy?  I mean, not knowing the difference between  _Star Wars_ and  _Star Trek_  is just weird, isn’t it?  Although, since he works in antiquities, maybe he’s not up on modern stuff, right?”

                 “Right.  I guess you could say that...but I think he’s just a jackass.”  Sipping her water, Jessica pinched her lips together as she studied her nails.  “I’m surprised you didn’t bring Karen with you today…”

                 Aubrey sighed heavily, gently putting his hand over hers as he spoke quietly.  “Jessica, I want you to listen to me carefully, okay?  I’m not interested in Karen like that.  I never have been.  After we...when we broke up, I was trying to figure out what went wrong between us.  I thought that since you two were friends, she’d be able tell me how to fix things so you’d take me back.  That’s it, okay?  Nothing else.  You believe me, right?”

                The squintern thought once again about what her friends had explained to her.  The time for relying on rumors and hearsay was past. Pushing all her old hurts aside, she listened to his words and his voice and she knew he was telling her the truth.  Nodding slowly, she looked into Aubrey’s blue eyes.  

               “Yes, I believe you...and I’m sorry I hurt you, James…”

               His heart skipped a beat as he saw her brush away a tear, but he wanted to avoid appearing desperate.  “Don’t worry about it, okay?”  Smiling, he stood up and put on his helmet.  “Let’s go shopping!  C’mon...it’ll be fun…”

                Picking up her keys and her purse, she smiled as she rose from the table.  “That does sound like fun.”  After hesitating slightly, she nodded in agreement.  “Alright.  Let’s go shopping.”


	9. The Emergence of a New Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, now that Aubrey and Jessica found each other at the Star Wars Convention, what will happen next? Will Princess Leia and the Stormtrooper bond on their outing?

          Jessica couldn’t help but smile as she watched her former boyfriend move from one vendor to another as he looked for the perfect little trinkets to give Michael-Vincent, Christine, and Hank.  Aubrey had already picked up a pair of Yoda socks for Booth, and had found what he hoped would be an interesting book for Dr. B.: _The Cultural and Anthropological Implications of Star Wars: Classic Tropes for Modern Times._ Musing on the mouthful of a title, Jessica shook her head, certain that Dr. Brennan would be the only person in this or any other galaxy to understand the author’s point.

          However, as an anthropologist herself, Jessica had enjoyed seeing Aubrey in a completely different cultural setting than normal.  He was enjoying himself immensely, even more than he did when they’d gone to see the _Star Wars_ movie marathon last May.  She knew that he’d been introduced to the story of Luke and Leia as a child, just as she had been, and he’d enjoyed the escape the movies had provided from the family problems of his real life.  She’d been in a similar situation in her youth, having used the story of how Luke had overcome a difficult childhood as a touchstone.

           _If Luke Skywalker could do great things, so could I, right?_ She wondered if George Lucas had any idea of how many people his movies had impacted that same way.

          Observing closely as Aubrey tried to decide which bobble head character doll would best suit Hank Booth, she thought once again about the conundrum that was their relationship.  Even though on the surface James appeared to have an easy going personality, she’d quickly come to realize that he could be very intense if he cared about something or someone.  

          She knew he’d brought that intensity into their relationship when they made love for the first time.  Aubrey had alternated between tenderness and unadulterated passion on that hot June night in her apartment.  She could only moan and scream his name as he mapped out her body with his lips, his long fingers, and, of course, his wickedly talented tongue.  After coming down from her multiple orgasms, Jessica knew the sex with him was different than it had with anyone else in her past.  

          The redhead now realized it was because she had never _‘made love’_ with anyone until she came together with her best friend.  Even then, she was in love with him although she couldn’t say it out loud.

          She also knew that Aubrey loved her just as much.  Once again, that same intensity had become apparent when he’d told her, much to her surprise, that he was serious about wanting some sort of long term relationship with her.  She wasn’t sure that they were ready for that step, even if Aubrey seemed to be.

          But if he really was serious about her like he told her that night by the subway, why did he wait so long to tell her about the promotion he’d been offered?  Why was he so reluctant to talk to her about moving to Los Angeles?  Had he changed his mind about wanting to be with her?  Didn’t he care for her anymore?  Why was he so upset when she broke up with him if he didn’t want to talk to her about important issues? Did she break up with him out of anger or out of fear, as Angela and Dr. Brennan believed, or was she really convinced they had no future together? 

         Why didn’t he ever say those three little words to her? 

         There were too many questions and not enough answers, so she’d decided to end their relationship.  However, she soon found that she’d made a terrible mistake.  She wasn’t ready to let her Superman go...she loved him too much.  No way was she about to let Karen, or anyone else, move in on her territory and steal him away from her.  

         And so now, here they were, keeping each other company at a convention for movie fans.  Maybe someday she’d understand what they meant to each other.  For today, however, this was not the time for thinking about those things.  Today she would just have fun hanging out with her best friend as they enjoyed a common interest.  She smirked as she saw him adjust his helmet and body armor.  The fact that he looked very cute in his Stormtrooper costume didn’t hurt, either.

  **Oooooooooo**

_This is so weird._ Aubrey thought to himself as he stole a furtive glance at Jessica.  For the first time since he’d met her, he couldn’t really think of anything to say to her, and she seemed to be having the same issue. An awkward silence had settled between them as they walked among the booths that were set up around the hall’s perimeter.  

         _We’ve always been able to talk about things..._ but then it hit him like a ton of bricks.  They’d always been able to talk about things that weren’t really important, but when it came down to the nuts and bolts of their relationship, neither one of them had been very good at communicating what they’d truly felt.  He knew that would have to change if he wanted to share a life together with Jessica.  Maybe Booth was right...maybe it was time to grow up, and maybe today would be the day...but first, it was time to attend to the important matters at hand.

       “Oh, wow...look, Jess... _Star Wars Monopoly!_ I had one of these when I was younger, but it got lost when we moved.  I have to get this.”  He grinned at the thought of the two of them playing a round of the game on some cold winter’s evening in front of the fireplace before adjourning to the bedroom.  

         _Whoa!  Hold your horses there, buddy!  You’ve got to make her like you again first!_

        Slightly embarrassed by his flight of fancy, he paid the vendor and picked up his game, hoping she hadn’t noticed his blush.  “What else do you want to look for, Jessica?”

        “I think I want some new light sabers, and I’d like to look at that stall that has the costumes.  I really liked some of the things that Padme’ Amidala wore, and I want to see if they have anything like that.”  Seeing Aubrey roll his eyes, she chuckled.  “I take it you weren’t fond of her costumes…”

         “It was her makeup...it was just too strange.  I read it was based on Japanese geisha stuff, but that didn’t help me understand why they chose that style.”  

          He stopped at a table that had some collectible figures strewn about.  “Okay, here’s something that was on my list...Lando...and here’s Jar Jar Binks.”  After looking through the packages and picking out what he wanted, Aubrey gasped in surprise.  “Look at this, Jessica...it’s a phone charger...and it’s Darth Vader.  How cool is that?”  

          The vendor smiled as she picked up the box to show them.  “A real collector’s item here.  They didn’t make many of these.  That’s a good price, too…”

          “Seventy five dollars?  Wow…”  Aubrey grimaced as he gently set the box down.  “Maybe not today...hey, do you have any Boba Fett figures?”

           Jessica strolled across the aisle, stopping to look at some necklaces that were made of glass beads painted to look like planets.  Finally finding one she liked, she handed it to the salesperson before reaching into her purse for her wallet.  “Oh, my God, Aubrey...look at this!”  Laughing out loud, she held up a set of keys.  

          “What is that?”  Walking over to join her, he squinted at the key fob.  “Aren’t those your keys?”

          “No...this is a key for an Alfa Romeo, and look at the initials on the key ring.  G.  M.  These are Gerald’s keys.  He must’ve dropped them on the table while he was yelling at me, and then I picked them up when you and I got ready to leave the concessions area.  He drives that little red sports car, remember? It has the stick shift?”

          “So how did he get home if he didn’t have keys?”  Aubrey chuckled softly.  “I guess maybe Scotty really did have to beam him up, right?”  

          “Maybe so.”  Jessica shrugged shyly as she slowly walked onto the next booth.  “Not our problem, I guess.  Gerald doesn’t seem to have a lot going on upstairs, but he should be able to figure something out.  Anyway, I’m glad we’re here together…”

          “Yeah, me, too.”  Aubrey desperately wanted to take Jessica’s hand and pull her close for a kiss, but he knew this wasn’t the time or the place.  He cleared his throat softly.  “I want to go get one of those Darth Vader coffee mugs…”

          “Okay.”  Giving Aubrey a quizzical look, Jessica smiled.  “You never struck me as the _‘I love Darth Vader’_ type, Superman…”

          “Um, yeah, well...he’s always in charge, and he doesn’t take any shit from anybody.  I like that, you know? He would’ve made a great G man.  Don’t you know that as I walk down the halls of the Hoover, his march is playing in my head?  Dum dum dum dum de dum dum de dum…”  Aubrey pretended to stride down the halls toward his office as he walked toward the next stall.  “That’s why I’m a Special Agent in Charge, right?  Oh, look...laser blasters!  Want to play?  It’s like laser tag...”

           The man running the booth grinned at Aubrey.  “Want to win something for your girl, soldier?  Just hit all of the targets. It’s not as easy as it looks…”

           “We’ll see.”  Shouldering the ‘blaster’, Aubrey aimed at the targets and pulled the trigger. “Take that, rebels.”  Satisfied with his perfect score, he nodded to the proprietor.  “Not too shabby, I guess…”

           “Yeah...so pick your prize.”  The man waved at a selection of toys hanging overhead.

           “I’ll take one of those Leia dolls, please.”  Grinning proudly, he handed it to Jessica.  “There you go, Darlin’.”  He shrugged shyly.  “She’s almost as cute as you are…”

           “Sweet talker…”  Jessica grinned broadly as she admired her gift.  “You’ve been practicing at the range, haven’t you?”

           “I’ve been bored, so I’ve spent some time practicing.  I guess it paid off.  Now I can tell the agents who work in my division that practice does make perfect.”  Aubrey glanced at the time on his phone.  “Hey, if we want to get good seats to see Mark Hamill, we’d better head towards the auditorium.”

           “Could you go ahead and then save me a seat?  I need a restroom break…”  Jessica batted her eyelashes at Aubrey a bit.  “I won’t be long…”

           “Sure thing, but hurry.  You won’t want to miss anything…”

           “Okay.  I’ll be back in a few minutes.”  Glancing quickly to make sure he wasn’t watching her, she smiled to herself as she rushed off before the main event began.

**Oooooooooo**

           It was almost five when the last session ended, and people started filing out of the auditorium.  Jessica was the last person to have her picture taken with Mark Hamill, one with just them and one of her and Aubrey without his helmet with the actor.  Beaming proudly, she watched as Aubrey admired the images on her phone.  “You’ll have to send me those, Jess.”

          “I will.”  Jessica glanced at her phone again before dropping it into her purse.  “I had a lot of fun today, Aubrey.  I know this may sound strange, but I’m glad Gerald turned out to be a loser.  I can’t imagine being at this convention with anyone else but you.”  

          Blushing, Aubrey managed a shy smile.  “Me, too.”

          Rearranging the different packages she was carrying, she chewed her lip slightly.  “Anyway, Gerald was supposed to be my ride home, and he let me down again...so I’m going to catch a cab.”

          Aubrey wasn’t ready for his time with Jessica to end.  He felt like they were finally back to being friends again, and he was anxious to maintain that connection.  “You don’t need to call a cab, Jess.  I tell you what...why don’t we go get some dinner?  I’m getting hungry…”

          They slowly made their way to the exterior doors of the convention hall.  “I don’t know, Aubrey.  Do you really think it’s a good idea for us to have dinner together?  I mean, I’m hardly dressed for it…this costume isn’t exactly what people wear at the diner…and you know...things have been kinda weird lately...with everything going on…”

          “Aw, c’mon.  We can go have a burger at the diner.  They know us there, and they won’t care what we’re wearing, right?”  Aubrey didn’t understand her hesitance until he watched Jessica reach up to play with her hair before she remembered how she was wearing it, a sure sign that she was nervous.  “Look, I know things have been awkward between us lately, Jessica, and I don’t want to make it worse.  If you don’t want to go to dinner with me, I’ll understand, but at least let me give you a ride home.  No strings attached, okay?  After all, cab fare can be expensive.”

          “Yeah, you’re right..it’s very expensive.”  Jessica hesitated as she thought over her choices.  She had enjoyed Aubrey’s company, and she really wanted to extend their time together.  “Actually, I’m hungry, too, and I think a burger sounds good...that is, if you don’t mind some company.”

           Aubrey sighed in relief as a grin spread across his face.  “I’d love some company.”  He opened the door and gestured for her to walk ahead of him.  “Shall we?”

           “Yes.”  Jessica giggled as the ‘Stormtrooper’ stood at attention while the Princess passed.  “I guess I’ll have to go back to being just Jessica…”

           “That’s a good thing.”  Aubrey pointed to the other side of the parking lot.  “I did park kind of far away from the door…”

            Laughing and talking, they made their way across the parking lot toward Aubrey’s SUV, only stopping to let a tow truck go by.  “Uh oh…” Aubrey began.  “Looks like maybe someone parked in a tow away zone.”

            “I don’t think so, Aubrey.  Does that red shirt look familiar?”  

            The agent’s gaze followed as Jessica pointed to a man standing beside a small red sports car.  Suddenly it clicked.  “That is awesome…couldn’t have happened to a better asshole.”

           “Well, we now know that Gerald finally figured out how he’s going to get home.”  Giggling, she shrugged at Aubrey. “Do you think I should return his keys?”

           “As tempting as it is to tell you to toss them in the garbage, you should return them.  We don’t want him to think you stole them, do we?”  

            They quickly jogged over to the truck, where the tow truck driver was having a difficult time attaching the hook to the car’s bumper.  It was obvious that Gerald was practically beside himself as the driver struggled.  

            “You idiot...you’re going to pull the bumper off my car...look at the scrapes you’ve put on it…”

             The burly driver just shrugged as he turned on the winch, dragging the car up onto the back of the truck.  “Not my fault you drive a tin can, man…”

             "Gerald, I’m so glad we caught you!”  Jessica gave him an artificial smile.  “Look!  I found your keys.  You must’ve dropped them on the table in the canteen when you left in such a hurry…”

              Grabbing the keys from her, Gerald clenched his fists in frustration.  “So you’ve had them the whole time?  Why didn’t you let me know?  All you had to do was call me.  I think you stole these keys from me to get back at me for leaving you with this jackass.  I’m going to press charges!  Look at the damage to my car.  Do you have any idea how much it’s going to cost to fix this, even with insurance?”

              “Calm down, buddy.  This isn’t her fault.  Jessica picked up your keys by accident.  You could’ve called her to ask if she’d seen them, but I suppose you were in too much of a hurry to leave…”  Aubrey crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at Gerald.  “Why didn’t you just call someone to bring you an extra set?”

              “Do you really think I’d want my family to know where I’ve been all afternoon?  That I was here, at a movie convention, with people like you?”  Gerald puffed out a sigh as the tow truck driver turned off the winch and locked the Alfa Romeo into place on the truck’s skids.  “Never mind.  You’ll be hearing from my lawyer, Ms. Warren…”

              “Whatever, Gerald.”  Jessica rolled her eyes as she listened to her fellow intern’s bluster.  “Good luck getting your car home.  C’mon, Aubrey.  Let’s go have some dinner.  I don’t want to be seen in public with people like him.”

               As Jessica and Aubrey walked away, the tow truck guy laughed hysterically while Gerald was turning red with anger and embarrassment.  “That cute little redhead has your number, all right.”

              “Shut up!”, the intern fumed as the truck driver took down his credit card information.  “Just get me the hell out of here before someone else sees me.”

  **Oooooooooo**

               An hour later, the patrons at the Royal Diner didn’t give Aubrey and Jessica a second glance as they walked in and sat at their favorite table.  Joanne smiled as she quickly took their order, and it wasn’t long before they had cheeseburgers, French fries, and chocolate shakes sitting in front of them.  Grinning at each other, they dove into their meals with gusto.  

              “God, this is so good. I was really hungry.”  Jessica chuckled as she tried to wipe some ketchup from her chin.  “I don’t know why these burgers taste so much better than the ones I make at home.”

              “Yeah, it may be that we don’t want to know.”  Aubrey grimaced as he nodded toward the kitchen.  “Frankie has his secret ingredients, I guess.”   He took a sip of his shake.  “Are you worried about hearing from Gerald’s lawyer?  Because I can be a character witness if you want…”

               “Oh, I’m sure that’ll do a lot of good.”  Rolling her eyes as she dunked her fries in her garlic mayo and ketchup mix, Jessica smiled as she popped them into her mouth with a flourish.  “But if his lawyer does contact me, I’ll be sure to let you know so you can vouch for the fact that I didn’t steal his keys.”

               “Okay.”  They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, neither one wanting to spoil the good time they were having by saying the wrong thing.  Finally Aubrey cleared his throat.  “Hey, you know what?  It’s a nice evening.  Maybe after dinner we could go for a walk along the Mall.  I haven’t been down there in ages.”

                “That might be nice.”  Jessica paused as Aubrey’s phone rang.  He checked the caller ID, grimaced slightly, and then put the phone in his pocket.  “Do you need to get that? I won’t mind…”

                “Nah, it wasn’t anyone important…”  He cringed as he suddenly remembered standing in the interrogation room with Jessica that afternoon when she’d broken up with him, wondering how things might’ve been different if he’d waited until later to take that call.  “I figure right now you’re more important than anyone who might be calling me…”

                 Jessica blushed under his tender gaze.  “James...work is more important…”

                “Not right now, it’s not.”  He ate his last few French fries and finished his shake.  “C’mon...let’s go for a walk.”


	10. Balance Returns To The Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Our readers get a cool Labor Day weekend treat. Chapters 10 - 12 will be coming out today, Saturday, and Sunday for you to enjoy on this magnificent holiday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So our Stormtrooper and Princess are now alone enjoying a pleasant night along the Mall. What do they talk about? More importantly, how does the Balance return to the Force?

           Aubrey and Jessica walked along the Mall, enjoying the pleasant Indian summer night.  They’d settled into a comfortable pace, chatting quietly about nothing in particular.  It seemed they both had something on their minds, but each needed some time to get their thoughts together.   As they got closer to the Lincoln Memorial, Jessica stopped and gazed thoughtfully at the imposing marble structure.

           Aubrey soon realized she wasn’t walking next to him and turned to see where she was. “Jess, why are you staring at the Lincoln Memorial?”

            She continued to look for a moment before turning to her companion, pointing toward Lincoln’s chair.  “You see right there, on that side?  When I was younger, before I left for MSU, I used to go there a lot.  I guess you could call it my “thinking spot”.  It was where I could escape from my life at home.”

           “Yeah, I get that.”  He waited patiently until she was ready to continue.    

           “Do you remember me telling you about how my mom has Bipolar II Disorder?”  Jessica spoke so softly he could barely hear her.  “When she was on her meds, she had her moments where she was almost like a real mom.  However, when she wasn’t, it’s hard to describe how bad it was at my house.” 

            The redhead took a breath to calm her nerves.   “My mother constantly kept our household on eggshells.  We constantly had to think about what to say to her and how to say it.  When she was in one of her depressions, we had to try to avoid her at all costs because she was so angry or sad.  It was like we just instinctively went into survival mode, I guess.  My dad tried to be both parents to us, and he did the best he could, but it wore him down.  Michael and Stephan say they can remember when my mom wasn’t as bad, but by the time Jason and I came along, I don’t think she cared anymore about putting up a front.   All she knew was she hated her life, and she blamed all of us for that...it was usually my dad’s fault or something one of us kids had done that had ruined things for her.”

           Jessica glanced at Aubrey, relieved that he was listening intently.  She took another deep breath before she continued.

           “We always knew when Mom had stopped taking her meds.   She’d try to hide it, but we learned how to tell when she was in one of her hypomanic phases.  One time she decided to repaint the living room at 1:30 in the morning, or there was the time she decided that she wanted to write a composition on our concert grand piano.  Every time something called her away, she got mad and did what she had to do to get back to that damn piano.” 

            Jessica took a deep breath to control her emotions.  “Of course, I can’t forget when I was twelve and I had my first period.  I wasn’t going to tell her but she figured it out, and then decided we had to go shopping for sanitary supplies at 3:00 in the morning because she wasn’t tired.  The next day she went out to buy new outfits for both of us because she’d decided to put together a last minute dinner party for my father’s department for that evening.” 

           “He was head of the Neuroscience department at George Mason University, right?”,  Aubrey asked.   

           “Yeah, he was.”, Jessica said.  “He was the department chair for several years.” 

           “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”, Aubrey said with an apologetic smile.  “I’m sorry.” 

           “It’s okay, Aubrey.”, Jessica replied before continuing.  “So, she decided to put together this big dinner party because she thought her ideas were always so spectacular and she just knew everyone loved her so much that they’d be excited to cancel their plans and come.  She gave my dad about four hours’ notice to let everybody know.” 

           Aubrey could see the reticence in Jessica.  He gave her time to compose her thoughts before she continued. 

           “She was so angry when no one showed up...we had all this leftover food that would probably go to waste.  Of course, she screamed at my dad because according to her, it was all his fault because he’d deliberately ruined her plans by not telling anyone about her invitation.  It didn’t matter to her that no one had enough notice to make plans for babysitters and things like that.  Nothing is ever her fault, you know.” 

            Aubrey nodded sympathetically.  “Yeah, I get that.  It must be difficult to deal with that sort of thing.”             

            “My mom used to get depressed a lot, too, where she’d just sit by herself in the living room, staring off into space.  When she wasn’t angry with all of us she would just be....numb.”  Jessica closed her eyes for a moment before she continued.  “One day when I was fourteen, my Mom was depressed, and she accused my father of putting rat poison in her food, when in actuality it was just Metamucil for himself.  He denied it but she didn’t listen, saying that…” 

            Aubrey could see that what she was trying to explain was painful for her.  “Jess, we don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to--” 

            “But I am ready to talk about this, Aubrey.”, Jessica retorted.  “I need to tell you....” 

            “All right.  I’ll be glad to listen.”, he said, waiting for her to speak. 

            The redhead took a deep breath before continuing.  “She said he wasn’t going to be able to kill her because...she would do it herself instead.  Grabbing the glass of water I had nearby, she broke it and tried to…cut her own throat before my father stopped her.  He had to admit her to the psych ward that night.”

           “Jesus…”, Aubrey said quietly.  “That’s terrible…”           

           “Yeah, it was, especially since it wasn't the last time she tried to...end things.” Jessica sniffled a bit as a tear rolled down her cheek.  “When the doctors put her on an anti-psychotic drug in addition to her lithium, life at our house became much worse.  Mom would go on and on about how the meds were making her life more difficult...how she couldn’t drink any alcohol because of the drug interaction...how she’d lost her sex drive…random stuff that her kids really didn’t need to know…”

           Jessica couldn’t stop her herself as she continued to share things she’d never told anyone.   “After that, she stopped taking her meds frequently.  When she went into hypomania, because my father couldn’t keep up with her…you know, sexually...Mom had several extramarital affairs, and she didn’t care who knew about them.  As she grew older it seemed she resented us even more because we were a reminder that her life didn’t turn out as she’d expected.  So when she got intense or when my parents would scream at each other behind closed doors, I would hop on the Metro and come here.”

           Aubrey knew how she felt, having had a difficult childhood of his own, but that was a story for another day.  He nodded silently as she continued.

           “I didn’t feel like such a burden to anyone here.  I didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to take care of me. My dad had enough things to do without worrying about me more than he already did, you know?  When he wasn’t wrapped up in dealing with my mom’s shit, he worried about us kids, particularly Jack, Aaron, and me, because we were child prodigies like he was growing up.  We were different enough without people treating us like we were some sort of science experiment.  Being with other kids like us at the cooperative was so nice.”

           Aubrey knew what it was like to feel different as a kid, but they could talk about that later.  For now, he decided it was more important to listen to what Jessica had to say.

           “I’d just sit here and think about escaping somewhere where no one knew our family.  I just wanted to go to a place where I could be just be...me.  I’d be gone for hours, but eventually, one of my brothers or my dad would come into DC to get me and we would drive back to Bethesda...back to our house at the cooperative, and then we’d all try to act like nothing had happened.”  She paused to wipe some tears from her cheek.  

            “I’m so sorry, Jess.”  Wanting to comfort her, Aubrey pointed to a nearby bench.  “Let’s sit here for a minute, okay?”  He handed her his handkerchief.  “Here…”

            “Thanks.”  She smoothed her gown as she settled next to him, shrugging slightly as she stared at the sidewalk in front of her.  “I’m sorry...I guess I’ve been babbling.”

            “I don’t think you’re babbling.”  Aubrey shook his head as he looked out over the Mall.  “I think we’ve needed to have this talk for a long time.”

            “Yeah, I guess so.”  Jessica sighed softly before continuing.  “As you can imagine, I stuck out like a sore thumb at Michigan State.  I was fifteen years old, but my peers were eighteen or nineteen.  They were all eager to party...to try new things...to have sex.  I got there eventually, but it seemed most cute and interesting guys weren’t interested in a girl who was usually smarter than them or who liked stuff like science fiction and graphic novels.  The few who did like me made me really uncomfortable. One got so clingy that I felt like I couldn’t breathe and then, after my dad’s stroke, it was just easier to keep things casual because guys would get sick of me after a while, you know? As one of my former boyfriends said, I was the fun and quirky party girl who was good for a casual lay, but I had too much emotional baggage to really be anyone’s girlfriend.”

             Aubrey was disgusted.  “What an asshole!  You didn’t deserve to be treated that way...”

             The redhead chuckled.  “I know that now, Superman, but at the time, it really hurt.  I told myself that I liked having my options open and that being tied down to one guy kept me from what I wanted to be...a kick ass anthropologist like Doctor B.  She was why I got into forensic anthropology in the first place, you know?”

             “It’s so cool that you get to learn from a world famous scientist like her.”  Aubrey said.

             “Yeah, it is. I was so pumped when I got accepted into the program.  Anyway, when I got in at the Jeffersonian lab, I still felt the same way about guys.  I didn’t want to be tied down.  Sweets was fun, but after three hook ups with him, he came to me and told me that Daisy was pregnant.”

              She saw the irritation on Aubrey’s face and put her hand up to quell his outburst.  “He didn’t sleep with her when we were together, I promise. It was the same old story, though. He liked me, but he was in love with Daisy.  It was obvious and I wasn’t going to stand in the way of that, so I told him to go to her.”

              Jessica laughed again.  “I had to work with her a week later, and it was really weird. We had to examine a set of remains together, but we didn’t really talk to each other for over an hour.  Then she asked me what it was like to go to school in Michigan for seven years as compared to American University.  That eventually led to us talking about guys...which naturally led to us talking about Sweets.  When we were done for the day, we went out for drinks...well, a beer for me and club soda for her, and that was the start of our friendship.  She never held it against me...you know, that I’d been with him.”

              “I’ve always wondered how that came about.”  Aubrey said with a chuckle.  “I’m glad you girls worked that out.”

              “I promised myself after that little fiasco that I would put all my focus on my internship, because relationships scared me to death.  I didn’t want to be like my parents and constantly fight with someone I was supposed to love, and it seemed to me that I was meant for casual relationships because I wasn’t going to dumb myself down for any guy.”           

              “Good.  I like you just the way you are.”  Aubrey reached over to pat her knee.  “Don’t sell yourself short, okay?  If a guy can’t handle you being a genius who got into Mensa when she was 17 years old, he doesn’t deserve you.”

               Jessica smiled as she turned to Aubrey.  “So now we come to you...this really cute agent that I met during the Hayes Robertson case who shocked me by being such a sweet guy.  After that case, you’d come by the lab just to tell me jokes and to chat, remember?  Then we worked together for the first time on the Hodsell case...and I knew. Oh, did I know…”

              “I don’t get it.”  Obviously confused, Aubrey shook his head.  “You knew what, Jess?”

              “That you were different from all the other guys I’d ever known.  You didn’t treat me like some weirdo prodigy.  You seemed really interested in what I had to say and you liked me for who I was.  I’ve never trusted someone like I trust you, James Aubrey.  When you told me about your dad, I knew I could talk to you about my mom.  After I did, you didn’t look at me with disgust or make an excuse to leave.”           

               “Why would I do that?”, Aubrey asked.  “It’s not your fault your mother is mentally ill.  Just like when you told me that I’m not my father, you’re not your mother, Jess.”

                Jessica hesitated for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “When Caroline asked you to do that background check on me, it shook me up a bit.  I thought, _‘this is it, he’s not going to be my friend anymore.  I’m going to screw things up for him so he can’t run for Congress.’”_

                Blushing slightly, Aubrey cringed at her remark.  “I was such an idiot…I really feel bad about running that background check on you...poking into your business like that...”

               “But then you sent me that gift bag with a white flag and a stuffed pigeon toy with that note saying no crow was available for you to eat but you would eat a whole pigeon.  You charmed me into that first date, Aubrey.”

                Aubrey shrugged shyly.  “Because I liked you...a lot, Jess.  I was just intimidated, that’s all.”

                She rolled her eyes at the silly man next to her. “Why?”

                Aubrey looked at her, once again dumbfounded.  “You really don't see it, do you?”

               “See what?”, Jessica said.  “I know you think I'm pretty but--”

               “You’re not just pretty, Jessica.”, Aubrey said quietly.  “You are beautiful...outside and inside.  Plus, you’d had all these adventures while I was this staid, normal FBI agent.  A girl like you could have any guy she wanted.”

               Aubrey’s words cut Jessica to her core.  “No, I couldn't, Aubrey, because when I finally found someone who said he loved me and meant it for more than to get me into bed, I panicked.  I had a knee jerk reaction, not just because you felt so strongly about me, but also because I felt that way about you.  I went to that class in Scotland all tied up in knots because I didn't know what was wrong with me.  I know now I shouldn't have gone to that class, Superman, because I wasn't here for you when your dad showed up…”

              “That’s in all the past, okay, Jess...”

              “No, it’s not okay...”,  Jessica sniffled as she wiped her eyes with Aubrey’s handkerchief.  “I practically abandoned you…”

              “Hey, enough, alright?”  Aubrey put his knuckle under her chin, gently lifting her face so she could look into his eyes.  “You don’t have to worry about that any more.  Doctor B recommended you for that class, and I would have been a shitty boyfriend to stand in the way of an opportunity for you to study at such a great university.  Anyway, you had no way of knowing when my dad was actually going to show up, okay?  Stop beating yourself up over that.”  

               Jessica sniffled a little bit as she continued.  “But I just left you to fend for yourself, Aubrey.  I didn't think to talk to you about how you felt about things.  You must have been hurt when I just announced that I got accepted for this class and took off three days later, especially since it was right after you tried to tell me how you felt about me.”

              Aubrey couldn't deny what she said.  “I felt...well, it just reinforced what I thought after that night...that I was pushing you too hard, like maybe the stuff with my father was too much for you to handle.  That’s why whenever you wanted to talk about him and how I was coping, I changed the subject.  Of course...I didn’t want to push you away, but I ended up doing that anyway.”  

              Shifting nervously on the bench, he reached over to take Jessica’s hand. “Listen, there’s something I need to tell you, okay?”  He exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself.  “I want to apologize for ruining what we had together.  I know I screwed up badly with how I handled that whole LA promotion thing.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone through everything in my head, wishing I could go back and change things.  I’m so sorry for being such an asshole.  I didn’t ever want to hurt you and I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness.  I just wasn’t sure what to do, you know?  I knew I wanted to have you with me, but I wasn’t sure just how involved we should be…we both seemed to have our doubts...”

              Jessica looked at him with tears in her eyes.  “James, if you had said that to me when we first discussed your promotion, it would’ve made a difference.  I would’ve said yes to moving with you.”

             “What?”  Aubrey was stunned.  “Seriously?”

              She nodded.  “Yes.  Instead, I felt rejected, like I was just an afterthought.  You know, get a fancy new promotion...check. Move clear across the country...check.  New apartment...check.  Figure out how to move the cat...check.  Girlfriend...oh, shit.  Got to tell the girlfriend.”

              “Jessica…”  He knew he’d done exactly that.  “You’re right.  I know I should’ve told you sooner, but I was so….afraid, I guess.  I mean, I really wanted that promotion.  I thought I wanted to go to LA, and I knew I wanted you to come with me.  However, I also knew that would be difficult for you to do that with your internship at the lab.  I thought maybe I’d stay to be here with you, but you seemed panicked at the thought of us having a serious relationship and I didn’t want to pressure you.  I was trying to take some time to think it through, but I guess it would’ve been so much easier to have been honest with you from the beginning so we could’ve decided things together.  Instead, I ended up shutting you out.”

              “I don’t ever want to feel that way again.  I hated it...that feeling that you didn’t trust me enough to confide in me.”  Jessica crossed her arms across her chest.  “And if you didn’t trust me to tell me about how things were with your dad, or about a possible promotion, how could we ever have a lasting relationship? I felt pushed into a corner, and I couldn’t see any way to get out of this mess except to make a clean break from you.”  She sniffled slightly as she brushed tears from her cheek.  “I didn’t think you wanted me anymore.”

              “No, I’ve always wanted you.  I didn't want to drive you away.  The way I feel about you, Jessica...it’s so hard to explain.  All I can say is that I’ve never felt this way about anyone else...and I never will.  It’s like you complete me...you soothe my soul, you know?  I’m not sure I can live without you.”

               The agent sat for a moment to gather his thoughts, blinking back a few tears.  “It was hard, because I knew I wasn't ready to get married or even live together.  I wanted you, but I didn't realize how much I _needed_ you until you told me no and said we had no future together in LA or anywhere else.  I didn't just lose my lover, Jessica...I was losing my best friend.  Then when we were at the crime scene and it seemed like you were freezing me out, it just about killed me.”

               “But you had Karen…”, Jessica began softly.

               “No, I never ‘had’ Karen. I picked her brain because you two were friends and talking to her about my dad after I saw him at the diner helped me a lot. I didn't want to go with Karen to Daisy’s wedding, but like an idiot, I let her talk me into it.  I didn't ask her, by the way.  She suggested going with her as a way to move on from you.  I thought she was invited, I swear.  Then when we got there, you had that jackass Gerald with you as your date…”

               “Yeah…that was a mistake...” She grimaced at the thought of the crude antiquities intern.

               “He’s always been after you, Jess.  It made me feel so insecure sometimes.  I mean, the guy looks like he should be on the cover of GQ.”

                “Aubrey, you’re twice, no, ten times the man he is.”, Jessica said.   She fidgeted with her purse, not wanting to look at him.  “You know, I overheard about you and Karen from those agents while we were at the crime scene and it made me so angry.  Then you came up to me all charming and asking how I was, but I was so hurt and mad at myself that I took it out on you.”

                “Why were you mad at yourself?”  Aubrey gave her a quizzical look.  

                 Surprised at the question, Jessica turned to the agent and laughed.  “Don't _you_ know?  You’re a catch, James Aubrey. I had the pick of the litter and instead of talking to you about things, I freaked out and broke up with you.  Then, to make matters worse, it looked like you had quickly moved on to someone else.  I’d lost my best friend because I was too scared to take a chance on you.  Dr. B was right.”

                “About what?”  Now Aubrey was really confused.

                “I was scared to death of how I felt about you.  It was easier to justify breaking up with you because it hurt so much to realize that I caused all this mess, and then I lost you and then I slapped you…I’m so sorry...”

                Aubrey couldn't let her take it all on herself.  “I deserved to be smacked for what I said after the wedding, Jessica.  I was jealous and it was disgusting and uncalled for.  No...we both did this.  Booth was right about that.”

             It was Jessica’s turn to be confused.  “Booth was right about what?”

             Aubrey leaned back and closed his eyes.  “It was both of us.  Love is supposed to be a wonderful thing between two people...but all it did was freak us out.  It was easier to have great sex and hang out like always without ever having to make a commitment.  Booth said I needed to grow up...and he was right.  You weren't the only one placing all the blame, Jess.  It was easier to convince myself that you were overreacting over nothing and that you just needed to get over yourself.  When Booth told me about the crap going around about me and Karen, everything made sense.  No wonder you didn't believe me when I said I wasn’t with her.  You were right when you thought I was a douche bag--”

             “I didn't think you were a douchebag--”

             “Fine...an inconsiderate asshole, then.  I wanted to make you jealous...and to hurt like I was hurting... so I threw Karen in your face.  However, all I did was alienate you and make her think I was really interested in her.”

              Jessica couldn't contain her curiosity.  “Yeah, I saw she kissed you at the wedding reception.”

             “Yeah...on the lips...hard!”, Aubrey said with a shudder.  “That wasn't the worst of it. She tried to jiggle my jewels...”  When he described what happened after their fight, Jessica laughed out loud.

             “So not funny, Jess.”  Aubrey tried to look annoyed.  

             “So very funny, Aubrey.  Man, we both got groped Saturday night.  Daisy’s wedding really sucked for both of us, didn’t it?”

              Suddenly, the two of them were laughing so hard they had tears streaming from their eyes. It felt so good to laugh together again, but when they calmed down, reality hit them.

             “So what do we do now?”, Jessica asked softly.  “Are you still interested in me?  Do you still want to be friends with me?”

             “Oh, Jess...I’ve never wanted anything more in my whole life.  I just want to be with you, okay?  No promotion is important enough for me to lose you.  When I realized I might not have you to share my success with, I didn’t care about it anymore.  It doesn’t mean anything without you.  That’s why I’d decided to say no…because you didn’t seem interested in moving…”

             “No?  You were going to say no?  But it was a great move for your career…”  Jessica shook her head in disbelief.  “So you changed your mind?  You were going to stay no matter what?”

             “Yeah...”  Aubrey stared out across the Reflecting Pool as he remembered that awful day.  “...but with everything that happened, you know, with the Jeffersonian being bombed and all, I didn’t get a chance to tell you.  We were supposed to finish our conversation later, but things went to hell…”  He sighed as he studied his shoes.  “So if I had asked you the right way, when I first found out about the promotion, you would’ve gone with me to California…”

             “And if I’d given you a chance to explain instead of making assumptions about what you wanted, you would’ve told me that you were going to stay here in DC, no matter what.”  Jessica didn’t know if she should laugh or cry.  “And Karen…”

             “Karen is not my new girlfriend, and I’m guessing that Gerald is not your new boyfriend, so there we are.”  Aubrey ran his hand down his face.  “It seems our communication skills suck.  I’d say we need some major improvement in that area.”

              “You’re right.”, Jessica agreed.  “We’ve been stuck in this mess for too long...not talking to each other...not saying what we mean or how we really feel.”  Giggling softly, she smiled sadly at Aubrey.  “It’s like carbonite, isn’t it?”

              “Carbonite?”  Puzzled, he turned to her for an explanation.

              “You know, we’ve been stuck in a rut, going along like usual, each hoping the other knows what we’re thinking and feeling, like Han Solo and Leia in _The Empire Strikes Back._ They don’t say anything about how they truly feel about each other until Darth Vader is going to freeze Han in the carbonite, and then Leia says….”

               “I love you.”  Aubrey finally understood.  “And Han says…”

               “I know.”  Jessica continued softly.  “If we don’t say everything...if we don’t tell each other the whole truth, feelings and all, we won’t ever know if we can make it together as a couple.”

               “Yeah, you’re right.”  Aubrey studied his fingernails for a few minutes.  “Booth thinks neither one of us is ready for a relationship until we figure out why each of us did what we did.”

               Jessica sighed.  “Dr. B said the same thing.”

               Aubrey hoped he wasn't breaking a confidence.  “Have you heard about how strained things were with Booth and Doctor B after she’d turned him down when he wanted to be more than friends?  Or what happened after Booth got back from Afghanistan and Dr. B came home from that island she went to with Daisy and when his new girlfriend showed up…”

              “I’ve heard most of the story from Daisy, but she said it wasn’t something to bring up to Booth or Doctor B.”

              “Well, things got really bad until he broke up with that reporter he was living with….Hannah Burley...you know from TV?”  When Jessica nodded, he continued.   “After she left, their relationship improved somewhat, but they still didn’t talk about how things were between them, you know?  Booth said one day while they were stuck in an elevator during a blizzard, they laid everything out on the table, including the all the issues that were keeping them apart.  He said it was awkward as fuck, but once they talked it all out, they decided to rebuild their friendship while working on their own stuff, and it took the pressure off.  Only then, when they knew they were ready, would they try to be together.”

              “Really?”  Jessica was astonished.  “That must’ve been really scary for both of them.”

              “Yeah.  He said they’ve always talked and been open with each other after that, no matter how uncomfortable it was. It must’ve worked because now they’re married with two kids and they managed to get back together after Booth fell off the gambling wagon a year and a half ago.”

               Both were quiet for a moment as they contemplated the situation before Aubrey’s phone rang.  Looking at the caller ID, he quickly pushed the IGNORE button before putting it back in his pocket.  “You know I love you, don’t you, Jessica?  Being really in love with you is exhilarating, but it scares the shit out of me...

               Jessica brushed away a tear.  “What are you trying to say, Aubrey?”

               Aubrey looked into her worried eyes and tried to smile. “I know I'm not ready to be in a relationship with you...or anyone else for that matter.  I need to grow up and I need to figure some things out first.  We both need to figure things out.”

               The redhead finally understood what he meant.  “You mean...we work on why I'm so scared to make a commitment and why you keep holding things back from me?”

              “Yeah.  Booth made me realize if we have any chance of being together, we have to work on ourselves first before we can be together or otherwise, we’ll just fail again. I can’t take that risk...I couldn’t handle losing you again.”

               Jessica nodded resolutely as she made her decision.  “We’ll just start over.  For right now, we’ll be friends, but we’ll work on our communication.  When we get our own problems worked out, we can work on being together.  The big question is this...what do we do if people start sticking their noses into our business?  Aren’t you afraid that we might feel pressured into rushing things again?”

               “First, we only tell people we choose to tell.  Second, if anybody gets nosy, we tell them to mind their own damn business and then we talk it over with each other.  Shitty communication got us in this mess, Jess.  We can’t let things slide, okay?”, Aubrey responded.  “I can't guarantee the future, but I think we can do this.  If we can have one tenth what Booth and Doctor B have, then...we can do anything.  Above all else, I will wait as long as you need me to...you know that, right?  When I commit to something, I don’t quit.”

                Jessica’s heart melted when she heard his simple, heartfelt declaration.  Never had anyone considered her needs that important.  She couldn't help the tears that rolled down her cheek.

                Aubrey thought he said the right thing, but he felt sick when she started to cry.  “Oh shit...I said the wrong thing again, didn’t I?  Jess, I’m so sorry--”

               “No, no you didn't.”, Jessica said as she wiped her eyes.  “James Aubrey, you said the most perfect thing any man could ever say to a woman.”

                They smiled at each other before Aubrey realized how dark the Mall was.  Looking at his phone, he gasped in surprise.  “Crap, Jess, it's almost eleven o’clock.”

                “I totally didn't notice how late it was.”, the redhead said as she shivered slightly.  “Getting cold, I notice.”

                “Nice Yoda.”, Aubrey said before pulling off his top section of armor and gently placing it around her upper body.  “A little heavy, but it's warm.  Doesn’t do much for the dress, though...”

                “Thanks, Boyfriend.” Jessica couldn’t help but grin at Aubrey’s bashful smile.  “You don’t mind if I call you Boyfriend, do you?”

                “Of course not….Damn it!”  Their tender moment was broken by Aubrey’s phone ringing again.  Picking it up, he groaned before putting it back in his pocket.

                “It was Karen, wasn't it?  She’s the one who’s been calling you all evening…”

                "Yes.”, Aubrey said.  “I guess she was sent to work at the Seattle field office this week.  Now she’s back...and my peaceful week is officially over...”

                 “It’s probably because you missed your hot date tonight.”, Jessica said with a chuckle.

                 “Hot date?” Aubrey looked confused.  “What are you talking about?”

                 “Well, your _‘girlfriend...,_ ”, Jessica said, as she made quotation marks in the air. “...sent me a text Wednesday asking about...you know what, it’s better if I just show you.”           

                  Jessica pulled out her phone and found the text in question.  Showing it to Aubrey, she saw the annoyed look in his eyes.

                  “What the--”

                  “Did you develop some sort of panty fetish within the last month or so?  She’s very concerned about making her underwear appealing to you, Superman.”

                  “The only underwear I want to see is yours, Jessica.”, Aubrey said as he rubbed his face in frustration.  “Great.  She stalks me at work, shows up at my apartment without calling, pisses off my cat, annoys the shit out of me at Daisy’s wedding, hits on me more than once, rearranges the pictures in my living room, and now this…”

                  Jessica moved down the bench closer to Aubrey.  “She rearranged things in your living room without your permission?  That’s just creepy. What are you going to do?”

                  Aubrey made a snarky face.  “Booth said I should try not being available for lunch and that I should be strictly professional at work.  Hopefully that will take care of it.  I've already told her I just want to be friends.”  Aubrey shrugged casually.  “It's my own fault that I led her on, so now I have to deal with it.”  He decided to change the subject.  “So what are you doing tomorrow?”

                  “Working hard on my dissertation since I’ve let that slide lately.”  She gave him a hopeful wink. “However, maybe we can have dinner together.”

                   “Can't.  Having dinner with Booth, Dr. B and the Mini Booths, but can I call you tomorrow night?” 

                   “Sure.”, Jessica said.  “What are your plans next week?” 

                  “I have lunch meetings all week, you know, so I can dodge a certain profiler.”  He gave Jessica a wink.  “However, it's Retro Science Fiction night Wednesday night at the Cineplex.  They’re showing _The Thing From Another World_.  I love that one...”

                  “Me, too.  Diner for dinner first?”, Jessica said with a smile.  “My treat…”

                  “Well, in that case, definitely dinner first.”

                  “Okay, it's a date, Agent Aubrey.”, Jessica said.  “Just don’t tell Obi-Wan Kenobi.  I don’t think he’d understand why Princess Leia would go out with a Stormtrooper...even if he is cute.”  She giggled as he pulled her up from the bench.  “You know, the Princess wouldn’t make that sort of pact with the enemy.”

                   Aubrey flashed a dimpled smile as he bumped her shoulder with his.  “C’mon, Princess.  I’ll take you home.”

                   The two friends walked away arm in arm, both feeling positive about their relationship for the first time in a long time. 


	11. The Karen Menace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 of the Love & Carbonite Labor Day Surprise!
> 
> So Karen comes into play this chapter. Anyone want to guess what happens?

          It was 8 am Sunday morning, and Aubrey was sound asleep as Skinner stood on his chest and stared at him. Hearing his phone buzz, he ignored the cat walking on him as he reached over to grab it. He groaned softly as he saw who the message was from.

          ** _Where were u last nite?_**

Aubrey knew Karen was annoyed because he hadn’t answered any of her four phone calls last night, but he didn’t care.  It really wasn’t any of her business where he’d been.  He thought about not answering her text, but decided it would be easier to get it over with.

            **_Out w/ friends.  Back late._ **

**** Feeling Skinner head butt his ass, the agent got up to feed him and make some coffee.  After filling the bowl, he heard his phone buzz again.  Reading it, he shook his head in frustration.

            **_Who were u out w/?_ **

**** Aubrey wasn’t going to lie, but he wasn’t going to drag Jessica into his drama either.  Typing a text, he sent it.

**_A good friend of mine._ **

**** Hoping she would take the hint, Aubrey got out the coffee beans and cinnamon from the cupboard.  As he finished grinding the beans, he heard another text come in.  When he saw the message, he quickly graduated from frustrated to very annoyed.

            **_Any 1 I know?_ **

**** “Take a fucking hint, Karen.”, the lanky man muttered to himself before sending a simple message.

            **_An old girlfriend._ **

**** When the coffee was brewed he poured a cup before taking the box of Lucky Charms down from the cupboard.  That’s when he heard the phone again.  Picking it up, he read the message.

**_Got back from WA last nite.  Sorry unavailable last wk but FBI needed me more than u._ **

**** “Hmmmm, nice try but sorry, no guilt.”, Aubrey said before turning to his cat.  “Skinner, I think that Karen lady you don’t like is pissed at Daddy.”

           The agent smiled as the orange tabby’s fluffy tail started flicking hard back and forth before he ran off to use his litter box.  Chuckling to himself, Aubrey sent another message.

            **_It’s OK.  I managed all rite.  Bureau comes 1_ ** **_st_ ** **_._ **

**** Aubrey ate his breakfast quickly, knowing he had chores to do before going to Booth and Brennan’s.  After putting his empty bowl and coffee cup in the sink, he jumped in the shower and got dressed.  When he brushed his teeth, he got another text.

            **_How about dinner @ Satay Sarinah?  A date w/ pigeon & u could b fun._ **

**** Aubrey took a deep breath.  She knew the significance of that place for him and Jessica and it infuriated him that she was playing this game.  Needing a break from her, he replied with the following:

            **_No thanx.  Have plans l8r._ **

           Satisfied, he got his laundry together before turning to his bed.  Coming around, he stripped the sheets that had been there since he broke up with Jessica.

           He had a strong hunch she would be with him in that bed again one day in the near future.

* * *

           Karen saw Aubrey’s last message and fumed.  She’d left for a week to teach him a lesson, but it obviously went over the agent’s head.  However, remembering his reaction when she was blatant about her intentions, the profiler knew she needed to keep her cards close to the vest.

            She thought she would have him when she suggested dinner at Satay Sarinah.  He loved their pigeon.  Yeah, he had a date with that flaky forensic anthropologist there...big fucking deal.

           The profiler recalled Jessica’s attempts to get her boyfriend to have a healthier diet.  She laughed as she remembered that the redhead bimbo had wanted a virile man like Aubrey to survive on black kale chia smoothies.  How stupid was she to think her boyfriend would permanently drink something like that?

            Then the bitch interrupted her diner time with the agent by bringing in healthy meals like vegetarian lasagna and American goulash with lean sirloin 2 or 3 times a week.  Because of that, Aubrey wasn’t going out as much, even for his morning coffee time, which she had learned to time for her ‘accidental meetings’.  The few times she was able to join him for lunch when Jessica, Booth, or that holier than thou Dr. Brennan couldn’t be there were now gone.

            Suddenly, it came to her.  To win him over, she had to use his love of food.  To her knowledge, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t eat, so she’d bring him lunch like Jessica used to and that would get his attention again.  Of course, he would whine about that flaky redhead, but Karen knew she had to be his friend before she could get him into bed.

           ‘ _After all, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach._ ’, she thought to herself, smiling as she remembered her grandmother’s words of wisdom.

           Then he’d know what he’d been missing while he was with that graduate student.  From what she found out through the grapevine and from talking to Aubrey, Jessica graduated from Michigan State on full scholarships with two bachelors and one master's degree, all _summa cum laude_ and at the top of her class.  What pissed Karen off even more was that the redhead got a full ride while she’d had to struggle to get grants and other types of aid.  Of course, she now had mountains of student loan debt but the FBI was paying $10,000 per year of it for the next six years.

_‘Child prodigy, huh?’,_ Karen bitterly thought to herself.   _‘More like probably fucked her way to her honors.  Wonder who she jumped to get her internship at the Jeffersonian?  Probably that Angela Montenegro so she would put in a good word with Dr. Brennan.  Rumor has it she used to swing both ways before marrying that crazy Dr. Hodgins.  I could totally see Jessica doing that.’_

           Wanting to make sure Aubrey would be available for her call, she sent him a text message.

            **_Making you chicken 4 dinner.  Come by around 5:00 PM  :)_ **

           Grabbing her laptop and coffee, Karen started researching recipes to make for Aubrey.  He said he was busy, but no way would he turn down a free meal.

* * *

            Aubrey played with Christine while Booth and Brennan were making dinner.  Tonight they were eating garlic shrimp Alfredo and he was salivating at the wonderful aroma.  As the agent was ready to take his turn in _Candy Land_ , his phone rang.  Seeing who the caller was, he ignored it and set it down.

            “Uncle Aubrey, your phone is ringing.”, Christine said.

            “I know, Christine, but I’m busy having fun with you right now.  They can leave a message and if it’s important and I can call them later.  After all, I don’t to miss my turn in the game...”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Thirty minutes later, Aubrey was sipping his wine with dinner when he heard his phone buzz.  Concerned it might be work, he checked it, but when he saw who the caller was, he set it back down without answering it.

            “Aubrey, you can get that if you need to, especially if it’s work.”, Brennan said.

            “It’s not important Dr. B.  They can leave a message.”, the agent said before looping more wheat linguine onto his fork.  “My mother always said that answering a phone call during dinner, unless it was truly important, was rude.”

            As he ate, he finished his comment to himself.   _‘But of course, my father had a different definition of important than we did.’_

            “You would rather eat dinner with us than talk on the phone?”, Christine asked in surprise.

            “Most definitely, Mini Booth number one.”, Aubrey said, smiling as he popped another shrimp in his mouth.

* * *

           Jessica was incredulous.  “So she called you how many times today?”

            “Four or five, Jess.”, Aubrey said as he sat in his living room watching the _Simpsons_ with Skinner.  “That’s not counting the text messages she sent me starting at 8:00 this morning pumping me for info on who I was with yesterday.”

            “What did you tell her?”, Jessica said as she opened her fridge.

            “After she hounded me, I told her the truth...that I’d gone out with an old girlfriend.”, Aubrey said with a laugh.  “She deserved it after that nasty text she sent you about our supposed date Saturday night.  Then she replied with….here, let me forward it to you.”

            Aubrey forwarded Karen’s text to Jessica and waited for a moment.  He didn’t have to wait long for a response.

            _“Ouch…that’s some hot shade she shot your way, Superman.”_

Aubrey took a drink of his beer.  “Even after I told her I had plans, she sent me a message that she was cooking chicken for dinner and I needed to be at her apartment by 5:00.  She called twice while I was at Booth and Dr. B’s, and that was her who tried calling me a few minutes ago.  Obviously she didn’t like that I didn’t show up for dinner.”

            “Well, we need to ask the all-important question, Superman.”,  Jessica said as she grabbed carrots and cream cheese before kicking the door shut.  “Does Skinner approve of her?”

            “He hates her guts.”, Aubrey said with a chuckle.  “You’re his favorite.  He misses you, Jess.”

            The redhead set her things down on the table with her laptop.  “I miss him, too.  Let him know I’ll see him soon.”

            “Okay.”, Aubrey said with a smile.

            _“Listen Superman, I have to get back to my dissertation.  I know you were going to call me, but I couldn’t wait to talk to you for a bit.”_

“I’m glad you did.”, Aubrey said.  “Are we still on for Wednesday night?”

            _“Uh, yeah, Aubrey.  I haven’t seen The Thing From Another World in a while.  Barring a case, you’re taking me to that movie, buddy, so don’t bother trying to weasel out of it.  Especially if I’m buying dinner at the diner beforehand.  A date’s a date.”_

            Hearing the word _‘date’_ made the agent feel warm and fuzzy all over.  “That it is.  I’ll call you Tuesday, all right?”

            “Cool.”, the redhead said as she dipped a carrot in her cream cheese.  “Night, Superman.”

            “Night, Jess.”,  Aubrey responded.

             The agent ended the call and smiled.  Last Sunday he was recouping from a hangover and one of the worst nights of his life.  Tonight things were definitely looking up.  Talking to Jessica always made him feel good, especially when she set aside time from working on her dissertation just to talk to him.

            Then another feeling made its presence known and he couldn't ignore it.  Aubrey lifted Skinner off his lap as his phone rang again.  When he saw the name, he groaned.

            “Sorry, Karen, I’ve got better things to do right now.”

            The agent got up and walked into his bathroom.  Skinner followed him and pushed the door open before entering.

            _“Skinner…can’t a man do some things in peace?”_

* * *

             Throroughly annoyed, Karen threw her phone down.  She’d made extra chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans to accommodate Aubrey when he came by for dinner.  She told him 5:00, so why didn’t he come by for dinner?  Surely, whatever plans he had didn’t take precedence over a free meal.

            The profiler considered the situation as she put the food away.  “He was probably busy with work.  He is the SAC of the Major Crimes Division and handling a major joint case with Booth’s Homicide Division.  Yeah, that’s it.”

            After she finished cleaning her kitchen and put the leftovers away, Karen found the recipes she discovered online.  Getting the needed items out for Monday’s lunch, she got started on the vegetarian lasagna.  Tonight she would prep it and tomorrow she could bake it at Quantico in the break room oven one floor below hers.  Aubrey will be so excited to have a hot, fresh meal and of course, he’ll ask her to join him.

            That flaky anthropologist wasn’t the only one who could charm James Aubrey out of his pants with food.

* * *

            Monday morning, Aubrey got up early and arrived at his office at 7:00 to finish payroll and other administrative tasks.  When 11:30 arrived, he grabbed his jacket, phone, and overcoat before leaving to have lunch with Booth at the diner.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Karen arrived at the Major Crimes Division at her usual time of 12:15 with an insulated bag containing the lasagna.  Walking straight through the bullpen, she arrived at Aubrey’s office and was surprised to see the light off and door closed.  Turning the knob, she was surprised again to find it locked.

            Seeing an agent walk by, Karen flagged him down.  “Excuse me, where’s Agent Aubrey?”

            Agent Baker shrugged his shoulders.  “He left to go to the diner for lunch with Agent Booth.”

            “Great.”, Karen said.  Thrusting the bag toward the agent, she couldn’t hold back her annoyance.  “Make sure your boss gets this and let him know it was from me.”

            “Sure, Dr. Delfs.  Any message?”

            “No, Agent.  Thank you.”, Karen said before walking away, her spine stiffened.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            When Aubrey returned about 12:45, Agent Baker greeted him with a present.  “Boss, Karen Delfs from the BRIU left this for you.”

            The SAC took the handles and twirled the bag around.  “Anyone know what it is?”

            “Not sure, but I think it’s supposed to be lasagna.”,  Baker said.  “She seemed annoyed you weren’t here.”

            “Well, I’m entitled to go have lunch with Agent Booth or any of my other friends.”, Aubrey said before going further to dispel any more rumors.  “It’s not like she’s my girlfriend or anything.  Whatever she wanted to discuss I’m sure we’ll talk about later.  I’ll put this out in the break room.  Between us, Homicide, and International Operations, I’m sure someone will eat it.”

            Aubrey carried the bag into the break room.  Opening it, he looked at the platter and the sauce, which smelled like it was burned.  Taking a fork, he poked through it and saw some very mushy carrots and peppers.  As he got it close to his nose, he made a face.  Not only was the sauce burned, but it smelled like she used some sort of cheap grated parmesan and cheddar cheese.  However, the cheese also looked funny.

            Then it hit him...Karen had used soy cheese.  Soy cheese was bad...very bad.

            On the other hand, when Jessica made Vegetarian lasagna, the sauce was made with fresh grated Parmesan mixed with Asiago and Romano cheeses.  The vegetables were crisp and she put Portobello mushrooms in it.  One time she made it with an Arrabiata red sauce with just the right amount of bite in it.  What was on the plate in front of him didn’t even come close.

            Not wanting to hurt the woman’s feelings, he left it out on the community counter and passed the word around that it was for everyone.

* * *

            Tuesday Aubrey was gone from Major Crimes the entire day.  He had arrived at the Hoover at 6:40 for the DC field office’s quarterly meeting, which started at 7:00 in the 6th floor conference room.  Here he was joined by Booth and the Special Agents in Charge from the other divisions along with the Assistant Deputy Director, Deputy Director, and Director.  The agent remembered how much Booth dreaded these.  

            At 9:00, they broke for a few minutes and Booth introduced Aubrey to the other SACs as he munched on his early morning snack.  An hour after that, he almost fell asleep while Hacker talked about the progress of the Human Resources department.  

            To get through the windbag’s lecture, Aubrey walked up to the cart in the back of the room.  Pouring two cups of coffee, he gave one to Booth, who expressed his gratitude silently.  Sitting down, he drank before he quietly sent a text message to Jessica, who was attending an anthropology lecture with Brennan and Daisy at American University's Hamilton building.

            **_If u think u may need zzz aid in future, I can rec’d Hacker talking about HR_**

Feeling a buzz, Aubrey checked his phone when Stark and the other directors weren’t looking and almost cracked up laughing.

            **_All set._**   ** _Guest lecturer made me & Daisy doze off.  Almost put Dr B 2 sleep 2.  _**

When Booth inquired, Aubrey showed him the message and both agents snickered until they saw a warning look from Stark, who looked ready to pass out himself.  About thirty seconds later, Booth sent him a message.

            **_Did any 1 eat your gf’s food in break rm yesterday?  It looked nasty when I saw it._**

Keeping a straight face, Aubrey responded to Booth’s text.

            **_Maybe 1 or 2.  Put the rest in fridge 4 u 2 enjoy later._**

Booth sent a simple response, which he qualified with an emoji of the middle finger.

            **_Fuck U Aubrey._**

Aubrey bit his lip to hold back another laugh as the two SACs turned their attention back to Hacker and his explanation of Human Resources’ new system of filing.

            Lunch couldn’t come fast enough.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Karen arrived at the Major Crimes division of the 4th floor around 11:30, this time with bags from the Royal Diner.  She’d gotten Aubrey his favorite triple bacon cheeseburger, fries, onion rings, fruit salad, and a chocolate shake.  Determined to get to him before he left for lunch again, she rushed to his office, only to see the blinds drawn and the door locked.

            “Grrrr.”, the profiler growled in frustration.

            Walking back into the bullpen, she came up empty until she found Agent Genevieve Shaw in her office eating at her desk.  “Excuse me, where is Special Agent Aubrey today?”

            Genny was not Karen’s fan at all.  The woman always rubbed her the wrong way and she knew the profiler was stalking her boss.  It was obvious he still loved his former girlfriend, but she realized she had to be professional.

            “He’s at our field office’s quarterly meeting with the various directors on the 6th floor and will be gone all day.  I’m Acting SAC today.  Is there something I can help you with?”

            “You’re in charge of his division today?”

            Genny kept a straight face.  “Yes, Dr. Delfs.  I’m the ASAC for Major Crimes and part of my job is to run things when the current SAC is unavailable.  Agent Aubrey said all inquiries were to go to me today and I would make the final call on whether to pull him out of his meeting.  Now, what can I help you with?  If it’s in regards to the profile you are doing for us on the Vacchio case, no new evidence has come in from the Jeffersonian yet.  However, if we require your services for another case, we will call you at the BRIU immediately.”

            Karen didn’t like the younger woman’s condescending attitude and intended to have a discussion with Aubrey about his second in command’s lack of respect.  “I have his lunch.  What time do they break for lunch?”  Karen asked impatiently.

            It took all the patience Genny had to remain professional.  “I’m not sure when they break for lunch, Dr. Delfs.  What I do know is the Bureau usually feed the department heads a catered lunch at these meetings.”

            Karen took a deep breath.  “Well, I’m sure he will sneak away for a while.  Can you unlock his office for me so I can put this in there?”

            “I don’t have keys to my supervisor’s office, Dr. Delfs.”  Genny said with an easy smile.  She was lying because Aubrey gave her his spare office key if someone needed to go in there but the profiler didn’t need to know that.

            Karen kept her cool.  “Fine, I’ll just send a text that I’m in the break room and I brought him lunch.”

            _‘Did she not hear what I just said about the catered lunch?’,_ Shaw thought, but decided not to argue with the woman.  “Sure, no problem.  Have a good one, Dr. Delfs.”

            Recognizing she was being dismissed, Karen walked back to the 4th floor break room.  Spreading everything out, she sent a message to Aubrey.  Pulling out her briefcase, she took out files to work on while she waited for the agent.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            As Aubrey was listening to SAC Burns talk about the latest system change in International Operations, his personal phone buzzed.  Turning it, he read it before groaning inwardly.

**_I’ve brought u lunch from RD.  In break rm w4u._ **

            “What is it?, Booth whispered.  Aubrey showed it to him and Booth shook his head.  “What the hell is that last one?”

            "Waiting for you.”, Aubrey whispered back before they read it again.

             Pulling his phone back, Aubrey tried to be discreet as he sent a response.  He then sent a message letting Jessica, Genny, and the lab know to reach him on his FBI phone or email the rest of the day before turning his focus back to the meeting.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Karen was reading over some notes when she heard her phone buzz.  Reading the message, steam came out of her ears before she dropped her phone hard on the counter.

**_Thx but FBI serving lunch shortly.  U can have what u brought me._**

            James Aubrey was trying her patience.  

            She had brought him lunch almost every day since that twit Jessica broke up with him and let him pick her brain on how to get the bimbo back.  Next, she agreed to be his friend after Daisy’s wedding even though it ruined the plans she made for him.  The least he could do was not accept the lunch the FBI paid for and instead come down from his meeting, have the meal that she purchased, and spend some time with her.  

             In a pique, she shoved all her work into her briefcase.  When done, she grabbed her lunch and stormed out of the break room, leaving the rest behind.  

             “Aubrey better learn to appreciate me or we’re going to have some major issues.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            The rest of the day was quite informative for Aubrey.  Booth asked Charlie Burns to join them during lunch and they compared notes on cases before the second half of the day began.  When the meeting concluded at 4:30 PM, he walked out with Booth.

            “Wow…”, Aubrey said.  “Talk about overwhelming…”

            “Yeah.  A lot of good information mixed in with some crap.”, Booth said.  “You did good when you had to present for Major Crimes, Aubrey.”

            “Thanks, Booth.  I was really nervous.”, the younger man said before switching gears.  “Hacker was long winded, but I liked what was coming out of International Operations, and the Finance and the Cyber divisions both have some interesting stuff in the works.  With Vacchio working for the SEC, that could come in handy.”

            “Good idea, Aubrey.  I’ll call Agents Ross and Elias tomorrow to set up some meetings if that works for you.  I’ll suggest lunch meetings if it fits with their schedules.”            

            “Thanks, Booth.”, Aubrey said with a smile.  As the two arrived at the stairwell, he opened the door.  “By the way, how’s your niece?”

            A minute later, the door opened at the 4th floor and the two men entered the hallway.  “Hayley is responding well to this new antibiotic.  Russ said the doctors are very optimistic for her.”

            “I’m glad Hayley is doing well, Booth.”

            “Me too, Aubrey.”, Booth said as they arrived in the middle of the floor.  “Are you free this week to go over what our departments found with the Vacchio case?”

            “I’m meeting with Angela and Genny tomorrow for a lunch time meeting to go over the Rhodes case.  I’m free for lunch Thursday and Friday, but I can move some stuff around if your schedule sucks.”

            “Thursday, Bones and I are going to Richmond to talk to a witness in the Weeks case, so it maybe be an all day thing.”, Booth said.  

            “That’s the one where the IT worker was found in the US Botanical Gardens, right?”

            “Yep, Bones and Hodgins found some particulates on the remains that Hodgins said this witness we’re talking to has experience in.”, Booth said.  “How about Friday?”

             “Sounds good.  Karen is supposed to have the profile done by Thursday morning, so that will give us both time to go over it.  If we get a major break we can meet sooner.”

            “Want to do it over lunch at the diner?”, Booth said.

            “Most definitely.”, Aubrey said.  

             Booth looked at his watch.  “Well, I’ve been here since before quarter to seven, so I’m out of here.”

            “Me, too.  Bye, Booth.”

            The two men parted and Aubrey headed through the bullpen to his office.  After unlocking the door, he went in to check his voicemail messages before leaving for the day.  He wasn’t long into his task when he heard a knock.  Looking up, he was grateful to see Genny.

            “So Acting SAC, how did things go today?”

            “Smooth.  Oh, the lab called about the Vacchio case, but Angela said she would just email it to you since you were in a meeting.”

            “Yeah, I read it when I checked my email during the afternoon break.”,  Aubrey said.  “It’s not much, but right now any lead is a good lead.”

            “Here’s your spare key, Aubrey.”, Genny said before giving it to her boss.  “Dr. Delfs left your lunch on the counter in the break room today.”

            “Seriously?”, Aubrey asked, incredulous.

            “Seriously.”, the woman said.  Pondering what she wanted to say next, she decided to just be honest.  “Thank you for trusting me today.  Halko didn’t trust anyone to run his division if he was gone.  I was promoted to be his ASAC in April and he wouldn’t show me how to do payroll or anything.”

            Aubrey was dumbfounded.  Based on the short time they worked together and Booth’s opinion of her, Agent Genevieve Shaw would make an excellent SAC after more experience.  “Well, then we need to make time so I can show you payroll, case audits, and other fun administrative jobs that an SAC does.  A couple months before Booth retired, he started showing me that stuff and let me do them occasionally so I got some practice in.”

           “I’d like that, Aubrey.  Thanks.”

            The agent felt bad for his second in command dealing with Karen today.  “Genny, if you’ve got nothing pressing, go ahead and take off for the night.  It’s the least I can do for you covering for me today.”

            “Thanks again, Aubrey.”, The woman said.  “Have a good night.”  

            “You, too.  Bye.”, Aubrey said before the young woman walked out the door.

            After checking his messages, Aubrey gathered his stuff, walked out of his office, and he locked his door.  As he walked down the steps to the parking garage, he hoped Karen would get the message that she needed to back off.  He didn’t want to embarrass her because she was a friend to him those first few weeks after he and Jessica broke up.

            Part of him wanted to tell her that he and Jessica were friends again and working towards resuming their relationship.  However, he didn’t want to get the intern involved in his mess.  Besides…he enjoyed having his time with the redhead to himself.  He felt confident that when the two of them were able to get past their issues, they could work on being together.

            He was in no rush.

* * *

            Wednesday, Karen arrived at the Hoover 12 noon with an extra-large Meat Lovers pizza from DiAngelo’s. No way would Aubrey be able to resist this.

            As she was waiting in line to walk through the metal detector, she realized that she forgot her badge and security refused to let her through without it.  After running back out to the car, she was forced to wait in an even longer line as some idiot kept tripping the detector, cleaning out his pockets and shoes before showing he had a metal plate in his head.  She appealed to the security guards to try to sneak through because they knew her but they stuck to their protocol.

            Finally getting through, as she got to the reception desk, she saw a woman delivering what looked like Chinese being given a pass and directions to a location.  She waited impatiently as two more people were being issues visitors’ passes as Aubrey’s pizza started to cool off.  It took over ten minutes to finally get signed in.

            Finally arriving at the 4th floor, she first checked the break room, but only found two agents she recognized from Homicide and International Operations.  Heading out of the shared room, she walked straight ahead towards the Major Crimes Division.  She tore through the bullpen before finally arriving at Aubrey’s office.  Today, the door was open and the light was on.  However, the agent was nowhere to be seen.

            Looking on the other side of the bullpen, she spotted Aubrey in their conference room.  As she got closer, she saw that Angela Montenegro in between him and Agent Shaw showing them something on a laptop.  On the table was a box and several files.

            Opening the door without knocking, she greeted everyone.   “Hello, Aubrey.  Ready for some lunch?”

            “Hi, Karen.  I didn’t know we had plans for lunch.” Aubrey said with a raised eyebrow.

           The profiler noted several open Chinese boxes and three cans of Sprite together on the table.  By each person were the missing cans from the six pack.  “Actually Aubrey, I decided to surprise you since we keep missing each other.  So I’ll grab some plates from the break room and you can grab a couple of those Sprites before we meet in your office--”

           “Actually, Karen, I’ve already ordered Chinese for the three of us because Agent Shaw, Angela, and I are having a lunch meeting to go over one of Genny’s cases.”

            “Now Aubrey, I took time from my busy day to bring you your favorite pizza from DiAngelo’s.”, Karen said like she was talking to a petulant child.  “I doubt these ladies need you here the whole time so let’s go to your office so we can have lunch.”

            The agent took a deep breath.  “Karen, I appreciate the fact you made a special trip for me and that you brought pizza, but I am needed here for the whole time.  Angela has a doctor’s appointment later but was nice enough to make time to come here and help us.  Plus, as I’ve already said, we already have Chinese since we are working through lunch.”

             Not ready to give up, Karen pressed forward, knowing that if she pushed hard enough, Aubrey would come around.  “Maybe I can come by after my meeting in the Cyber division around 2:00. That should give you plenty of time with this stuff here.”

             Aubrey didn’t want to embarrass her, but his hints weren’t getting through.  “Unfortunately, after this lunch, I’m going to read the profile you emailed me an hour ago.  Then I set aside 2:00 on to train Genny on how to do case audits for when I’m out of the office unless something emergent comes up.  I’m sorry that you went to so much trouble, but I can’t have lunch with you today.  You should have called first.”

            Annoyed at the atypical resistance from Aubrey, Karen pressed forward while keeping her smile on her face.  “Well, there’s can’t be too much need for Angela here.  I’ve completed the profile for the Vacchio case and no one has sent me any updated information.  I’m sure she would welcome the chance to rest up.”

            “I’m pregnant...not dead.  Besides, I’m here because we’re going over one of Agent Shaw’s cases.”,  Angela said, wanting to get a dig in after what the profiler did to Jessica.  “You probably didn’t know this, but the Jeffersonian assists with multiple cases at a time in different divisions, including International Operations and the Financial Division.  This one in particular required my computer expertise, but not a profiler, Sweetie.  However, if you want to join us for lunch, there’s plenty.”

            “Well, Chinese is nice when you’re in the mood.  However, I’ve brought this agent his favorite pizza for lunch.”,  Karen said insistently.  “Come on Aubrey…let’s sneak a slice in your office.  I miss our lunches together.”

             The profiler’s words reminded the agent of what Booth warned him about regarding the rumors about him and Karen.  Aubrey knew he had to be firm to squelch those rumors.  Before he could follow through, Karen spoke again.

             “James Aubrey, come on.  It won’t kill you to step away from this meeting for a few minutes.  Now get up and have some pizza with me.”, the profiler said in an overly sweet tone, with a hint of impatience slipping in.

             Annoyed with the woman’s inability to understand the concept of _‘No means no.’_ , Aubrey clenched his jaw.  He used to give in, but not anymore.  He had too much to lose.

            “Karen,” Aubrey said a little more forcefully, his patience running thin.  “For the last time, I can’t join you for lunch today.  As Angela said, the three of us are going over Agent Shaw’s case right now and I have a lot of things going on today.”

            “Oh, I see.”,  the profiler said primly.  “What’s your week like?”

           _‘Doesn’t she ever quit?’_ Aubrey thought.  “It’s pretty full this week, Karen.  I’m consulting with the Cyber division during lunch tomorrow.  Friday I’m meeting with Booth over lunch to go over your profile for the Vacchio case and make a plan since we’re sharing the case.  On top of that, I have a meeting with Deputy Director Stark tomorrow as well as a meeting with Booth and Charlie Burns from IO on Friday to start brainstorming ideas for a new orientation system for incoming agents from Quantico.  Stark asked the three of us for suggestions by the end of the month with the hope of it being in place by December to implement for 2017.”

            “Wow, they must think really highly of you to ask you to do that.”,  Karen said to flatter Aubrey.

            “Thank you, but Booth, Charlie, and I are going to be working on it together.  Now, if there’s nothing else--”

            “Just that it’s time to partake in this pizza I brought you for your lunch.  It’s getting cold, Aubrey.”, Karen said in an almost whine.  “You don’t want that…”

            “Just put it in the break room, Karen.  I’m sure some of the other agents will eat it.”  Aubrey replied before taking a sip of his pop, frustrated that Karen wouldn’t leave him alone.  

            “But I got this pizza just for you, Aubrey--”

             “Karen, open your ears!”  An irritated Angela scowled at the profiler.  “Aubrey’s busy, much like you should be.  Now, I have a lot of information to cover with these two in the next 45 minutes, okay?  After that, I have a 1:30 ultrasound appointment and I have to chug three cans of Sprite before I get there.  I’m uncomfortable because I can’t pee and I’m irritable because I’m really hungry, so is there anything else you need to stalk Aubrey for or can we get back to work?”

           “I’m not stalking my friend...Angela.” Karen said, her face red with embarrassment.  “I’ll leave this pizza for you in your office, Aubrey.  I’ll call you later.”

            After Karen walked out, Genny burst out laughing.  “Boss, I think she’s a bit cray cray…”

            “Shit...quit making me laugh or I’ll wet myself.”  Angela said before she controlled herself.  “Watch out for Skinner, Aubrey.”

            “Hey hey hey…enough.”,  Aubrey said before taking a bite of his Princess Chicken.  “Let’s get back to work.”

* * *

            "Wow…she really expected you to stop working just to eat some pizza with her?”, Jessica said as she drank some of her shake.

            “Yeah.  I told her I was busy, plus there were six open cartons of Chinese on the table and we had files spread out all over the table.  She still kept pushing until Angela embarrassed her enough to make her leave.”  Aubrey said before grabbing a French Fry.  “Karen thought the pizza going cold would change my mind.”

            “She doesn’t know you well enough to know that cold pizza isn’t much of a deterrent for you when it comes to food.”, Jessica said as she stole one of his fries and dipped it in his garlic mayo.  “I’ve seen you eat a pizza sitting out all night and the fact you didn’t get gastroenteritis is a miracle in itself.”

            “I have an iron stomach, Jess.  I’ve never had an issue with food poisoning.”

            Jessica munched on her fry.  “Well, you will and when that day comes I’m going to say, _‘I told you so.’_ ”

            “I’m thirty-two years old, Jess.  If it hasn’t now, it will never happen.”, Aubrey said.

* * *

            Thirty minutes later, Karen Delfs was walking down the street when she decided to get a cup of coffee from the Royal Diner for the rest of her walk home.  As she was almost to the crosswalk, she saw her object of affection sitting alone at a window table.

            _‘Oh, he’s eating by himself.  I guess I could save a phone call and swing by to keep him company before convincing him I shouldn’t walk home alone.’_

As she got to the crosswalk, she saw a familiar person with red hair walk up to his table and talk to him.   _‘That bitch is trying to steal back what she threw away.  Not on my watch.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Aubrey was checking his phone when Jessica came back over to the table.  “I’ve settled the bill, Superman.  You were a cheap date for me tonight.  No pie...very unlike you.”

            “Hey, we’re going to the movies.  However, I’m going to stick to popcorn and less junk food because someone convinced me that I should try to eat better...”

            Jessica’s face turned beet red with embarrassment.  “Thank you.”

            “...but I’m still not drinking any more of those nasty Black Kale Chia smoothies, though.  They smell like toxic camel butt.”

            The couple shared a chuckle as Aubrey helped Jessica with her coat.  After getting his own on, he placed his hand on her back to guide her to the door.  Acting quickly, he held the door for Jessica to exit.

            “Such a gentleman.”

            “I aim to please, Ms. Warren.”  Aubrey said before following her.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Karen watched as the couple left the table.  When they walked outside the diner, they linked arms before walking towards the opposite direction.   Realizing she was grinding her teeth, she struggled to controlled her anger.

            “Time to play hardball.  This is my time with Aubrey, you little redheaded bitch."


	12. The Squintern Strikes Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So...Karen has a plan this chapter. Do you think it will succeed or will Jessica put a chink in that armor?

            Thursday was a crisp, sunny, and the usual hectic day for Jessica between Dr. B’s morning class and her afternoon at the lab.  Usually she’d be working with Hodgins, but since she was gone Tuesday morning, he was gracious enough to give her time with her mentor.  

            Her day brightened when Aubrey surprised her with a last minute invite to lunch before she started work.  He’d picked up the food and they sat together in one of the nearby courtyards of the Jeffersonian, finding a secluded spot that gave them privacy as they enjoyed the weather.  

            “Thanks for bringing me soup from Founding Fathers, Superman.”, Jessica said.  “I’ve been craving their crab chowder for a while.  I’m so glad your meeting with the Cyber division got pushed back to this afternoon.”

            Aubrey finished his grilled cheese before starting on his tomato soup.  “Not a problem, Jess.  I would have got some, too, but I’ve had a craving for grilled cheese and tomato soup is a necessity with a grilled cheese.”

            “You’ll be hungry again in a couple of hours.”

            “I know.”, Aubrey snickered as he got ready to slurp a spoonful of the rich red mixture.  “That’s why I have an Italian sub from DiAngelo’s to eat later, plus one of their Cobb salads to munch on.”

            Jessica chuckled.  “Only you, Aubrey.”

* * *

            Karen was driving on Massachusetts Ave, feeling  a massive case of road rage building inside of her.  She had places to go and not a lot of time on her lunch hour.  If she was going to pull off her plan, she needed to get there, now.  

            When she had to slow down again, she beeped her horn.  “Get the molasses out of your ass!  I have places to go.”

            Then traffic began to move again and the profiler smiled.  Her plan was perfect...and all it took was her knowledge of the human psyche.  It wasn’t a great plan, but it would work.  If Jessica’s reaction was like it was last time, the twit would be toast.

            She did feel bad for Aubrey, but he didn’t appreciate her efforts, so she needed to take the bull by the horns.  As she thought of the object of her affection, traffic slowed to a crawl again.  

            “Damn it!”

* * *

            After an all too short lunch, Aubrey said goodbye to Jessica at the parking garage before rushing to his meeting with the Cyber division.  When his taillights disappeared from view, Jessica drank her catnip tea from lunch while hurrying into the intern locker room.  Quickly taking off her fall jacket, she put on her lab coat and made sure she was presentable.  Chugging the rest of her beverage, she tossed the empty cup, washed her hands, and headed out to the lab.

            As the redhead got up on the platform, Brennan saw that her intern was almost glowing.  She’d seen Aubrey sneak away a few minutes earlier and suspected he was the reason for the intern’s gradual return to her cheerful self over the last four days.  However, she let the two have their privacy, remembering what it was like for Booth and her when they first got together.

            “Your timing is excellent, Ms. Warren.  We have received three sets of remains that were found yesterday in a mudhole on the North Carolina side of the Great Dismal Swamp by a group of American University students on a field study.  I have Dr. Wells working in Modular Bone Storage now and I’m going to be reviewing a previous case for the appellate court.  Please conduct the initial examination and leave your findings with me when you’ve completed the task.”

            Jessica’s smile became even brighter.  “Yes, Dr. B.”

            Looking inside one of the crates, she was momentarily hit by the smell of 150 years of mud and decay, but recovered quickly.  Closing the crate, she gingerly carried it with her to the nearby bath.  After preparing the enzyme solution, she started the water bath and mixed the solution in with the water.  When the liquid reached the needed temperature, she slowly added the bones to clean all debris attached to the remains.  Setting the timer, she made her initial notes on the condition of the remains in the first of the three binders for each decedent.  As she was about to remove one of the phalanges, she heard her name and immediately recognized the nails on the chalkboard voice.  Turning around, she put on an artificial smile that hurt on her face.

            “Hi, Karen.  What brings you around here?”

            The profiler took a step back when she saw what the intern was working with.  “I’ve just returned from lunch with Aubrey at the diner.  He wanted me to check in to see if there are any more updates in the Vacchio case.  He feels my profile and assistance is important to the case.”

             _‘What a liar!’_   Jessica thought, but decided to have a little fun.  “Angela and Dr. Hodgins are at the diner now, as was Dr. B with Agent Booth earlier today.  If they couldn’t tell you anything, then unfortunately Aubrey had you waste a trip.”

            The profiler became embarrassed at her faux pas, but pressed forward with her plan.  “Oh...well...Besides, my other reason for coming here is I wanted to see how my dear friend Jessica was doing. After all,  I haven’t seen you since Daisy’s wedding.  I hope you aren’t feeling awkward around me now that Aubrey and I are lovers.”

            Jessica started to laugh, but changed it to a cough into her arm due to her heavy gloves.  “Sorry, I have a tickle in my throat.  No, Karen, I’m just busy with working here, being Dr. B’s TA, and other stuff.”

            Karen was befuddled by the younger woman’s calm demeanor, so she pressed further.  “I was worried because you didn’t get back to me with Aubrey’s favorite type of panties for my date with him last weekend.  After the hot night we had after the wedding, it’s important to keep him happy, you know.”

          Jessica barely kept a straight face at Karen’s desperation, but she knew maintaining her cool was key, especially since she knew where the FBI agent had spent his Saturday night and whom he’d really spent it with.

            “Of course...of course.  I know it’s important to you that Aubrey remains happy.  However, like I said, I had a busy weekend.  So how was your date?  Do anything...special?”

            “Oh, it was excellent.”, Karen said while playing with her ponytail.  “Aubrey came over for dinner about 6:00 and I made him lasagna.”

             _‘Hmmm, that was when we were at the Royal Diner having burgers.’_   Jessica thought but kept the smile off her face.  “Making Aubrey dinner is always good, Karen.”

            Karen pushed harder, frustrated to not see Jessica all stricken and upset like her previous visit.  “We didn’t eat until about 9:00, though because he got so horny that he bent me over the counter in my kitchen and we made love...well, after he pulled my panties down to my knees and went down on me while I leaned up against it.  God, his tongue is like magic down there.”

             _‘Yes it is, Karen.’_ , Jessica said in internal agreement as she almost laughed at the impossible logistics of what the profiler just described.  Taking out two ribs with the tongs, Jessica laid them carefully on the tray while maintaining her countenance.  “Well, he believes in doing a job right.  Once he starts something, he always finishes it.  That’s why he’s a Special Agent in Charge now.”

             _‘Where are the damn tears?  Where is the trembling lip I got from her last time I was here?’_ Karen didn’t like the other woman’s subdued reaction and decided to provoke her further.  “It gets even better.  He loves how adventurous I am.  He was thrilled with the Brazilian wax job that I got just for him and he told me last week that my big titties were the best he ever nuzzled…oh, I’m sorry, Jessica.  I’m sure Aubrey wasn’t thinking when he told me that.”

            It took all the redhead had to not laugh her ass off at how pathetic the other woman sounded.  “Of course, Karen.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Nearby, Brennan came out of her office and observed the two women speaking together.  She walked up and greeted a returning Angela and Hodgins, who were also witnessing the confrontation.

            “Dr. Hodgins, Dr. Delfs has no need to be here--”

            “Enough said, Dr B.  Come on.”

            The three headed that way until they were unseen but could still hear what was being said.  They observed Karen becoming more irritated as Jessica remained calm while doing her job.

            “Dr. Hodgins, I don’t want certain people interrupting the work of our interns for their selfish purposes, and her topic of discussion goes beyond the realm of good taste in the workplace.  I’m going to put a stop to this.”, an irritated Brennan said.

            As she started to storm over, Hodgins held up his hand.  “Wait, Dr. B.  Jessica is doing just fine.”

            “Bren, she needs this.  I think our young intern there has earned the right to put Karen in her place.”, Angela said before leading the way for the others.  “Now, I don’t know about you two, but I want a front row seat for the show.”    

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

             As Karen continued to talk, Jessica checked the temperature of the enzyme bath.  “He kissed you passionately at Daisy’s wedding reception?  You don’t say, Karen.”            

             “That was only the beginning.  After he dropped you off at home, I showed him my panties.  It really excited him and he responded by touching me down there while he was driving.  When we got back to my place, we had hot monkey sex.  We had to stop for condoms on the way, though because he used up the ones he kept in the glove compartment when he was with you.  I didn’t mind waiting, though.  The anticipation just made the sex more spectacular.”

             _‘Funny….we trusted each other completely, so we chose not to use condoms because I was on the Pill...’_   Jessica thought.  “ _...and Aubrey was drunk as a skunk after the wedding and crashed at Booth’s and Dr. B’s place.  This bitch is so desperate...but she’s getting on my nerves and making Superman look really bad.  Enough is enough.”’_

 Her action planned, Jessica smiled at the other woman.  “Well, Karen, I’m glad you had a fun night…”

            “Oh, I did…”, Karen said with a smile of victory.

            “...dreaming up all this bullshit about Aubrey.”

            The profiler’s smile fell as Jessica’s words hit her like a slap across the face.  “What did you say?”

            “You’re full of shit, Karen.  You must feel so threatened by me.”, Jessica said as she pulled a femur out of the solution.

           “I’m so not threatened by you, little girl.”, Karen responded in a low, threatening tone.

            The redhead turned back to the profiler and merely smiled.  “Oh, but you are.  I’m sorry Aubrey’s not interested in you, but that’s life.”

           “You’re wrong, Jessica.”, Karen said as she slammed her hand down on a counter, attracting the attention of a few nearby workers.  “He’s always telling me how much he loves to fuck me and that is what he tells others!”

           Jessica gave Karen a patient smile.  “No, he doesn’t.  Aubrey is a private person who doesn’t treat making love so crudely nor does he kiss and tell because he respects all the women he’s been with.  Obviously you don’t have the same respect for him.”

           “I beg to differ--”

           “Well I do differ, Karen.”,  Jessica said in a strong tone.  “Because there’s no reason for you to come down here and brag about the non-existent sex you’re having with Aubrey unless you want to ruin my friendship with him and our feelings for each other.”  Shrugging as she removed another bone from the bath, she sighed.  “That’s just really pathetic.”

           Karen’s cheeks grew red as her plan began unraveling.  “You are the one who can’t stand the fact that I’m the one he wants to be with, you twit, not you.  I’m the one whose panties he wants to see on…and off me.  But most of all, I’m the one who gets to be the recipient when he’s horny now, not you!”

           “You sure are obsessed with panties, Karen.  You should get help for that.”  Getting bored with the exchange, Jessica turned her back on the profiler.  “Might also want to get some new perfume, too, because jealousy and desperation are really stinky...even stinkier than the remains here.”

           “You’re the one who’s stinky with jealousy.”, a frustrated Karen said.

           “Keep telling yourself that, Karen.”, Jessica said while pulling out both patellae and placing them carefully onto the table.  “I know this is hard for you to hear, but the friendship Aubrey and I have is much stronger than the mind games you’ve played with both of us, which ends now by the way.”

           “Mind games?  Really, Jessica?”,  Karen growled.  “You make me sound like some diabolical mind.”

           “Not a diabolical mind, because that would insinuate there’s intelligence under your cranium.  On the contrary, I think you’re just desperate and sad.”,  Jessica said.  “As I was saying, someday when Aubrey and I work through all this mess, we’re going to be together.  My advice is to accept it and move on before you lose the friendship he’s trying to offer you.  Now, I have work to do, just like you do.  The exit is over there.  Don’t let it hit you in the ass on the way out.”

            Karen was infuriated at the younger woman’s dismissal of her.  Grabbing Jessica’s arm, she whipped her around.  “You listen to me, little girl.  Aubrey is mine now.  You can’t have him, do you hear me?  If you keep trying to interfere, you’ll regret it.”

            Jessica looked down at her arm before looking back at Karen with hardened eyes, barely keeping her temper in check.  “Yes, I hear you, Dr. Delfs.  Now, you will listen to me.  James Aubrey is a real person with real feelings and a heart.  Yes, he’s handsome, but he’s also kind, funny, thoughtful, and always looking out for others.  He deserves someone who obviously loves and respects him as an individual, not an FBI profiler who thinks of him as nothing more than eye candy to screw and show off.”

            “Shut up--”

            The redhead steeled her spine.  “Also, I could kick your ass six ways from Sunday, but my internship is too important to me to lose from wiping the floor with your desperate, whiny ass.  Now, you have five seconds to let me go or  _you’ll_ regret it.”

            “Really?”,  Karen snarled.  “What are you going to do?  Protest like you do for one of your causes?”

            “I won’t do anything…but he will.”, Jessica said while pointing behind her with the tongs.

            Karen turned around and saw Hodgins wheeling up in his chair, with Angela and Brennan in the background.  Immediately, she let go of Jessica.  “Good afternoon, Dr. Hodgins.  I---“

            “Save it, Karen.”  Hodgins said.  “As acting head of this lab, I’m ordering you out of here right now.”

            Karen turned on her smile and the ditz routine that usually got her out of trouble.  “I didn’t do anything—“

            “Except for disrupting other people’s work with the scene you’re making and committing battery against one of my employees.  In case you didn’t know, this is a federal facility and any illegal activity that happens here is under the FBI’s jurisdiction.”

            “I think there’s been a misunderstanding--”

            “Get the hell out of my lab, Dr. Delfs.”  Hodgins said calmly.  “If I have to ask you again, I’ll call those two guards by the platform to escort you out and next I will be filing a complaint.  I’m sure that’s not going to look very good to your employers at the FBI.”

            Knowing she was trapped, she got halfway down the steps before Jessica stopped her.  “Karen, didn’t you need to check with Dr. B, Angela, or Dr. Hodgins regarding any updates to the Vacchio case?  That was why Aubrey had you stop here, wasn’t it?”

            The older woman merely gave a dirty look before turning around to walk out.  However, this time she was stopped by Brennan.

            “A final warning.  If you ever attempt to impede my intern’s work again or if your obvious jealousy ever affects how we handle a case, I will personally go to Deputy Director Stark to file a report against you.  Do you understand?”

            “You can’t just threaten me, Dr. Brennan.”

            “Oh, but I can, Dr. Delfs.  My husband is the Special Agent in Charge of the Homicide Division and is good friends with your boss, Jacob Tanner.  He also has the complete confidence of Deputy Director Stark and the Director himself.  Being fired from the FBI wouldn’t look good on your resume.”,  Brennan said.  “You may go now.”

            As they watched the profiler storm out, Angela ran up to the squintern as she rubbed her arm.  “Jessica, are you alright?”

            “Better than I have been in a long time.”, Jessica said before seeing Hodgins wheeling away.  “Curly, where are you going?”

            Stopping his wheelchair, he turned around.  “I’m King of the Lab, ladies.  One of my duties is to maintain the safety of all employees.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

            “Curly, it’s not worth getting her into trouble.”,  Jessica said, who was now joined by Brennan.

            “Oh, I’m not reporting her, Jessica.”,  Hodgins said. “I’m just making things more difficult for her.  No one gets away with threatening any of my employees.”

* * *

            One hour later, an irritated Karen returned to her desk at the BRIU.  As she sat down to check her email, one in particular struck her eye.  Opening it, her eyes widened.

 

**To:  Karen Delfs**  ([Karen.Delfs@fbi.gov](mailto:Karen.Delfs@fbi.gov))

**Cc: Dr. Camille Saroyan** (c.saroyan@ji.edu )

**From:  Dr. Jack Hodgins**  (j.hodgins@ji.edu)

**Subject:  Access to the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab**

**_Good afternoon, Dr. Delfs._ **

**_This email is to inform you that effective immediately, your access to our facility is terminated.  Any future visits will have to be approved by myself, Ms. Angela Montenegro, Dr. Temperance Brennan, or Dr. Camille Saroyan when she returns from her leave of absence in March 2017.  If a visit is approved, you must be accompanied at all times by either myself, one of the people listed above, or someone assigned by myself or by one of the people above.  Any attempt to visit this facility without previous approval will result in a permanent ban from all areas of the Jeffersonian Institute.  A phone call to your supervisor at the BRIU, SAC Jacob Tanner will also occur._ **

**_I do regret the necessity of this action, but the safety and security of our employees must be my top concern, no matter who else is involved._ **

**_Any questions, please feel free to contact me._ **

**_Dr. Jack S. Hodgins IV, PhD._ **

**_Acting Director of Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab_ **

**_Phone: (202) 555 – 1572_ **

**_Fax: (202) 555 – 9696_ **

 

            “Tattletale.”, Karen said to herself.  “I’ll show her.”

            Karen went into the contractor database but was surprised to find her access blocked.  Trying a back way in, once again, she was blocked.  Frustrated, she sat back at her desk and called IT.  When she got someone, she explained the issue but was surprised at the response.

            “So my access to the FBI employee and contract profiles are blocked?  Who requested this?”, Karen asked before listening to the response.  “My supervisor, huh?  Sure...sure I’ll speak to him.  Thanks.”

             Karen hung up the phone before checking her email.  Sure enough, there was an email stating that starting immediately, all profilers’ access into the contractor's database was now limited on a case by case basis.  To get access one would have to go to their supervising agent.  

             Deleting the message, she considered her options.  “You’re not taking him away from me, you skinny little bitch.  I’ll find out all there is about you and when I do, Aubrey will want nothing to do with you.”


	13. A New Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So...Aubrey has been having a good few days, but he gets a nasty surprise. How does it turn around for him? Read and find out...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Laura and I just want to thank everyone who reviewed and enjoyed our Labor Day Weekend Surprise. We're slowly but surely finding more readers who appreciate our Aubrey & Jessica adventure. As stated before, their story will not have a quick resolution. Mistakes will be made, but they will learn from them together. Keep those reviews coming and we hope you enjoy the unfolding of A & J's Love & Carbonite.
> 
> Michelle (mphs95)

            The bright sunlight was filtering through the blinds across a rumpled bed.  Aubrey’s eyes slowly blinked open as he yawned.  Stretching lazily, he enjoyed the luxuriant feel of his colorful quilt and Egyptian cotton sheets on the cool Sunday morning.  

            He glanced at his clock...9 am.  He grinned as he scratched his belly under his tee shirt.  Normally he was up at a reasonable hour on the weekends, mostly because a hungry Skinner was pestering him.  However, this morning he’d been able to ignore the cat’s loud meows for an extra ninety minutes.  Comfortably ensconced in his bed, Aubrey lay with his left arm behind his head, smiling as he thought about the previous week.  

            Last Saturday’s discussion after the Star Wars Convention had been a turning point in his relationship with Jessica.  They were finally on the same page, working toward a common goal.  The date they’d had on Wednesday had been a lot of fun, and he’d enjoyed having lunch with his favorite squint on Thursday as well. It seemed that clearing the air between them, and letting go of all the overwrought expectations they’d had for their relationship, was just what they’d needed.  Things were so much easier now...

            He sighed quietly as he tried to tickle his cat’s chin, but Skinner was not amused by Aubrey’s attempt to play. The cat was currently laying on the man’s abdomen, blinking his green eyes as he flicked his tail in annoyance.

            “MEOW!”, the cat cried as he started kneading his owner’s chest.  “MEOW!”

            “Okay!  I get it!  You’re starving.”  Pushing the cat off, Aubrey sat up and dangled his feet over the side of the bed, wiggling his toes as he yawned and stretched again.  

            He smiled to himself as he thought about the evening before.  It had been a late night, but he’d enjoyed every minute of it.  Skinner, however, was in no mood for reminiscing, insistently rubbing his head all over his owner’s arms and chest.  Rolling his eyes, Aubrey rose from the bed and made his way across the creaky wooden floor to the bathroom.  Peering into the mirror on the tiny medicine cabinet, he shrugged, deciding he didn’t look any worse for wear.  The cat wound between his legs as Aubrey answered Nature’s call.  

            “You better look out, cat...you’re going to get stepped on…or get an unpleasant shower.”

            Finally, Aubrey strolled into his kitchen and started a pot of coffee before he fed his very impatient companion.  “Here you go.”  He chuckled as he watched the cat make quick work of his meal.  “I know...it’s all my fault, right?  I should’ve fed you before I went to bed, but I was busy…”

            Standing at the sink as he sipped his coffee, he gazed out the kitchen window down onto the tiny patch of grass behind the brownstone buildings that held his apartment, enjoying the pleasant view that Sunday morning.  

            Many years ago some enterprising person had bought two buildings that shared a wall and converted the two single family homes into four apartments.  Aubrey’s place was one of the upper units.  It was slightly rundown, but the rent was almost reasonable, and it was close to work.  A two bedroom space with air conditioning where he could keep his cat and pay less than 2000 dollars a month was a bargain in DC, even if it was a little seedy.  He was an adaptable man, and he’d made the best of the apartment’s quirks.  The scratched floors were creaky and the ancient faucets dripped constantly. The apartment’s small rooms were often stuffy in the summer and always drafty in the winter, but overall he loved his apartment.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was home.

            Pouring himself another cup, he laughed as his now contented cat rubbed up against his leg and purred.  “I know, buddy...you feel better, right?”  

            He reached down to scratch Skinner’s ears.  “Your Aunt Jessica asked about you last night.  Sometimes I think she cares more about you than she cares about me.”  

            The cat responded by shaking its head and running off to take a bath.  “Yeah, I see how it goes…you only love me for my cat food, right?”  

            Aubrey sat at his kitchen table, smiling as he thought once again about the previous evening.  

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

             Wanting to do something different, he and Jessica had gone to a local tavern within walking distance of her apartment for open mic night.  Anyone brave enough to get up in front of a crowd of people and play some sort of music was welcome to give it a try. They’d listened to several different groups play a variety of music as they enjoyed their beer and a wide assortment of appetizers.  

            Open mic lasted until about eleven, and then it was time for Karaoke.  After listening to a couple of drunk girls butcher some Katy Perry songs, Jessica was ready to go, so Aubrey walked her home.

            It had been a clear night with just a hint of chill in the air...just enough chill for her to want to have his arm around her as they walked together.  “I guess I should’ve brought a heavier coat, Boyfriend…”

            “Nah...I knew you were planning on using my jacket, just like you always do.”  He smirked as she pretended to pout before he handed her his windbreaker.  “I had a great time tonight.  I thought that Celtic group was pretty good.  They really made the place jump, didn’t they?”

            “Yeah, but I also liked the guy who was doing the Bob Dylan set.”  Jessica glanced up at Aubrey shyly.  “You play Dylan, don’t you?  Maybe you should try to do the open mic next Saturday night.”

            “I don’t think so.  I mean, it’s one thing to play for your friends, but for a whole bunch of strangers...well, that’s not really my style.”  He shrugged as he saw her disappointment.  “Tell you what...come to dinner next weekend, and I’ll break out the guitar…”

            “I’d like that.”  She giggled as she saw his embarrassment.  “I think you’re very good, you know.”

            “Really?”  Aubrey wondered if she could see his blush in the dim light.  “Um…thanks.”  Feeling awkward, he decided to change the subject.  “So I heard a rumor that Karen got banned from the lab.  She must have done something really outrageous.”

            Jessica nodded in agreement, biting her lip as she tried to decide how much to actually tell Aubrey.  

            “She was bothering me while I was working on some remains…her excuse was you two had lunch at the diner before you asked her to run to the lab to check for updates in the Vacchio case.”   

            “Wait a minute…”, Aubrey began as he gave her a confused look.  “I was having lunch with you…” 

            “I know.”  Exhaling slowly, the intern continued.  “After some bullshit of asking me how I was, she began telling me all about how you two have been engaging in some pretty amazing sexual adventures...you know, how talented your tongue is while you were going down on her in the kitchen after she made your dinner last Saturday...how you made love to her for hours after Daisy’s wedding…how you told her that her big boobs were the best you ever nuzzled...that you loved the look of her new Brazilian wax job...how you had to stop for condoms because you used all yours up with me.  The best one though was that after we fought the night of Daisy’s wedding, she flashed her new, special panties at you, which enthralled you so much that you played with her hoo-ha while you drove back to her apartment...there was a lot of graphic detail.  It was actually pretty disgusting if you ask me.”

            Angrily sputtering his denial, Aubrey turned bright red with rage.  “I didn't do any of that shit!  Jess...you know that’s a goddamn lie…”

            “Well, part of it is.”  Jessica gave him a naughty grin.  “She was telling the truth about how talented you are with that tongue…”  

            “Jessica!”  Aubrey admonished her sharply, even though he was secretly pleased with her appreciation of his talent.

            ‘What?”  Chuckling at his irritation, she shrugged her shoulders.  “Relax.  I knew she was lying, so I just kept working on the remains.  I remained calm and professional, for the most part, and it really irritated her.” 

            “Wow…”,  Aubrey said quietly.  “Way to play her…” 

            “I know, right?  But eventually I got tired of listening to her ramble on, so I called her a liar to her face, and then I said that she was just saying those things because she’s desperate, and possibly delusional. I also told her that I was tired of her telling tales about how much you love to _‘fuck her’_ because she’s so _‘adventurous’_ , especially when you were with me or with Booth when all that supposedly happened.  She was making you look bad, Superman, and I didn’t like it.”  Jessica laughed quietly as she once again recalled the shocked look on Karen’s face.   

            “Really?”, Aubrey asked, feeling warm and fuzzy because Jessica stuck up for him.  “You did that for me?” 

            “Yes, really.  By this time, I just wanted her gone so I could get my work done, so I turned my back on her, telling her to leave and not let the door hit her on the way out.  I guess that really pissed her off, so she grabbed my arm...”

            “She assaulted you in the lab?”  Aubrey stopped and turned Jessica to face him.  “I can’t believe she was that stupid.”  He muttered angrily as he clenched his fists.  “That’s it.  I’ve had enough of her antics.   I’m having a meeting with Karen and her boss at the BRIU next week...”

            “Aubrey...please don’t.  Curly’s already dealt with it, okay?  I don’t want to get her more pissed at me than she already is.  Come on.”  She winked at him and smiled.  “You know Hodgins will follow through…” 

            “I guess so.”  The two started walking again and Aubrey kept his mouth shut as he listened to Jessica finish her story. 

            “Anyway, she grabbed my arm and spun me around to look at her.  For a few seconds I thought she might hit me, but instead she just yelled at me, telling me that you belong to her and I should just give up on having any sort of relationship with you.  I don’t stand a chance, according to her.  Then I told her that it was a good thing I wanted to keep my internship, because otherwise I’d kick her ass all over the lab.” 

            “That redheaded temper came out to play, did it?”, the agent said with a smile. 

            “Hey, I was trying to be nice, Aubrey and you know it takes a lot to set me off.  However, I’m not going to put up with her trying to make me jealous with those ridiculous stories about the two of you being together, and I’m definitely not going to tolerate her attempts to make you out to be some pig who brags about his sexual conquests.  She’s trying to drive a wedge between us, and I’m not going to let the bitch get away with it.  Basically, I told her that our friendship was stronger than her antics, that you belong to me, and it’s too damn bad for her, but that’s the way it is, and she’d better just accept it and move on.”

            Aubrey couldn’t help but grin as he imagined Jessica chewing out Karen in front of everyone.  “Wow...you really let her have it, didn’t you?  I bet she wasn’t expecting that, either.”

            “She was shocked, especially since Curly backed me up and Dr. B threatened her, which was really cool.” Jessica gave her companion a sideways glance to see how he was reacting to the story.  “The two of them and Angela witnessed Karen threatening me, so Curly wrote a formal letter to her stating any future visits to the lab had to be with prior approval from him, Angela, Dr. B, or Dr. Saroyan.  Furthermore, if she returns, she has to be escorted at all times. If she doesn’t follow these new rules to the letter, he’ll get her banned from all of the Jeffersonian and will call her boss at the BRIU.  He was really upset by the whole thing…”

            “I guess so.  Well, I’m glad Hodgins is looking out for his employees.  I feel better about that.  And you know everything she said was a lie, right?  I mean, I never…Jesus, you’re right.  That is disgusting.”  Aubrey swallowed hard, hoping that Jessica believed him.

            “Of course I know that, Superman.  I’ve already told you that.  She was just trying to make me upset.  She’s crazy about you, and she’s going to do anything she can to get you, including making me hate you so I won’t speak to you anymore.  ”

            “Or she’s just crazy.”  They walked in silence for a few minutes before arriving at the Korean grocery store.  “Okay, here we are…”  He walked her up to the third floor and when they reached her door, she took off his windbreaker and handed it back.  As he took it, he waited as she unlocked the door.  

            Hesitating slightly, Jessica turned to face him.  “Do you want to come inside for a minute?”

            He looked into her beautiful green eyes and felt his heart start to race.   _Are you kidding me?  Of course I want to come inside.  I want to carry you off to your bedroom and make love to you for hours...of course I want to come inside...you…_

            He sighed softly, shaking his head slowly as he looked away from her warm gaze.  “I don’t think so.  It’s kind of late…”

            “Oh, okay…”  Jessica shrugged slightly as she tried to hide her disappointment.  After all, they were ‘just friends’, but she missed lying in his arms after they’d made love.  “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

            “Yeah, great.  I’ll look forward to it.” He was so tempted to pull her close and kiss her good night, but they were still in friendship mode.  Shoving his hand in his pocket, he took out his car keys.  “Tomorrow then…”

            “Tomorrow.  Good night, James.”  She gave him a small wave as she went inside, locking the door behind her.

            “Good night.”  Feeling frustrated in more ways than one, he made his way downstairs and out to his car, groaning as his phone rang.  “Jesus...really?  I don’t want to go look at a dead body right now...Hello?”

            “Aubrey?  It’s me.”  Jessica laughed as she heard him grumble.  “Its five minutes after midnight, so it’s tomorrow, and I said I’d call you tomorrow.  I wasn’t really ready to say good night…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            They’d talked until three in the morning.  Aubrey laughed to himself.  It had been a long time since he’d played the game to see who was going to hang up the phone first, but with Jessica it seemed fresh and new.  She was going to call him that afternoon before picking up Daisy and Beau from the airport about making some plans for later in the week.

            However, right now, Aubrey’s plans involved satisfying his ravenous hunger.  He needed some groceries, but he wanted breakfast first. Glancing through his cabinets, he realized the cupboards were really bare...he’d eaten the last of the cereal yesterday, and had been in too big a hurry to stop by the store on the way home Friday night.  

            Puffing out a sigh, he went back to his bedroom and changed into some beat up jeans and a ratty grey sweatshirt.  After finishing his coffee, he grabbed his jacket, keys and phone.  He figured he’d walk down to the cafe on the corner of his street for some sausage, eggs, and pancakes before visiting Mr. Leonelli’s store for some essentials on the way home.  

            He nodded to himself as he stroked his cat.  His apartment wasn’t in the best shape, but it was in a good location, making it easy to get the things he needed.  Maybe he’d sign another year’s lease…

            Glancing at the time, he cringed as he realized how late it was.  “See you later, Skinner.” Aubrey said as he rushed out the door to do his errands.

**Oooooooooo**

            Ninety minutes later, Aubrey was whistling _Blowin’ in the Wind_ as he carried some bags of groceries upstairs to his apartment.  He was preoccupied as he came home, contemplating his best friend’s beautiful green eyes and how much she liked his versions of Bob Dylan’s songs.  Thinking of how he might need to brush up on _Lay, Lady, Lay_ for her enjoyment _,_ he wasn’t paying too much attention to his surroundings until he got to the landing outside his apartment. Stopping short, he realized something wasn’t right.  His apartment door was standing slightly ajar. 

_I know I locked up before I left.  Dammit!  I wish Mrs. Hall would install the security system I asked for..._ He grimaced as he realized he’d left his gun locked up in its box on the upper shelf of his bedroom closet.   _Shit...now what am I going to do?_

            He knew he’d have the element of surprise on his side, and he hoped that would be enough to frighten the intruder.  He crept up to the door and listened intently for a minute or two.  

_Maybe I shouldn’t go in...maybe I should call 911...yeah, the locals would love that, right? The FBI guy needs help to scare off a robber..._

            He was trying to decide what to do when he heard a loud crash coming from inside the apartment.  Skinner yowled in anger, and then he heard that voice…the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.

            “ _You stupid cat!  Get out of my way and you won’t get stepped on…”_

            Puffing out an exasperated sigh, Aubrey pushed the door open.  “Karen!  What are you doing here?  How did you get in?  I know I locked up before I left…”

            Looking slightly flustered and disheveled, Karen brushed her hair away from her face as she mopped up the water that had been spilled from Skinner’s water fountain. 

            “Oh, hi, James!  I, um...I came by to surprise you!  I brought you some lunch, you know, because I’d missed you at the office earlier this week.  I thought you were home since your car was here, so when you didn’t answer the door, I was worried that something might’ve happened to you, so I walked downstairs to your landlady’s apartment and she came up to let me in so we could check on you.  She was really relieved that you weren’t here, lying injured in your bathroom or something.  In fact, the way she was raving about how wonderful you are, if I didn’t know better, I’d think there was something going on between you, and I’d be really jealous.  Anyway, she said you’d probably just gone to the store down the street…”

            Aubrey was obviously angry as he put his groceries on the kitchen counter.  “That’s kind of a stretch, Karen.  I mean, there’s all sorts of reasons I might not be here, and none of them are any of your business.  You really aren’t justified in breaking into my apartment…”

            “I didn’t break in.  Like I said, I just wanted to bring you some lunch.  I haven’t gotten to talk to you all week, and I missed you.”  She shrugged as she pointed to the stove.  “I just wanted to share...this makes too much for just one person, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather share my meals with…”

            Clenching his jaw, Aubrey walked over to the refrigerator to put the milk away.  He was still really pissed about Karen’s stunts with him and at the lab with Jessica.  However, he’d brought it all on himself by not being honest with her from the beginning.  Taking a deep breath, he mustered up some patience to deal with the uninvited guest and turned around.

            “Listen, Karen...this is just...really awkward, okay?  I appreciate the nice gesture, but it’s really not necessary…I can make my own meals.”

            “I know it’s not necessary, but that’s what makes it fun.  Look…”  She pulled some foil away from a glass dish that was sitting on the stove.  “Tuna fish and broccoli casserole.  I found the recipe online.  It’s got onions, sliced mushrooms and stuffed olives in it...just like what you have on your pizzas.  I added some red peppers for color…and some pepper jack cheese...all mixed together with cream of chicken soup.”

            “Hmm...too bad I already ate…I just came back from having a big breakfast.”  Aubrey grimaced slightly at the pungent aroma coming from the dish.  Not wanting to be further traumatized, he turned away from her as he put the rest of his groceries away.  “You really should’ve called first…”

            “But you don’t always return my calls, James.”  Karen stood with her hands on her hips, annoyed that he was ignoring her.  “Anyway, it’s no big deal.  This casserole reheats well, so I’ll just warm it up for us later.”

            “What?  Later?  No…”  Aubrey shook his head vehemently.  “I’ve got stuff to do today, Karen.  I’ve got to do laundry, and defrost the freezer…”  He paused, trying to think of something awful so she’d want to leave.  “I’m going to clean the bathroom, vacuum, clean out Skinner’s litter box, and maybe dust the furniture if I have time…”

_‘Poor Aubrey.  He needs me so much...I just need to push him a little more is all.’_ Karen thought blissfully.   

            “That’s okay.  I don’t mind.  I think it’s kind of cute, you know?  I mean, you being so domestic and doing your little housekeeping chores while we spend the day together.  It’s just so normal, right?  Like what millions of couples do together every weekend.”  Karen wrapped the foil tightly around the dish.  “So I’ll just put this in the fridge and we’ll have it for dinner this evening.”

            “No, we can’t have it for dinner this evening, either.  Look, Karen...”  Aubrey paused to make sure she was listening to him.  “...I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.  I do, but...”  

            He clenched his fists as he spoke slowly, choosing his words with great care.  “This is all my fault.  See, when Jessica broke up with me, I was completely shocked. I had no idea she wasn’t happy being with me, and I needed help to figure things out.  That’s why I wanted to talk to you about things, since you’re her friend.”   

            “I was her friend, but she has been quite rude to me of late, James.  Besides, I think my time is better spent cultivating our relationship.” 

            Aubrey saw the smile on her face and grimaced, embarrassed by his own behavior, but knowing he had to explain what had happened. 

             “I’m not proud of it, but I think maybe I led you to believe that I’m interested in you being my girlfriend, and if I did that, I’m really sorry.  It wasn’t my intention to hurt you, but that’s not what I feel for you, Karen.”  He shrugged a shoulder as he continued.  “I was an asshole, and you have every right to be angry with me.  If you never spoke to me again, I’d certainly understand...”  

            He paused as his phone rang.  “Aubrey...oh, hey, Booth...yeah...yeah, I’ll be right there...fifteen minutes.”  Putting his phone back in his pocket, he gave Karen an apologetic smile.  “Well, there go my plans for cleaning my apartment.  Booth needs to talk me about something…”

            Karen was suspicious of his explanation for the phone call, but she knew as Special Agent in Charge, Aubrey might be on call for the weekend.  “I see.  Well, I’ll just leave this casserole here, and you can bring me the dish when you’re finished with it.”  

            She picked up her purse and jacket and started for the door before she turned to face Aubrey.  “Just so you know, I could never be angry with you, James.  I care too much about you.  Someday you’ll get tired of putting up with Jessica’s silly whims and emotional immaturity, and then you’ll appreciate how much I’ve done for you and what I can offer you.  When that day comes, I’ll be waiting for you with open arms.  See you later.”  

            Stepping quickly to one side to avoid tripping over the cat, she quickly exited the room, slamming the door behind her.

            Chuckling softly, Aubrey shook his head as he picked up his cat.  “Wow.  That woman is cray-cray.  No wonder she got banned from the lab.”  Skinner meowed his agreement and jumped down.  “Okay. I guess I’d better go see what Booth wants.”

**Oooooooooo**

            Aubrey parked his SUV in front of the Mighty Hut and jogged up to the front of the house.  He knocked on the front door before stepping into the foyer.  “Hey, Booth?”

            “Yeah, in the kitchen.”  Booth was wiping his hands with a towel as he leaned against the newly refurbished kitchen counter.  “Hey, are you alright?”

            Rolling his eyes, Aubrey ran his hand through his hair as he leaned against the opposite counter.  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I’m fine, okay?” 

            Booth eyed his friend suspiciously.  “Okay, except that you seem to be flustered and agitated.  What’s going on?”  

            Knowing that Booth wouldn’t let things go, Aubrey exhaled slowly.  “I had to run to the store down the street from my apartment, and when I got back Karen was there in my kitchen…”

            “Wait...she was there, in your apartment, uninvited?  How did she get in?”  Booth was astonished.  “Did she break in?  Doesn’t your apartment have a security system?”

            “Karen went to my landlady in the apartment below mine, saying she was worried about me, so Mrs. Hall let her in to wait for me.  And, no, my apartment doesn’t have a security system.  Mrs. Hall says there’s no way to install one without it costing a fortune.”  

            Aubrey shook his head as he described the situation to Booth.  “Anyway, I tried to explain things to Karen again.  I told her it was my fault because I’d let her to think I cared about her more than I do, but she just doesn’t seem to get it.  It’s like she doesn’t want to understand…”

            “I guess you’re just a heartbreaker, aren’t you?”  Booth snickered as he saw Aubrey’s discomfort.   

            “Booth!” 

            “Sorry, no more Karen jokes.”  Booth said contritely.  “You needed to set boundaries with her, and it seems that you’ve done that.  Now it’s up to her to accept those boundaries.”

            “Well, I’m glad you called and said you needed to see me, since it helped me get Karen to leave.  What’s up?”

            Booth sighed audibly as he looked around the kitchen.  “Bones and I really appreciate you helping me putting the house back together.  Wendell helped me last time, but since he’s started that new graduate program he doesn’t have time, and there’s no way I could’ve done all this work by myself.”

            “Listen, as many meals as you’ve fed me, it’s the least I could do.”  Aubrey smiled as he looked toward the family room.  “Things turned out really well.  It looks really good.”

            “Yeah, they did.  It was a great house for our family, you know?  Before all that shit went down…”  Booth’s voice trailed off as he rubbed his eyes.  “I put my heart and soul into remodeling this house the first time.  I showed you the pictures, right?  It was just a shell when we started…”

            “I wish I could’ve seen it in real life.  It must’ve been a mess.”  Aubrey looked around the beautiful kitchen, trying to picture all the changes that had occurred.

            “It was definitely a mess, but then we made it into everything we wanted a house to be.  It really hurt when it was almost destroyed, but the government gave us a good settlement after I was exonerated, and Bones and I, we decided to fix it again, even though we already had the new house.  There were too many good memories here to just demolish it.  Even Bones, who thinks attaching memories to inanimate objects is silly...even she couldn’t stand to just tear it down or let it go to someone else.”

            Aubrey grimaced slightly, not sure where this conversation was going.  “I understand that.  I still have a lot of good memories when I think of my mom’s old house.  I guess that’s normal, isn’t it?”

            “Yeah, but the problem is, what are we going to do with two houses?  I mean, we could try to sell this house, but I’m not sure anyone would want a house that’s been rebuilt twice.”  Booth scratched the back of his neck as he walked over to look out the dining room window.  “So I think we’ve decided to try to find a renter.”

            “Well, this would be a nice house to rent.  It’s in a pretty good location, too.”  Aubrey glanced around the room.  “I love this kitchen…and the rooms are laid out well.”

            “It’s not like we have to make a lot of money on the rent, either.  We can charge a fairly low rent and still come out alright.  The hard part is finding someone who meets all of our requirements.  They’d have to have references, and good credit, and be a nonsmoker, and definitely have gainful employment.”  Booth turned to Aubrey.  “It’s going to be hard to find someone like that, you know?  Plus, I don’t know how we’ll find time to show the house to anyone with our busy schedule.  We could hire an agent, I guess…”

            “I’d help if I could, Booth, but I’m going to be busy myself.”  Aubrey thought things through for a minute.  “It does take a lot of time to find a good tenant, and leasing agent could help, but they’d also charge a hefty fee...”

            Booth studied Aubrey for a few seconds, chuckling softly.  “You know what I think?”

            “Nope.”  Aubrey shrugged impatiently.  It wasn’t like Booth to be so vague, and there were things that needed to be done at his apartment, like disposing of the casserole Karen had brought over.  “I guess you could put an ad in the paper…maybe on Craigslist, too...”

            “Or Bones and I could just rent the house to you.”  Booth grinned at Aubrey’s stunned expression.  “You meet all of our requirements…”           

            “No way, Booth.  I can’t afford to rent a place like this…”  Aubrey was shocked.  “I know I got a raise with my promotion, but it wasn’t enough to rent a house like this…”

            “You weren’t listening, were you?  I said we don’t have to make a lot of money on the rent, and we’re prepared to give you a friends and family discount.  We’re asking 1400 a month, and you pay the utilities.”

            “1400?”, Aubrey squeaked.  “For this much house?  Booth, you could get twice that for a house this size…”

            “Maybe, but I wouldn’t have the luxury of renting the house to someone I know so well...someone I’ve worked with...someone I trust with my life.  Believe me, if I thought you wouldn’t take care of my house, I wouldn’t consider it, but it’s going to give me peace of mind to know my renter as well as I know you.”

            “Wow...I don’t know what to say.  I mean, I’d love to rent this place, and my lease is up soon…” Aubrey paused as he considered a very important question.  “Could I bring Skinner?  I’ll put down a pet deposit…”

            “We can probably work that out.  So you’re really interested, right?  You want the place?”  Booth chuckled at his friend’s astonishment.  “Great.  The house repairs are about ninety percent done, so you can move in whenever you want.”

            “Ninety percent?”  Aubrey narrowed his eyes at Booth.  “What the hell does that mean?”

            “Relax.  The toilets flush and you’ve got hot water.  We just need some finishing touches, like door knobs and a couple of the bedrooms still need some paint...things like that.  We can work on that after you move in.  Hell, we might even lower your rent for a couple of months if you help me with those things.”

            “So I can really rent this house?  Are you sure?”  Aubrey’s grin began to spread across his face.  “Yeah, of course I’ll take it.”

            “I’m glad.  By the way, you know it has a security system, right?”  Booth smirked at Aubrey’s irritation.  “Maybe you can move and Karen won’t be able to find you.”

            “Trust me, she’ll find me.  She’s like a bloodhound on the trail. At least with a security system I won’t have a nasty surprise like I did this morning.”  Aubrey stuck his hand out toward his friend.  “Thanks, Booth…”

            “If you want to thank me, pay your rent on time.”  Smiling broadly, Booth slapped Aubrey on the back.  “It’s no problem, Aubrey.  This works out well for both of us.”  

            He glanced at his watch.  “Hey, I’ve got to get going, and you probably need to call Jessica, right?” 

            Aubrey blushed but knew he couldn’t lie to Booth.  “Yeah…” 

            “I’ll have a lease drawn up and bring it by your office this week.”  Booth replied.

            “That’s great.”  Aubrey beamed as he looked around the house.  It was beautiful...but... _Oh, my God...I have to pack up everything in my old apartment….._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out mphs95's Tumblr for a special Love & Carbonite extra.


	14. A Surprising Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who would have thought a man could be surprised like Aubrey was this morning? There are more coming, though. Aubrey's day is not boring, that's for sure.

          After leaving his new house, Aubrey called Jessica, who’d spent her morning working on her dissertation.  Happy for the interruption, the redhead quickly accepted her best friend’s invite to lunch at the diner.  Afterwards, the couple got into the agent’s SUV for the surprise Aubrey had hinted at throughout their meal.

“Aubrey, are you going to give me a hint about this surprise?”, Jessica said as they traveled down Connecticut Avenue.

           The agent grinned as he looked over to his passenger.  “Nope.”

           Jessica looked at the houses in the area and recognized where they were.  “Why are we driving through Cleveland Park?”

           “You’ll see soon enough…”, Aubrey said with a playful smirk.

           “No fair!  You’re a brat, James Aubrey.”, the redhead said with a pout.

           Aubrey smirked again.  “Yeah, but you still adore me.”

           “We’ll see about that, Superman.”,  Jessica said as she continued to watch from the window.  After Aubrey passed an elementary school, the redhead realized where they were.  “Hey, this was Dr. B and Booth’s old neighborhood before…you know…”

          “Yeah…”, Aubrey said as a knot formed in his stomach.

          “Between you and me, if what happened at their house didn’t happen…you may not be here right now.”

          “I don’t know about that, Jess.”, the agent said, reluctant to think about what she was hinting at.

          “James…you transferred from New York to DC almost two months after Booth went to prison.  If it wasn’t for what happened, you could still be at that field office.”

          “Well, I’m not going to think about that, Jessica.”, Aubrey snapped.  “I don’t want to think about how Booth and Dr. B almost being murdered could have benefited me.”

          Jessica could see she’d hit a sore spot with him.  “I’m sorry, Superman.”

          They drove in silence for the next few minutes until it became deafening.  Aubrey looked over to the anthropologist and saw her looking out the window.

          “Jess, I’m sorry I snapped at you.  Thinking that I may have benefited from something like that...I just…”

           Jessica turned to Aubrey.  “It’s okay, Superman.  I understand.”

           The couple smiled before putting their focus back onto the road.  When Jessica saw Aubrey pass Elm Street, she suspected where they were going.  A few minutes later, she was proven right when they pulled in the driveway of 1297 Janus Street.  Stopping at the closed gates, the car was shut off.  Getting out of the vehicle, she waited for Aubrey to come around from the driver’s side.  

          “Why are we at Dr. B and Booth’s old house?  Are you still helping Booth fix up the house for them to sell?  Did you leave something here?”

          “Yes and no.”, Aubrey said as he unlocked the door, his melancholy of a few minutes ago replaced with mischievousness.

          “Superman, I don’t understand.”

          Aubrey unlocked the door.  “Come inside and you’ll find out what’s going on.”

          The couple walked into the open foyer and living room and Jessica saw an old worn couch and a small table with various tools.  Next to them were two stools, a mini fridge, a sawhorse, and a couple doors leaning against the wall.  Next to the kitchen island was an overflowing trash can.  

          Moving closer, the redhead peeked into two boxes on the floor and saw several doorknobs that still had to be installed throughout the house.  Looking around again, she admired the open kitchen and remodeled home. 

“Wow, you and Booth did a great job with the house.  It’s so beautiful.  I love that they used hardwood floors again.”

          “You think so?”, Aubrey said.

          “Yeah, Superman.”, Jessica said.  “Now is it still four bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs with the den, office, two and a half baths, laundry room, and finished basement?”

          “Pretty much, but the downstairs bathroom is now a three quarter one because Booth and I installed a shower in there last Saturday afternoon.”, the agent said.  “So you’ve been here before all…that happened?”

          Jessica turned around with a sad look.  “Yeah.  Dr. B had a dinner for all the interns shortly after my first case at the Jeffersonian.  The next time after that was when we…helped her clean up and moved her into their new house while Booth was in prison.”

          Aubrey felt a twinge of lingering guilt about the possibility that Booth’s legal issues were the reason he got the transfer to the DC field office, but he pushed it aside.  “So, do you want to see the upstairs or downstairs first?”

          Pausing, Jessica narrowed her eyes at him. “Superman, are Booth and Dr. B cool with us walking around in their house without them here?”

          “Yeah, Jessica, they are.  In fact, that’s my surprise.  I’ll even give you a hint.”  Aubrey jiggled a set of keys at his girlfriend.  “These are my keys to the house.”

          The redhead pondered for a moment before it clicked.  “You’re buying the house?”

          “Renting…renting the house.”, Aubrey said with his hand up.  “My promotion gave me a nice raise but not that nice.  Booth is bringing a lease agreement to work sometime this week, but yes, I’m going to be moving into this house.”

          “Aubrey!  That’s so cool!”, the redhead said before jumping up into his arms.  Suddenly, she realized something.  “Wait, you’re moving from your apartment?  I thought you loved living there.”

          “Yeah…about that…while this house came at the perfect time, I had to move no matter what.”

           Jessica was confused.  “Why, Superman?  Is Mrs. Hall selling your building?”

          “No…”, Aubrey said, dreading what he was about to tell his girlfriend.

          “Then why?”, Jessica said before it clicked.  “It was Karen, right? What did she do this time?”

          The agent cleared his throat.  “Well, I had no food in my apartment this morning, so I walked down to that café by my apartment.  They make the best sausage—it’s homemade, you know, with just a hint of sage...“

          Jessica immediately figured out her boyfriend was trying to tell her something that would make her mad.  She knew his stammering too well.  “Aubrey…”

          “Then I had to go to Mr. Leonelli’s store.  They have that nice thick peppered bacon—“

          “Aubrey!”, Jessica yelled before crossing her arms and glaring at him impatiently.

          The agent took a deep breath.  “I got home and saw my door was ajar.  I thought there was a burglar, so I waited for a minute before entering because my service weapon was locked in my closet.  Then I heard Karen yell at Skinner after she stepped on him or something...”

          “How did she get into your apartment?”, Jessica said as she eyed him suspiciously.  “You didn’t give her a key for emergencies, did you?”

          “No, of course not.”, Aubrey said emphatically.  “She came by while I was out and when I didn’t answer, she looked outside and saw my SUV.  Instead of using some common sense, she got Mrs. Hall all worked up,  making her think that I may have cracked my head open in the shower or something.  Of course, she let Karen into the apartment to check on me.”

          “Oh, my God…”, Jessica said while shaking her head.  “What a flipping Fruit Loop.”

          Aubrey was glad the redhead wasn’t angry at him...yet.  “When I confronted the Fruit Loop for breaking into my apartment, she blew me off, essentially saying it was my fault for not returning her phone calls.  She then presented me with some nasty ass thing that was supposed to be tuna broccoli casserole, but she put red peppers, stuffed olives, and pepper jack cheese in it.  Oh, shit!”, Aubrey exclaimed with a look of panic.  “It’s still on the kitchen counter in my apartment.  God, I hope Skinner didn’t eat any of it.”

          “I’m sure Skinner is fine, Aubrey.  He’s a smart boy.”, Jessica said while tapping her foot impatiently.  “Please continue.”

          “Yeah, so she said she made lunch for me today because she  _ ‘missed me’ _ ”, Aubrey said with air quotation marks at the end.  “When I said she should’ve called first, she shot back once again that it was my fault that she had to come over because I hadn’t returned her calls this past week.  Then she told me that she planned on spending the day with me to make up for all that.”

          “Really…”,  Jessica said, quirking an eyebrow at Aubrey before taking a deep breath.

          “Yeah, really.”, Aubrey said.  “I told her I had plans to clean my apartment, but she didn’t care.  She wasn’t even deterred when I mentioned that I was planning to clean my bathroom or Skinner’s litter box, because me being domestic is so cute since that’s what…couples do.”

          “I see…”, Jessica said, her cheeks turning red as her anger grew.  “Go on.”

          Aubrey nervously ran his fingers through his hair.  “I explained once again that we’re only friends and just like the other times, I apologized if I’d led her on in any way to make her think otherwise.  I was clear about that, and I took all the blame.  Thankfully, that’s when Booth called and asked me to come over here.  When I told her I had to leave, she finally accepted that but left me with that…stuff with instructions to return the dish when I was ready.”

          Jessica saw the way he wasn’t looking at her.  “Superman, what aren’t you telling me?”

          He didn’t want to hurt Jessica’s feelings because she was sensitive to people thinking she was a flaky girl with no direction.  However, he knew she wouldn’t let up.  Reluctantly, he told her the last bit and saw Jessica’s cheeks turn from flushed to pure scarlet before she exploded.

          “That crazy bitch has the balls to call me emotionally immature?”, Jessica said, clenching her fists at her sides.  “She was the one who almost punched me at the lab because I ignored her stupid stories about the alleged constant acrobatic sex you two were having and her request for advice on what kind of fucking panties to wear to make you horny!”

          “I know, Jess--”, Aubrey said but he was interrupted by the angry redhead.

          “This almost forty year old woman is supposed to be an FBI psychologist, but she is a two faced, lying, piece of shit!  She’s all sweet to my face but she then makes little jabs at things like my childhood at the cooperative, my large family, my body—“

          “Whoa!”, Aubrey said.  “What are you talking about?”

          Jessica realized she said too much.  “It’s nothing, Superman.  Just typical Karen and it’s really dumb.”  

          Aubrey felt there was a story and he wanted to hear it.  “No, I’m not going to forget it.  You’re supposed to talk to me about everything, remember?”

          The redhead saw the concern in his eyes and knew she’d lost.  Moving into the living room, she sat on the couch.  “Karen would…occasionally make comments that would cut a little deep sometimes, but then be all apologetic later.”

           Sitting down across from her, he pushed a little bit.  “Like what, Jess?”

          Jessica felt like such a baby for what she was feeling.  As Dr. B would say, it was irrational, but the comments still hurt.  “Remember when we spent the night at her place after Dr. Saroyan and Arastoo’s wedding?”

          “I don’t remember much about that evening, but I do remember the morning after and the rest of the day.  The worst day of my life.”, Aubrey said quietly.

          “Well, after we got you into the apartment and settled into bed, we talked for a bit.  She asked me how I felt about your promotion.  I was honest in that I was a little hurt you didn’t ask me to go with you,  but at the same time I wasn’t sure if I could go anyway because of how my program is set up at American University.  I also mentioned that I was feeling a little scared about everything and that I was…pretty upset about you getting trashed after I caught the bouquet.”

          “Shit…”, Aubrey said. “Listen, Jess…”

          “I’m not done yet, Superman.”, Jessica interrupted.  “When it came time for bed, of course, I had nothing to sleep in and was going to just use your shirt.  Karen made a point of telling me she didn’t think you would want your dress shirt ruined like that so she said she could give me some PJs.  She found them in her bedroom and gave them to me, saying that  _ ‘this shirt is too small around the girls for me, and I’m too voluptuous for the pants but the outfit was just perfect for a small little thing like you, Jessica.  You’re so skinny...” _

__ “Where the hell was I?”, Aubrey said, infuriated at the perceived insult to his girlfriend.

          “Passed out in the guest room, remember?”, Jessica said.   “Yeah, I really didn’t know what to say, because Karen isn’t always known for her discretion or tact.  It was one of many left handed compliments that she’s given me since she returned from Kansas City.  I wanted to tell her what she could do with her opinions but she was your friend…”

          Aubrey sighed, his guilt palpable as he tried to keep calm, but he wasn’t very happy that Karen had been messing with Jessica much longer than he thought.  “No, Jessica…she was a colleague with whom I was friendly and someone I talked to after seeing my dad had shown up in town. Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

          “Because I didn’t want to be that girlfriend.”, Jessica said.  “You know, the sensitive one who goes to her boyfriend every time one of his friends gets all annoying as fuck.”

          “You should have, Jess.”

          “Well…you were busy dealing with your dad and helping Booth find Kovacs.  You had a full plate.”

          “Not too full that I couldn’t help you.”, Aubrey said in a sad tone.  “I wouldn’t have tolerated anyone talking to you that way and I won’t now, Jessica.  I’m so sorry I gave the impression that I was too busy to help you.”

          “You know what upset me most of all?”, Jessica asked.  “I really thought she was my friend, Aubrey.  When she came back from Kansas City, she would ask me out for drinks and want to hang out.  One night, I was meeting up with Andie and Daisy, so I invited Karen to join us.  They didn’t like her right away, saying she was trying to soften me up before stealing you away from me, but I figured they were just being overcautious.  I know now that they were right and she was waiting for me to screw up so she could snag you for herself.”

          “Jess, she can try, but it’s not happening, okay?”, the agent said as he put his hands on her arms.  “She’s nice but a little off...okay more than a little off.  Remember me telling you about when she asked me out in Booth’s office while we were investigation Frank Kwiakowski’s murder?”

       “Your dad’s fixer guy?”, Jessica asked.  When Aubrey nodded, she continued.  “Yeah…”

           “I mean, who asks a guy out on a date in front of another person?  I accepted because I didn’t want humiliate her in front of Booth, but as soon as I could I broke the date.  After I told her I was seeing someone, she constantly talked about my father’s crimes and embarrassed me at Frank’s office while I was interviewing his assistant.   After that there was no way I could ever contemplate becoming more than just work friends with her, much less begin a physical relationship with her.  That’s not my thing.  You know that, right?”

           “I know Superman.  I just need to shake her off.”, Jessica said with a smile before standing up and taking his hand.  “Come on, show me the rest of the house.”

            Seeing that Jessica was ready to move on, Aubrey squeezed back.  “Okay.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            After showing Jessica around downstairs, Aubrey led her upstairs.  Finishing the tour of the bathroom and most of the rooms, she opened a door and saw a set of hardwood stairs in a switchback layout.

“I didn’t know you had an attic up here.  That’s so cool.”, Jessica said.  

           “I thought you had been here before.” Aubrey asked as he came behind her.

          “Downstairs.  Dr. B never showed us the upstairs.”, the redhead replied.  “Can we check out the attic?”

           “Do we have to?”, Aubrey said, not looking forward to any creepy surprises.

           Jessica took his hand and squeezed it.  “Don’t worry...I’ll protect you from any killer spiders we encounter.”

           They shared a smile before Aubrey opened the attic door all the way.  Letting Jessica lead, the two went up into the upper space. Both admired the layout and the window view before climbing back down the stairs.  

           “You know...if you ever buy the place, you could make that a finished room.”, the anthropologist said.  “It’s a great space.”

           “Yeah it is, but I don’t plan on spending much time in there.”, the agent said before taking the redhead’s hand and leading her to a closed door.  “This…is the master bedroom.”

          “I can’t wait to see it.”, Jessica said flirtatiously.

          Aubrey pushed the door open with a flourish since it didn’t have a knob yet.  Leading her inside, he smiled as she looked around the large room.

          Jessica saw that the walls weren’t painted yet but the hardwood floors gleamed.  In the middle of the room was a bed with a quilt, sheets, and three pillows laying on top.  Curious, she turned to Aubrey.

          “Booth kept the bed here to sleep on when he was working late on the house since the couch downstairs is hard on his back.”

          Jessica walked to the closet and groaned.  “You have a walk-in closet?  That is so awesome.  It’s huge...”

          “You haven’t seen the best part yet.”, Aubrey said.

          The couple walked to the other side of the bedroom where there was a new door propped up, blocking most of the view in.  Moving it aside, Aubrey indicated for Jessica to go on.

          “Ladies first.”

          “Why thank you, kind sir.”, Jessica said before entering.  “Oh wow…”

          The en-suite bathroom was painted a warm hunter green.  On her left was a double vanity with a slight oval shape, maple cabinets, a cream colored granite counter, and two metal sinks with copper fixtures.  Next to it was a wall separating the vanity from the corner shower.  Walking up to it, she saw there was a glass door and her mouth dropped when she saw three different shower heads, a shelf about waist high, and a built in bench.

          Jessica looked to her right past the glass partition and saw a corner jet tub surrounded by light brown bricks that easily fit two people.

_ ‘Oh…Superman and I can have some fun in here…”,  _ the redhead thought before she realized what she was thinking.   _ ‘But we’re just friends right now…’ _

__ Aubrey watched as her porcelain complexion turned an adorable flush and smiled.   _ ‘I thought the same thing, Jessica, but we won’t be just friends forever.’ _

          “This bathroom is gorgeous, Superman.  What do you think of the built in bench and three shower heads?”

          Aubrey had a vision of the two of them against the shower wall with him thrusting into a moaning Jessica with her legs around his waist while she held onto one of the heads.  Turning red at his thoughts, he smiled.  “Definitely better than my shower at my apartment.”

           The two came back out and Jessica looked around again.  She could see a couple of pictures on the wall and there would be a chair in the corner.  There would be an armoire and a dresser of cherry wood.  The floor would have a colorful area rug as an accent, but the hardwood floors would still be prominent.  Admiring the bay window by the bed, she pictured the two of them sitting together one night looking outside after loving each other.

           Looking to the left wall, the redhead immediately envisioned two nightstands, one for Aubrey and his stuff on the right side.  The left would be for her and her stuff.  In between, she pictured a King sized bed with the two of them making love on it before her cheeks burned red.  Clearing her throat, she pushed her thoughts aside.  

          “Aubrey, this house is so cool.  What are you doing to do with all this space?”

          “Well, one room will be the Star Wars room.  Skinner will probably adopt one of the other rooms for his own.  I mean, the possibilities are endless, right?  Five bedrooms plus a den, office, two and three quarter baths, plus a finished basement.  With the rate I’m getting from Booth, plus utilities I will probably pay no more than $2000 a month...pretty much the same as I was paying for my small, rundown apartment.”

          Aubrey turned back from the redhead and looked around again before.  “This is an awesome house to raise a family in.”

          Jessica felt her stomach churn and thought she would going to break out into a cold sweat.  Frustrated at her knee jerk response, she worked to hide it from Aubrey, but it was too late.

          “Jess, what’s wrong?”

          Feeling ashamed at her reaction to what she knew was an innocent remark, Jessica flipped her hand up and tried to change the subject.  “Nothing, Aubrey.  Hey, I have to head to Dulles to pick up Beau and Daisy soon.  Do you want to come?  Maybe we can all hit Founding Fathers afterwards?”

          The agent remembered the last time he saw that look on her face…the night in front of the subway.  Quickly, he grabbed her arm.  “Jess, stop for a second.”

          “Aubrey, I promised Daisy I would be there on time.”  Turning away, she tried to leave, but he grabbed her hand.

          “Not until you answer me.”, Aubrey said.  “Did I say the wrong thing?  I meant what I said about this being the perfect house for a family but I wasn’t talking about right this instant.”

          “James…”, Jessica said weakly.

          “Jessica!  I saw your face.  I saw it…I remember it.  Do you know how many times I go back to that night?  How many times I thought about it after it happened?  I thought I screwed up everything…and I’m wondering if I did it again.”

          Jessica didn’t think before she grabbed Aubrey and kissed him.  He responded back and they got caught up in the moment.  Before they knew it, they were on that bed with their hands all over each other.

          Aubrey made quick work of getting Jessica’s t-shirt off and was rewarded to see the redhead’s mounds encased in a rich red silk, setting off her ivory skin.  In awe, his lips traveled all over the uncovered parts of her breasts to her moans.

          Jessica enjoyed his amorous attentions before yanking the agent’s sweatshirt off him.  She groaned as she felt his muscular chest and abdomen against hers before her hands continued to roam down his back.  She shivered as she felt Aubrey’s hand move down and open her pants.  His fingers had just moved inside when he suddenly stopped.

          “James…what’s wrong?”

          Aubrey’s head was in the crook of her neck and he was panting.  “We can’t do this…not now.”

          “I’m still on the Pill.”, Jessica said, thinking he was worried about birth control.

          “I know, but that’s not why.”, the agent said reluctantly before lifting his head up and gently caressing Jessica from her breast down her abdomen.  “More than anything, I want to strip you naked so we can screw each other senseless.  But…”

          Jessica knew what he was saying and she needed to be honest as well.  “I’m not ready for a relationship either…but I care about you...so much...”

         Aubrey wanted to hear the words, but knew she wasn’t ready yet.  “I care about you too, so much.  But we can’t make love…”

          “Until we’re both ready to take a chance…and we’re not.”, Jessica said tearfully as she combed the silver tips at Aubrey’s left temple.  “But we will be…soon...”

          Heartened at Jessica’s confidence of their path, Aubrey gently caressed her face.  “And when we are…don’t make any plans.”

          Both snickered before the two of them shook in laughter.  For either of them, there was no one else who they could laugh with as much as they did with each other.  After a few minutes, they calmed down and the lanky man got off his friend.  He shuddered when he took in Jessica wearing only a bra and a hint of matching red panties behind her opened jeans.

          “Jess, you...you...need to get dressed. If I keep looking at you like that, I will have no willpower left and Daisy and Beau will have to find their own way home.”

          Jessica chuckled before she found his sweatshirt thrown next to her.  Grabbing it, she smiled as she tossed it at Aubrey’s head.  “Same goes for you, Mister.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Two hours later, Aubrey and Jessica were joined by the newlyweds at Founding Fathers’.  As always, the table was covered by appetizers and two empty pitchers of beer.  The first couple was listening as the second described their honeymoon.

          “It was so beautiful there, Jessica.”, Daisy said.  “We spent a couple days on Plage du Taharuu and enjoyed the black sand.”

          “I met some Redskins fans there.”, Beau chuckled as he sipped his beer.  “It’s kinda fun finding fans in the far corners of the world.”

          “We sampled some wonderful different foods in Papeete, Aubrey.”, Daisy said.  “Our resort hosted a Polynesian Night where they threw a Hima’a on.”

          “Oh, I heard of those…”  Aubrey said as his mouth watered.  “It’s fish, pig, shrimp, lobster, bananas and other stuff wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a hole in the ground with hot rocks.”

          “Aubrey, you’re drooling…”, Jessica said with a snicker.

          “I know, Jess…”, the agent replied before eating the last meatball slider.

          “I saw Dan Marino and his wife when we went to Bora Bora.”, Beau said.  “His wife and my Daisy became fast friends.”

          “We hung out once after we met.”, Daisy said quickly before refocusing.  “We took an island tour and saw the most beautiful waterfalls.  It was so romantic.”

          “I have the best wife.”, Beau said as he put his arm around the anthropologist.  “She was so understanding when I had to call my coach and study plays since I was off for two games.”

          Aubrey’s eyes got large at the linebacker’s last response.  He wasn’t going to judge but if he were on a honeymoon, calling work and studying would have been the last thing on his mind.  Unless it was Jessica’s body he was studying, of course.

          “Beau made up for it by spoiling me rotten.  The shopping was wonderful.”, Daisy gushed.

          Aubrey and Jessica moved back and forth between the couple before looking at each other.  Keeping their opinions to themselves, they turn their attention back to Daisy and Beau.

          “Sounds like you had a very…interesting honeymoon, guys.”, Aubrey said.

“We had an awesome honeymoon.”, the player said before his phone buzzed.  Seeing who it was, he turned to Daisy.  “It’s our defensive coordinator, Babe.  I have to take this.  Be right back…hey Joe, what’s up?”

          The three watched Beau walk out of the bar before Daisy turned to her friends.  “Beau says the team is a bit of turmoil right now.”

          “Yeah, that’s understandable.”, Jessica said.  “Aubrey has to deal with that sometimes in his job.”

          “I do?”, Aubrey said, before being reminded by the slightly annoyed look on the redhead’s face.  He quickly nodded in agreement.  “Yeah, I do.  I’m a Special Agent in Charge, so my time is not my own.”

          “Sometimes Beau needs to tell them no.”, Daisy replied before smiling again.  “Never mind about that.  I got both of you something but I had to mail them home, but you’ll have them soon.”

          “You didn’t have to do that, Daisy.”, Aubrey said.

          “Yes I did.  Jessica was my maid of honor and you’re...important to her and part of our family, Aubrey.”, Daisy said before looking at the time.  “Oh goodness, it’s almost 8:00.  We need to pick up Lance from my in law’s house before heading back to our condo.”

          “Why don’t you crash in Great Falls tonight, Daisy?”, Jessica asked. “You guys are probably exhausted with the jet lag.”

          “I have to work tomorrow.”, the newlywed responded.  “Identifying remains in a never ending job as you know, Jessica.”

          “Ouch.”, Aubrey replied.  “The...NFL didn’t want to give you an extra day to allow their lead anthropologist to recuperate?”

          "I  can’t because I have a very important job and my presence is needed.  Besides that, my in-laws will need to accept that Beau and I have a home and that’s where we are going to go with my son tonight.”

          Aubrey and Jessica didn’t miss the bite in Daisy’s voice, but wisely kept their observations to themselves.

          “If you will excuse me, I need to get my husband off the phone.”

          When the diminutive woman was out of earshot, Aubrey turned to Jessica.  “So their honeymoon sounded...fun.”

          “Yeah...shopping, romance, and football.  A great combo.”, the redhead responded.

          “Um, you know Beau better than I do, Jess but is it me or did he seem to have a one track mind?”

          “You mean football, football, and more football?”, Jessica said as she sipped her beer.  “He does.  He’s a good guy, Aubrey, but…”

           The agent saw Jessica had something to say.  “What, Jess?  It’s just us.”

          “Between you and me…I think Daisy made a mistake.  Andie thinks so, too.”

           “Why?”, Aubrey questioned.  “She seems happy…”

           “Oliver, while sometimes a douchebag, obviously has feelings for Daisy.  To be honest, they have feelings for each other, but instead of just saying so, each waited for the other to speak up.”

           “Sounds familiar.”, Aubrey said with a smile.

            Jessica returned the smile before sipping her beer.  “Most of all, she wanted a knight in shining armor to love and worship her.  Unfortunately, Oliver Wells is no shining knight, just a pain who challenged her constantly, but she always gave as good as she got.  He’s the opposite of what kind of man Daisy planned on marrying.”

           “Jess, real life is no fairy tale.”

           “I know that, Superman, but...real life hasn’t been good to Daisy.”,  Jessica said, pondering her words without breaking a confidence.  “She comes from a large family like I do, but she’s estranged from most of them.  She and Sweets were on and off, and after knocking her up, they were on again, hopefully for good.  They were planning a future together when he died and she was left a single mother with no family except her colleagues at the Jeffersonian.  So when Beau asked her out, he reminded her of that fairy tale life she’d always dreamed about.  She bragged to us about how Beau was such a gentlemen on their dates...always brought flowers...deferred to her on things...”

           “Okay, I get it…”, Aubrey said before taking a drink of his beer.  “She thought Beau was the one, right?”

            “They had only dated for a few weeks before Beau suggested that they go to Tahiti.  Marriage never came up until his parents pushed the issue and they got Daisy all worked up to the point that she was afraid Lance would be abandoned if something happened while they were gone.  Andie and I think she got swept up in the idea of marrying Prince Charming and living that fairy tale.”

          “Did you two tell her this?”, Aubrey asked.

          “We tried talking to her about it before the wedding, but she was determined to get married.  Andie said there was only so much we could do if she wouldn’t listen, so we let it go.”

          Aubrey played with his glass.  “I’m going to say something but you don’t have to confirm or deny if it will break a confidence.”

          “What do you want to know, Aubrey?”

           Aubrey thought about how he wanted to lay out his question until he decided to just ask.  “Do you think subconsciously Daisy married Beau to force that asshat’s hand?”

           Jessica remembered the conversation she had with Daisy the night before her wedding.  “I don’t think...well...I just don’t know...I hope not.  I know she loves Beau, Superman--”

           Aubrey saw the couple walk in.  “They’re coming back.”

           Quickly the couple grabbed their beers and finished them off as Beau and Daisy came back to the table.

          “If you don’t mind taking us to my folks’ place, it would be appreciated so we can get Lance home.”,  Beau asked.

          “Sure.  Let’s just settle up the bill.”, Aubrey said.

          “Appreciate you taking us out, Aubrey.”,  Beau said.   “We maxed out the credit card on our trip.  You know how it goes, right, Buddy?  I just hate to tell Daisy ‘no’ about anything.  After all, as a football star, I’m expected to maintain a certain lifestyle.”

          “Beau…”,  Daisy groaned, mortified by her husband’s request.

          “Yeah, I get it.”  That hadn’t been Aubrey’s plan, especially since Beau had ordered as much food as he did.  However, he didn’t want to look like an asshole, so he decided he should just take care of it quietly.  “No worries.”

          Jessica watched Aubrey take out his Visa card before putting it on the receipt and her eyes got large when she saw the total.  At the subtle shaking of her friend’s head, the redhead didn’t say anything.

          “We’ll pay you back when we help you move, Aubrey.  How does that sound?”

          “Sounds great, actually.”, Aubrey said.  “I’m going to bring some small things to the house this week a little at a time, but having a big guy around for the big stuff would be helpful.”

          “As long as I’m not needed at the FedEx, I’m free on Saturday.”,  Beau said.  “Ready, Babe?”

          Daisy’s spine was stiffened as she was still embarrassed by her husband pushing the bill onto Aubrey.  “Yep.”

          The four grabbed their coats and walked out of the Founding Fathers.  When Daisy and Beau weren’t looking, Jessica took Aubrey’s hand until they reached the SUV.

* * *

     Forty-five minutes later, Aubrey walked into his apartment and turned on the light.  When Skinner came to the door meowing, he felt bad and hurried through the open part to his kitchen.  Setting down the leftovers and food he ordered for lunch tomorrow, he fed his cat, who attacked his food with gusto.

          “Sorry, Buddy…out with Aunt Jessica and friends.”

          Turning back he saw the foil from the casserole torn at a corner.  Flicking on the stove light, he looked and saw where the cat had gotten into it.  When he took a step, he felt something squishy.  Looking down he saw where he stepped in a small pile of cat vomit.

          “Yeah, Skinner, I don’t blame you either for puking this up.  Looks...just wrong.”

          A thought came to him, so he took his phone out of his pocket.  Pulling back the foil in its entirety, he took a picture of the casserole and sent it with a text to his favorite squintern.

**_Skinner found the stuff but yak’d it up.  Happy now I fed him._ **

**** Grabbing a paper towel, he cleaned up the mess on the floor.  As he was tossing the towel into the garbage, he heard his phone buzz.  Reading the message, he smiled.

**_Glad Skinner survived.  That looks disgusting.  Look’d up recipe based on what u said but not found.  K made it special just 4 u.  Lucky man._ **

          “Ugh, pizza and casserole do not mix.”, Aubrey said.

          The lanky man put his food away and grabbed a beer from the fridge before going into the living room where he sat down.  Mrs. Hall didn’t return his call but he knew that she spent most Sundays with her daughter in Baltimore and sometimes spent the night.  Occasionally, it was vice versa depending on her child’s busy schedule.  

          His landlady was a kindly old woman whom he helped with small tasks like picking up groceries for her when he was out.  When one of her now former tenants from next door was dodging her six months ago when rent was due, he accompanied her and he used the fact that he was technically a lawyer as well as an FBI Agent to put the woman on notice not to be late again.

          He hated to tell Mrs. Hall he wasn’t renewing her lease, but he felt that he had no other option.  He couldn’t have Karen, or anyone else talk themselves into his apartment when he wasn’t home.  What if the next time he had Jessica or even one of the Mini-Booths or Michael Vincent with him?  He couldn’t take that chance.

          Looking around, he sighed.  He was going to miss this place.  Mr. Leonelli down the street was fun to talk to as he was from New York City, too.  More than once, he’d go in and they would chat about old hangouts in the Big Apple.  He also would bring home one of his pastramis on rye from the grocer’s deli department and it tasted just like the ones he used to have at the deli near his old high school.

          Skinner picked that moment to jump on the agent’s lap.  After curling up on his legs, Aubrey scratched him behind the ears and the animal purred.  His new house would give his cat plenty to explore and more windows to look out besides the one in the living room.

          The Mighty Hut would also give him and Jessica a lot of room to explore, too.  He tingled at the thought of them making love in every room of that large house.  Even in the attic…after a thorough cleaning.  Being interrupted by a crawly, scary spider while naked with his gorgeous redhead underneath him would really suck.

          If what happened to them earlier was any indicator, hopefully it would be sooner than later.  It had been too long since he had touched her like that and it felt amazing today.

          But they couldn’t rush it either.  He was honest when he said he wasn’t ready for a relationship yet.  He knew he’d overreacted when he saw her reaction to his remark about a family in that house.  She seemed to know it was knee jerk, too, but those old feelings came back in a rush.

          His head knew she wouldn’t just take off on him…that it was okay to make a mistake.  His heart, though, was still afraid of being left behind.  He trusted her to be faithful and in the honesty of her feelings, but he was ashamed of still being afraid of letting his guard down sometimes.

          He couldn’t expect Jessica to fully embrace a life with him if he couldn’t do the same.  However, they would get there.  He had faith and his vivid imagination in regards to her beautiful body.

          Which brought him back to what she said earlier about Karen’s snide remarks.  Yes, the profiler maybe had what some men considered the ideal, but he preferred Jessica’s perfectly proportioned curves, lithe figure, and modest breasts.  The fact the profiler had needled Jessica about something she was insecure about pissed him off royally.  He wanted to tell that weirdo nut job off, but the redhead didn’t want him to poke the dragon, so he would let her handle it.

          But if Karen pulled anything when he was around…that would be a different story.

          Seeing it was almost midnight, Aubrey quickly finished his beer.  After jostling his cat up, much to Skinner’s annoyance, he rinsed out the beer bottle before dumping the offensive casserole in the trash.  Putting the pan to soak in the sink, he shut out the lights and went to bed.

* * *

          Jessica was comfortably ensconced on her bed finalizing her lesson plan for Dr. B’s Thursday class.  Her mentor and Curly were presenting the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab’s proposed 2017 budget to the governing board and Dr. B had elected not to cancel the session.  It would be her first time instructing a class alone since becoming one of the forensic anthropologist’s teaching assistants. It was a big responsibility that she didn’t give to just any of her teaching assistants.  She was honored that Dr. B entrusted her to do this, but at the same time she was so nervous and didn’t want to fail her mentor.

          While most professors let their TAs do stuff like that all the time, in all of her years of teaching, the forensic anthropologist had only chosen a select few to do so without her there.  One of the things Jessica admired most about Dr. B was her belief that since her students paid to learn from her, she felt it was her obligation to be there for her students.  

           Looking over the topic she planned to go over in class, she realized it was as good as it was going to get.  After she saved it to her flash drive and the cloud, she attached it to the email she’d prepared for the forensic anthropologist.  Taking a deep breath, she sent it.  Looking at the clock, she saw it was after eleven.  Turning off her laptop, she decided to take a shower so she could get a little extra sleep because she had to be up before 6:00 in the morning.  

           Tomorrow Andie was picking her up on her way to work and dropping her off at the train station so she could attend an afternoon lecture at Virginia Commonwealth University on bone calcification.  She would then spend the night with her brother Aaron’s family who lived nearby and take the train back to DC Tuesday morning, when Aubrey would pick her up.

          Getting in the warm water, she let her imagination wander as she remembered earlier today.  She didn’t mean for them to almost have sex.  However, when she pressed her mouth against his warm lips, all reason flew out the window.

          Aubrey’s kisses were always good, and the way his lips felt when he loved on her breasts was always wonderful, but today it was amazing.  While his intensity did scare her early on, it also made her see stars.  After their talk at the Mall, she finally figured out that his passion during their lovemaking was one of the ways he told her that he loved her when he couldn’t say it out loud.  Of course, she wasn’t listening as carefully before, but she would be now.

          He was right, though, to stop them earlier before they went too far.  While their bodies would be sated, emotionally it would’ve set them back. 

          She felt like she was almost there, though.  For the first time, she was able to tell that voice in her head after he spoke about families to shut up.  She headed Aubrey off not because she wanted to avoid him, but because she didn’t want to worry him.  It hurt for a moment when he seemed to panic, but she understood why.

          She also knew how hard her Superman was working to overcome his own fears.  She had faith they would get there together…but she hoped it was soon.  If today was any indicator, when they finally came together as lovers again it would be…

          Explosive…amazing…wonderful.

          The music she had playing on her Amazon Prime app was interrupted by the ringing on her phone.  Afraid it was an emergency due to the late hour, she jumped out of the shower and got to it as the ringing stopped.  Looking, she didn’t recognize the phone number and figured it was a wrong one.  

          Getting back in, she finished her shower.  When done, she brushed her teeth and got stuff around so she could be ready when Andie picked her up at 6:30.  Pulling the covers back, she got into bed.  When she plugged in her phone, she saw there was a voice message.  Checking her message, it was not one she was expecting.

_ ‘Jessica, this is your mother Eleanor.  I’m going to be in Philadelphia for a conference later in the week and will be staying with Michael.  It would be nice to see my daughter also, since you always seem to be busy with that lab and school.  I will call you with a good time to come up and have dinner with your brother and me.’ _

__  Instantly, she felt like a young girl again.  Her mother had a habit of expecting people to drop everything when she needed or wanted something.  Aaron stopped catering to her years ago, as did Stephan.  Jason was in Charlotte and Jack was in Montreal until the first week of November working on a project.  Michael...he still tried to do what he felt was right by their mother, even to the point of twisting himself into a pretzel.

          Judging by her tone, she couldn’t tell if she was on her meds or not.  Either way, mental illness never kept Eleanor Gordon from her needs which were always more important than others.  However, she just couldn’t deal with the woman right now.  Things were looking up in her life and her mother had a way of sucking that away from her.  

          She thought about calling Aubrey, but it was almost midnight and he had to work in the morning.  Deciding not to wake him up, she sat in bed staring at the ceiling for several minutes before taking a couple of deep breaths to settle herself down.  Hitting the power bar her lamp was plugged in with, Jessica laid down for a fitful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out mphs95's Tumblr for a special Love & Carbonite Extra.


	15. One Step Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Jessica's mother has her tied up in knots and Aubrey has a complication of his own this chapter. How do they get around them?

            Aubrey was hard at work Monday around 11:30 when he heard his phone buzz.  Seeing who was calling, he happily answered.  “Hey, Jess.  How’s Richmond?”

Jessica looked around the busy hallway.  “The lecture isn’t bad.  We took a break and I thought I’d call you.  How’s work this morning?”

“Some old Monday…payroll, preparing cases for Caroline, auditing my agents’ case files.  Nothing but fun on this front.”

           Jessica leaned against the wall.  “Has you know who stopped by yet?”

Aubrey clicked something on his computer.  “No, but I do have to have a meeting with her this afternoon.  The particulates Hodgins identified on Vacchio’s suit narrowed down his previous locations, so we have to update the case profile.  Unfortunately, Booth got called to another crime scene with Doctor B, so I have to work with Karen by myself.  Yay….”

Jessica felt slightly nervous at that prospect, but she trusted Aubrey.  She knew he wanted to avoid being alone with the profiler as much as possible.  Thinking for a second, she came up with a couple of ideas on how he might be able to avoid any more trouble.

            “Well, maybe you can meet in the break room or the conference room with the door open, okay?  That should hopefully deter her from flirting with you...or at least prevent her or others from getting the wrong idea.”

Aubrey thought about her suggestion.  “The break room is a good idea, Jess.  She was a friend to me when I needed one, but I’ve set her straight enough times.  Now I have to continue to be strictly professional without hopefully being rude or embarrassing her.”

The redhead smiled, loving how thoughtful her best friend was, even when dealing with annoying people.  “You’re a good man, James Aubrey, and I know you’ll be the same professional federal agent you’ve always been.  However, remember...you only get to flirt with _me_ at work.”

“Trust me, Jessica...you’re the only one who gets to see my weapon.”  Hearing her giggle on the phone, Aubrey smiled.  “Just keep your fingers crossed that she doesn’t do another unexpected visit with a dinner surprise before Friday.”

            Jessica crossed her left middle and index fingers.  “Already done.  If she pops over after you move, maybe she’ll get the hint when she realizes you don’t live there anymore.”

            “I hope so, Jess.  I really do.”

            The redhead heard the sincerity in his voice and it made her feel better.  “So when do you sign your lease for the Mighty Hut?”

_             “I talked to Booth this morning and he’s got the lease ready for me to sign.  Now all I need is to find someone to sublet the apartment because my lease ends November 1st and I don’t want to leave Mrs. Hall in the lurch.” _

Jessica thought for a minute. “I may know someone…but…”

“Who?”, Aubrey said.  “It will be tight but I’ll swing it somehow if I have to pay Booth a security deposit and rent to two places for November.  If I can get out of it though, my checking account will be a lot happier.”

“Okay.”, the redhead said. “How about…”

When Aubrey heard Jessica’s response, he grimaced.  “Man, that’s just mean.  I’m not sure I want to do that to Mrs. Hall.”

_“Superman, he and I have the same landlord, and while he’s not Mr. Cho’s favorite guy, he always pays his rent on time.  Plus the basement tenant in that house was busted last week for cooking meth, so Mr. Cho is trying to find places for the other tenants because the whole house reeks and may have to be condemned.”_

The agent made a face.  “But Oliver Wells…”

_“Superman, two rents…your checking account...”_

Aubrey knew he was stuck.  “Fine…fine…I’ll suggest him if Mrs. Hall asks, but you owe me, Ms. Warren.”

Jessica laughed.  “Of course, Special Agent Aubrey.  When do you want to collect?”

Aubrey thought there was something odd in her voice throughout their phone conversation, but now it was even more prominent.  He knew her well enough that something wasn’t right.  “Jess, what’s wrong?”

Stunned, Jessica stiffened.  “W-what are you talking about?”

_“Something’s wrong.  I can hear it in your voice.  What’s going on?”_

Before she could make up an excuse, she heard the intercom announce the end of intermission.  “Shoot, our break is over.  I’ll call you tonight after I’m settled at Aaron’s.”

“Okay...bye.”, Aubrey replied.

            “Bye, Aubrey.”, Jessica said before disconnecting the call.

            Going back into the lecture hall, she quickly down the aisle to the third row.  When she got to her seat, she saw some bimbo in a low cut top bending down to flirt with a guy in the row ahead of her.

           “Flash your boobs somewhere else, Babe.”, Jessica said as she held up her ticket stub.

            After the blonde got up and walked away in a huff, the redhead sat down.  Realizing she was a bit harsh, she took a deep breath to calm herself.

Her mother’s phone call from the evening before still weighed heavily on her mind.  It felt good to talk to her boyfriend so she could forget about the woman for a while.  She felt nauseated as she thought about what to do about the woman’s request.  She was truly booked this week and now also this weekend to help Aubrey move.  However, her mother would continue to nag her until she finally did come.

She would show up as requested and the elder woman would then brag about the fabulous opportunities life now presented her.  Brushing her now shoulder length hair, Jessica was sure her mother would make an ugly comment about it.  Then, after vocalizing her disapproval on that, she would probably make other passive-aggressive comments on other parts of her life, including her lack of presence on the arm of a wealthy, successful man.

             Jessica didn’t know what to do but when the lights went down low, she put those feelings aside.  Grabbing her digital voice recorder and laptop, she started taking notes when the professor began lecturing again.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Aubrey put his phone down and sighed.  There was something Jessica wasn’t telling him.  His insides churned as he wondered what he’d said wrong.

_Was she having doubts about yesterday? When he stopped them before they got too involved in their lovemaking, did she feel rejected to the point that he pushed her away?  Did she realize that she could do better than some insecure FBI nerd?_

            Aubrey then shook his head as he pushed those negative thoughts away.  She agreed with him that moving forward with sex was not a good idea.  He knew Jessica took their promise to work on the personal issues that were holding them back from having a future together as seriously as he did.  On top of that, she was also in a large university auditorium and probably not in the best position to talk.  Whatever it was, she would talk to him when she was ready.  

“Good morning, Aubrey…or should I say, good lunchtime.”

That voice...it had grown to annoy the shit out of him.  Glancing up, he saw Karen standing in the doorway holding a bag from Founding Fathers.   Taking, a deep breath, Aubrey forced a smile.  

            “Karen, I thought we were meeting at 1:00?”

The profiler came in and set the bag on the desk.  “We were, but then I thought why not have lunch together also?  It was irritating that you got called away yesterday.  Maybe I should have a chat with Booth about being more respectful of your time outside of work.  It wasn’t very nice of him to break up my...I mean our plans for the day.”

“Karen, Booth needed my help yesterday.  He’s not just my former mentor but also my friend.  He’s always come through for me when I needed him, so I will do the same.”, Aubrey said before continuing.  “Besides, my plans involved cleaning my apartment, changing my cat’s litter box, and other chores.  Your plans involved scaring the crap out of my elderly landlady, breaking into my apartment, and inviting yourself into my day.”

Karen put her hand on her hip.  “I had no choice.  You have not been returning my calls—“

Aubrey knew he had to put his foot down.  “Because I’ve been busy, Karen, and you’re being way too pushy, which I’m not comfortable with at all.  Now, if you want us to be friends, you’ll need to respect my privacy.”

            “Of course--”

            “Furthermore, you will not bother Jessica again.“  Aubrey said in a serious tone.

“But Aubrey…”, Karen said, annoyed at the turn of events.  “I’m just trying to protect you from getting hurt again.”

Guilt over his treatment of Karen after Jessica had broken up with him washed over him.  He had been the dick, so he needed to be respectful now.  However, he also needed to make her understand that she had crossed the line.  “I appreciate that, Karen, but I’m a grown man who doesn’t need protection for my feelings.  I can make my own decisions.”

‘ _That little bitch got to him again.’_ The profiler thought as she was seething on the inside.  “Of course, Aubrey but…she’s going to hurt you again...I just know she will.  She’s too immature to be in a committed adult relationship.  I mean, I know she can probably satisfy you sexually, but emotionally, she’s way too flighty...”

           “Jessica is my best friend, Karen.  Having that friendship back means more to me than anything I can get from sex.”

             Karen gave Aubrey a smile like one would give to a wayward child.  “Friendship is nice, but it doesn’t keep you warm at night.  Plus, Jessica doesn’t know what she wants, Aubrey, and to keep you hanging while she figures that out isn’t fair to you.  You need a woman who will appreciate you.”

_‘Karen doesn’t know shit about what Jessica wants.’_ Aubrey thought to himself.  He considered his words carefully before speaking.  “I don’t want a romantic relationship…or even a fling…with anyone right now.  I need to figure out some things before I put myself out there again.”

             “Aubrey…”, Karen said with another condescending smile, “...you need a woman who can be your friend and take care of all your needs, both emotionally, and physically…”

             The agent took a breath and mustered all the patience he could.  “What I need right now, Karen, is a friend who will be understanding and respect what I want...not what she thinks I need.”

Karen realized she would have to rethink her tactics, so she switched gears.  “Of course, Aubrey.  You’re right and I’m sorry.  You know I’ll be there if you need anything, right?”

Aubrey hoped Karen’s appearance of sincerity meant she finally got the message.  Gesturing for her to come with him, he led her to the break room.  “Yes, I do.  Now, let’s go over that profile. I brought my lunch today, though.  I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble.”

           “No, not too much at all.”, the profiler said with a fake smile, lamenting the charge on her credit card that put it close to the limit.

           “Good.”, Aubrey replied.  “I wish you would’ve called me first…”

When they arrived at their destination, Karen watched as the agent pulled two bottles of water out of the fridge.  Handing one to Karen, he looked at the bag.  “What did you get besides your lunch?”, Aubrey said.                

“Thank you.”, Karen said as she took the water.  “Well, I got you a large Greek salad just the way you like it with chicken, no beets, and extra dressing.  Also a double bacon cheeseburger deluxe with pepper jack cheese, mayo on the side, large fries, onion rings, a tuna melt, and a piece of cherry pie.”

           Aubrey felt a bit weirded out at how well she knew what he liked to eat and how he liked to have it served.  Maintaining a polite tone, he reached into his pocket.  “How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing for a friend, Aubrey.”, Karen replied.  “You can repay me with dinner this weekend.”

Aubrey recognized the tone in her voice and shuddered.   _‘Obviously the message will take longer to go through.’_ Having almost memorized the menu, he mentally calculated the price and pulled out two twenty dollar bills from his wallet.

“No, I insist.  Here’s forty dollars.  I'll see if Genny wants the salad.  Be right back.”

Karen watched Aubrey grab the salad, napkins, and a fork out of the bag before walking out of the break room.  She saw red as she observed him cutting a quick path through the bullpen and into Agent Shaw’s office.

The profiler knew she was a single mother with one son.  As she watched the two chat for a moment, she ground her teeth.   _‘Looks like someone else I need to watch.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

In Shaw’s office, both agents could see Karen standing in the break room with her arms crossed out of the corner of their eyes.  “Boss, she does not look happy…not at all.”

“Well, if I eat the lunch she brought me, it will only encourage her, so I paid for it.”

            “What do I owe you?”, Genny asked as she opened her desk drawer.

            “Nothing.  I owe you for fielding some of her calls.  You’re a big help to me, Genny.  I've been with the Bureau for eight years but I'm still figuring my way around as an SAC, even though I learned a lot from Booth.”

Genny shut her drawer.  “Agent Booth was a great teacher when I was in Homicide, too.”

“If I can be half as good as him, then I won't bomb at this job.”, Aubrey said before his phone buzzed.  Reading the text, he smiled.  “I'll leave you to lunch.”

“Thanks for Karen’s food.”

             They shared a quick laugh before Aubrey walked out and headed back to the break room.  He just got the greatest news and couldn’t wait to share it with Karen.   When he arrived, he brought his excitement down to a smile as he grabbed his water for a drink.

“Good news.  Booth just sent me a text that he’s dropping off Doctor B at the lab now, so he’ll be here in a few minutes.  He can take the cheeseburger and the three of us can all go over that updated profile for the Vacchio case.”

Karen cringed behind Aubrey as he pulled out two boxes from the fridge but smiled when he turned around.  “That’s…great.”

“Yeah baby…”, Aubrey said to himself as he opened one container from his feast with Jessica, Daisy, and Beau last night.

Karen watched him put ribs, mozzarella sticks, southwestern egg rolls, quesadillas, and potato skins on a paper plate and put it in the microwave.  Opening the container with the cheeseburger, he stole some of the fries and put them on another plate before opening another box, revealing what looked like a Caesar salad.

“What have you got there?”, Karen asked.

“Just some leftovers from Founding Fathers last night when I was out with friends.  I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”

The profiler held her tongue as they waited for the interloper Booth to arrive and eat Aubrey’s lunch.

* * *

Jessica walked into her brother’s guest bedroom after she finished her shower.  Sitting down on the bed, she flopped backwards.  As she stared at the ceiling, she remembered her day.

            After doing more research on campus, she made her way to Aaron and Nadia’s.  Dinner was spent catching up with her nephew and nieces before they went to do their homework.  Once alone, the three talked about Eleanor, with Nadia revealing that her mother-in-law had called them, too, with the expectation that they would also drive up to Philadelphia.  Her brother also revealed that Michael gave him a heads up that the “family dinner” was to include them along with her fellow attorneys and other prominent folks.

            Jessica contemplated the option in front of her.  If her mother wanted to show off her children, she was on her meds...a good thing.  What wasn’t good was that she, Michael, and whomever of her other siblings joined them would be put on display as part of a dog and pony show to impress her colleagues.

            The redhead believed deep down that her mother did love her children in her own way.  However, she didn’t hide the fact either that she had opinions on how her children should act or what they should be doing.  When they didn’t live up to those standards, she made sure they knew it, in no uncertain terms.  This was especially true for Jessica and Aaron, since their mother felt that they’d both besmirched her honor by going into science like their father did instead of something more financially rewarding, like finance or law.  

            Of course, Jessica further insulted her mother by turning down acceptances to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cornell, and the University of Michigan to instead attend Michigan State University.  It didn’t matter that it had one of the top forensic anthropology programs in the country or that it was internationally renowned.  To Eleanor Gordon, MSU was nothing more than a state agricultural school, which, in her mind, lacked the prestige of its in-state rival.

            Aaron went to Johns Hopkins instead of Yale like Eleanor wanted.  He pissed her off even  more when, shortly after he started his neuropathology fellowship, he broke up with the daughter of a Maryland State Senator because he’d met Nadia Nicolescu, a student nurse completing clinicals at the same facility. From their first meeting, Nadia gave as good as she got from her boyfriend’s mother.  Jessica idolized the woman who always walked to the beat of her own drum, including going back to school ten years ago to become a Physician Assistant.

            Eleanor Gordon had issues with all her children, even her beloved Michael, but Jessica and her older brother were the woman’s two favorite targets, besides Jack, who’d incurred his mother’s wrath due to his open homosexuality.  While each had learned to cope with their mother’s judgmental attitude towards them, it still hurt to feel their mother’s thinly veiled disgust over what she viewed as her children’s weaknesses and failures.

            As she thought about her problems with her mother, Jessica couldn’t help but smile a bit.  Aubrey had known exactly what that pain felt like from his own childhood, growing up with his perpetually dissatisfied father’s constant nagging.  It was sad that those particular experiences were something that helped to strengthen the bond between the two of them.  However, it also helped each of them to have someone in their life that understood that pain and heartache.

Hearing a knock on the door, she continued to look at the ceiling.  “Come in.”

            The door opened to reveal a tall man with red hair and brown eyes.  “Okay, Jessie, what’s going through that crazy smart mind of yours?”

Jessica exhaled slowly and sat up.  He was almost ten years older than her but she could never fool Aaron with anything.  “What do you think?”

The neuropathologist walked into the room and sat on the bed next to his sister.  “Nadia and I aren’t going to Philadelphia, kiddo.  All of us have stuff going on this weekend.  You’re not at Mom’s beck and call either.”

“I know.  I’ve already told Aubrey I would help him move this weekend.”

“Aubrey?”, the man responded before contemplating what his sister had said.  “As in James Aubrey…the G-Man we met when Nadia and I came down to DC that weekend in June?  The one who at dinner ate three full appetizers, salad, soup, filet mignon with an extra side of shrimp, and then the double combo of cherry pie and tiramisu?”

             Jessica chuckled as she remembered her brother’s surprised expression that evening.  “Yep…”

            “The one you also broke up with almost two months ago?”, Aaron asked with an arched eyebrow.

            “Yeah…”, Jessica said while fidgeting with the blanket.  “We’ve been talking lately and…we kind of…we’re sort of…dating again…but we’re just friends right now…”

            “Sort of dating but just friends?”, Aaron asked.  “Big brother needs an explanation.”

            “Well, we have been hanging out watching movies...we went on a couple of dates...stuff like we used to do.  We want to be together but…”

“Does he love you?”, Aaron asked.  “I don’t want to send Nadia down there to kick his ass if I don’t have to.”

             Jessica giggled before sobering.  “Yes…he told me he loved me so much that it scared him to death.”

“And you?”, Aaron asked.  “How do you feel?  The same?”

“Yeah…he’s different, Aaron.  He respects me and doesn’t ask me to change anything for him.  He’s sweet, funny, always a gentleman, and also loves science fiction like I do.”

            The neuropathologist gave his little sister a knowing face.  “Have you told him that you love him?”

            Jessica began to play with her hair.  “He knows how I feel about him, but getting the words out…”

            “Is often the hardest part.  From what I had observed when we had dinner together is that G-Man is a patient man who’s crazy about you.”

            “We almost...you know...yesterday but he stopped it.”, Jessica said shyly.  “He said we couldn’t...until we were both ready to be a couple again.  He’s not ready, either.”

             “I think I like him even more.”, Aaron replied.  When he saw his sister’s confused face, he pressed on.  “Call it a neuropathologist intuition, but something tells me that he’s being as careful as you are.  That means he really cares about you, Jessie.”

            “But what if I bring him down someday?  He wants to move up in the FBI and he’s talked about running for Congress someday.  Unlike the assholes in office now, he really cares about helping people and could do so much good.”

 Aaron gave his sister a smile.  “Honey, does he know about all the crazy shit you did like being on the road with Phish?  How about everything with Mom?”

The redhead laughed.  “Yes and yes.”

            “Then trust him, Jessie.  In regards to Mom, tell her you have plans.  If she doesn't like it tough!”, the older man said as he patted his sister’s hand.  “Oh, as for those three words you’re talking about, you’ll tell him when the time is right and I think he knows that.”

            “Really?”,  Jessica asked, still unsure.

            “Really, Jessie.  Now call G-Man before you go to bed.”

            The redhead smiled.  “Okay.”

Aaron got up and kissed his little sister on the head.  “I took the morning off so we can have breakfast before I take you to the train station.  However, don’t stay up all night, kid.”

“Yes, Dad…”, Jessica said.  “Night.”

“Good night.”, Aaron said before shutting the door.

Jessica thought for a minute about what her brother said and realized he was right.  Mom would just have to deal.  She felt bad for Michael, but she had plans already and she wasn’t breaking them.

Pulling up her phone, she found her text messages from Aubrey and centered it on the picture of the lease he signed earlier today for 1297 Janus Street.  Shrinking it back, she read the message again.

**_Guess who has new house?  Want 2 go out Thurs 2 celebrate house & u teaching 4 Dr B?  Free Fri 2 help bring sm stuff over?_**

Jessica then sent her reply ** _, Y 2 Thurs.  Need 2 ck sched 4 Fri.  Keep u posted.  R u free 2 Skype?_**

When she got a sticker with a smiley face in response, she grabbed her laptop.  Turning it on, she went through the motions and smiled when Aubrey was on the screen with Skinner next to him.

_“Hey, Jess.”_

She saw he had his old _Battlestar Galactica_ shirt on and suspected he wore the black boxer shorts with pizzas on them he usually wore with that shirt to bed.  Suddenly, Skinner appeared in the monitor.

_            “Skinner, get the hell off my laptop.  You can say hi to Aunt Jess next to me.” _

            Jessica chuckled at the antics of the orange tabby cat.  “Hey, Superman.  So it’s official now, huh?  You are now renting from Booth and Doctor B?”

Aubrey sat up in bed.  “My checking account is now almost three thousand dollars poorer thanks to a security deposit and first month’s rent to Booth, but I’m now officially the tenant at the Mighty Hut.”

           “We should come up with a name for your new house, Superman, but there’s time for that later.”  Jessica said with a smile before taking a drink from her nearby water bottle.  “So did you talk to Mrs. Hall?”

“Yeah, it went better than I thought.  I told her I would refer someone over to her.  However, when I said I would pay November’s rent due to the last minute notice, she said not to worry about it since I was such a good tenant.  If Oliver is interested, I'll give him her number, but if he’s a douche to her, he’ll regret it.”

“Did you talk to her about letting Karen in on Sunday?”, Jessica asked.

Aubrey sighed.  “I was going to, Jess, but I didn’t want to make her feel worse.  When she asked why I was leaving, I told her that a friend needed me to move into his house and offered me a great deal, which is the truth.”

Jessica smiled as she thought of the elderly widow.  Mrs. Hall was a sweetheart, and she’d had the pleasure of having tea with her a couple of times during evenings when her boyfriend was  late getting home.  “You’re sweet, James Aubrey.”

           Aubrey blushed for a second before clearing his throat.  “I’m going to buy as much meat as I can from Mr. Leonelli’s deli department and bring it over Friday since it’s on the other end of town.  I’m going to miss talking to him all the time.  He’s a great guy.”

“Of course. I know how much you love that peppered bacon, too.”, Jessica said before they shared a snicker at their inside joke.  “Now, how was your meeting with you know who today?”

           Aubrey rolled his eyes.  “She showed up right after I got off the phone with you…with lunch.”

           A flash of annoyance gave way to humor at the woman’s desperation.  “She’s determined to use food to try to get into your pants, Superman.”

           “I know and it’s creepy.”, Aubrey said with a cringing face.  “After I told her I had a lunch already, she said I could pay her back with dinner this weekend.  I gave her money instead, because I'm not interested in the kind of dinner she’s offering.”

Jessica chuckled.  “Knowing her, she was super pissed.”

“She was, especially when I gave the food to Genny and Booth, who arrived with perfect timing.”

The redhead’s chuckle graduated to a belly laugh.  “That is awesome, Aubrey.  Booth is the man!”

The agent rubbed his hand on his quilt.  “I talked to her about yesterday.  I told her that she could not break into my apartment again and when she did her, ‘ _I miss you’_ shit _,_ I reminded her that we can only be friends if she stops being so pushy.”

“Do you think it sunk in?”

Aubrey looked at the screen.  “I hope so.  I’ve also put her on notice about you.”

Jessica closed her eyes.  “James Aubrey—“

“Don’t worry...I’m letting you handle it, but I won’t tolerate her talking you down like that or bothering you at work.  She said she was trying to protect me from you, but I’ve also said if she does it again that’s it.  I trust you to take care of yourself, but no one does that to the woman I love and gets away with it.”

Jessica felt a warmness flood her heart at the thought of Aubrey defending her, but a small part of her feared what a pissed off Karen could do to Aubrey’s career...or her own.  “Thank you for sticking up for me, Superman.  I just don’t want her to take her anger out on you somehow.”

“Listen, don’t worry about me.  I’m good.  Let me worry about you once in awhile, all right?”, Aubrey said to her on the screen.  When he saw her playing with her hair, he knew something was bothering her.  “Jessica, what’s wrong?”

Jessica shifted the monitor on her lap.  “My mom called me last night after you took me home.”

_‘The famous Eleanor Gordon.’_  Aubrey thought.  “What did she have to say?”

“She said she would be in Philadelphia sometime this week for a weekend conference.  She’s staying with Michael and essentially let me know to be ready when she calls so I can drive up there and have dinner with her and her attorney cronies that she needs to impress.  I guess she extended the invite to Aaron and Nadia as well as my other siblings but they passed.”

Aubrey realized she was helping him move this weekend.  Not wanting to put her in the middle, he decided to be the bigger man.  “If you want to go, I’ll be fine.”

“No, Aubrey.”, Jessica said into the screen.  “I made plans with you this week to have dinner to celebrate and to help you move, plus I really, really don’t want to go.”

“Jess, she’s your mother—“

“And I’m tired of her expecting everyone to put their lives on hold for her.  I’m sorry she’s mentally ill and that’s she’s not Superwoman.  I’m also sorry that all six of her children have disappointed her somehow and that she was trapped in an unhappy 32 year marriage.  Aaron and I talked earlier, and I’m not changing my plans.  We’re having dinner to celebrate my class and your house Thursday night.  I am also helping you move stuff into your new house this weekend.”

Aubrey was proud of Jessica.  He knew how hard it was to push back against an overbearing, disapproving parent.  “If you change your mind, it’s okay, Jess.”

“I won’t, Superman.  You’re too important to me.”

Aubrey read the double meaning in her words.  Taking a deep breath to control his emotions, he smiled.  “You’re really important to me, too.”

They looked at each other for a moment before Aubrey saw it was almost midnight.  “Shit, I have to go.  Booth and I have a meeting with Stark at 7:30 to discuss the Vacchio case.  So your train will arrive when again?”

“11:52 AM Union Station, sir.”, Jessica said with a smile.  “94 Northeast Regional.”

“Unless something big comes up, I’ll be there.”

“Thanks, Superman.”, Jessica said.  

“Skinner and I say good night.”

“Good night you guys.”, Jessica said before reluctantly disconnecting the feed.  Smiling to herself, she put the laptop aside and shut off the bedside lamp.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

             Aubrey shut off his laptop and set it on his dresser.  Getting into bed, he thought about his last conversation with Jessica.

_             ‘She’s getting closer...I’m getting closer...when she tells me that she loves me, I’ll burst.’ _

             Turning to Skinner, who was lying next to him, he pet him on the head.  “She’s almost there, Buddy.  I’m almost there, too.”

             Reaching up to turn off the bedside lamp, Aubrey fell into a deep sleep with a grin.


	16. Charlie Knows Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will introduce someone who means a great deal to Jessica and soon Aubrey. How does he help our young couple?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: If you recognize some of the dialogue, I borrowed a bit from Love Bones Style and reworked it because it was perfect for this chapter. Enjoy.

               The next morning, Aubrey waited at Union Station for Jessica’s train and was happy to find that it was on schedule.  After she greeted him with a happy kiss, he took her to lunch with Booth and Brennan at the diner.  Over their meal, she and her mentor discussed the lecture she went to as the agents discussed the Vacchio case and other work related issues.

               After lunch, Brennan and Jessica said goodbye to the two agents, who headed back to the Hoover.  The anthropologists headed in the opposite direction, enjoying the sunny skies and 60 degree temperature as they walked back to the lab.              

              “I am pleased that you learned so much applicable information for your dissertation, Ms. Warren.  It was good that I approved your absence yesterday.”

              “I’m glad Wendell was available to cover for me.  He’s really busy with juggling his new program along with working on his dissertation for you.”

              “Yes, I originally encouraged him to find a new field of study, but I’m pleased he is enjoying his exploration of medical anthropology as he continues his education in the forensic aspects as well.  The dissertation proposal he gave me two weeks ago combines both branches of anthropology, and he has learned enough from working with me in the lab to assist in his new endeavor.”

              “He told me last week that he’s grateful he is still able to work and learn from you while working with Dr. Anderson as well.”

              “Yes, my colleague at American University is the best in the world in that aspect of the field.  I’ve worked with Laura previously on a couple of digs and Mr. Bray will learn a great deal from her.”, Brennan said before stating what was on her mind.  “I wasn’t surprised that you joined us for lunch today.”

              The redhead turned to face her mentor.  “It was okay that I came, right?  I don’t want to intrude on anything pertaining to a case.”

              “Of course, Ms. Warren.  I apologize if I gave you the impression that I felt otherwise.  What I meant was that I’ve noticed that you and Aubrey seem closer in the last couple of weeks, and I recall your vigorous defense of him with that...Dr. Delfs last week.”

               When Brennan saw Jessica blush, she was afraid she’d said the wrong thing.  “If I’m being intrusive in a matter that is none of my concern, please tell me, Ms. Warren.  I admit that I still have difficulties knowing whether I’m prying when I shouldn’t be.  That is a skill Booth is more adept at than I am.”  

               “You’re fine, Dr. B.”, Jessica said.  “I know I can be honest with you if I feel you’re invading my personal business.”

               “Good.”, Brennan replied.  “Now tell me...how are things with Aubrey?  I’m sensing a closeness that wasn’t there when we talked a couple of weeks ago.”

                Jessica knew she couldn’t fool her mentor.  “Really good.  Aubrey and I aren’t not hiding things, but we’re not advertising it, either.  We just don’t want a lot of drama and nosy people in our business.”

               “That is very understandable, Ms. Warren. and if I’m ever intruding, please let me know.”  The forensic anthropologist smiled, recalling her early days with Booth.  “What about…the contemplation we discussed?”

                Jessica considered for a moment but realized the other woman would be discreet.  “After we ran into each other at the Star Wars Convention the weekend before last, we had a long, frank, and much needed talk.  It was weird…and scary...but I’m glad we did, because we discussed things that we should have talked about a long time ago.  We’re friends again right now, but we’re...each working on stuff so we can be together again.”  

                Brennan was proud of her intern.  “I am very pleased to hear that, Ms. Warren.  May I inquire as to how you’re proceeding?”

                Jessica blushed at her advisor’s question.  “We’ve gone on a couple dates...had a few lunches together.  Aubrey showed me his new house on Sunday afternoon after he and Booth talked…and…”

                “Am I delving too deeply into a personal matter, Ms. Warren?”, Brennan asked when she saw the young woman’s hesitance.  “Please don’t feel like I’m forcing you to discuss something that might make you uncomfortable.”

                “No, Dr. B.  I’m fine, really...”, the redhead replied with another blush.  She debated with herself for a moment, but she knew that she needed guidance and Dr. B was the best person to ask.  Even more, she would be discreet.  “Will it make you mad if I tell you we almost slept together at the house?”

                “You say almost, Ms. Warren.”, Brennan asked as they stopped at the crosswalk.

                “We were talking about the house and Aubrey made a random comment on how it was perfect for a family and I flipped out, which caused him to flip out…so I kissed him and it was... really, really good.  Next thing I know he gets my shirt off, I get his off, and he almost got me down to my bra and panties before common sense kicked in.  Our friendship is getting stronger, but...we’re not ready to start a romantic relationship just yet.  I think we’re getting there, though, Dr. B.  We both want to wait until then because we want to do things right.”, Jessica said before exhaling.  “God, Aubrey is a great kisser, though.”

                 Brennan nodded with a smirk.   “How is your communication?  Have your skills improved?”

                The man lit up on the crosswalk light so the two crossed the street.  “We’re talking more now.  It’s still hard sometimes, like with Aubrey’s reaction to my panic.  Unlike before, we know we have to talk now if we have any chance to be together.  Not just as a couple, but also for our friendship.”

                 Brennan smiled.  “It won’t be easy, Ms. Warren.  Both of you will make mistakes as you navigate things, but just remember to learn from them and remember that you are friends first, much like Booth and myself.  When my husband and I have difficulties, I just always remember that with our friendship, the center will hold.”

                “You mean like get you through when things get bad...like when Agent Booth…”, Jessica said before stopping in embarrassment.

                 “You mean when he was gambling again?”, the anthropologist replied.  “Yes, Ms. Warren.  Love is messy...complicated...but so rewarding.  Booth and I...we’ve had days where it seemed it would be easier to go back to a life without him and the emotional complications.  But if I did that, I wouldn’t have my children or the life I have now.”

                “I want those things someday, Dr. B.  I’m just so scared for it all to go to hell like it did with my folks.”

                The anthropologist stopped her intern.  “From what you’ve mentioned in the past, things between you and your mother are...strained at best.  Is that correct?”

                Jessica snorted as she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s the nice way to put it.”

               Brennan felt bad that the young woman did not have a similar warm relationship with her mother like she’d had with her own before her death.  “Then maybe you should speak to your father.  You are very close with him, aren’t you?”

              “Yeah.  I visit him every other Saturday at his nursing home in Towson.”

              “Maybe you should visit him sooner, such as tonight?”, Brennan asked.

              “Don’t you need me this afternoon?”, Jessica inquired.  “I’m your Tuesday intern.”

              Brennan considered for a moment.  “There is nothing pressing that I can’t handle myself later on today.  You’ve worked more than enough hours at your internship so far this term.  I think that if you take a few hours off today, you’ll still be fine in regards to your status for the semester.  Maybe after you talk with your father, you’ll get some of the answers you are looking for.”

             “You really think so?”, Jessica asked.

            “While I do not personally know your father, I would think if he knew you were in such turmoil, he would want to help you.  Good parents want to help their children when they’re in distress, and I think he may have the answers you are looking for.”

             The redhead thought about what her mentor told her.  “I think you’re right.”

            “Of course I am.”  Brennan nodded as they arrived back at the museum.  “Now, let’s get inside, Ms. Warren.  There was another set of remains found at the scene Booth and I were at yesterday, and the Virginia State Police just delivered them, to my inherent annoyance.”

             The intern smiled as she followed Brennan inside.

* * *

             Jessica spent the afternoon assisting with removing items from the decedent who’d been brought in from the recovery site by Hodgins, Brennan, and their interim pathologist.  After that, she cleaned the layers of muscle tissue from the bones and documented her initial findings in the case binder.  When done, she put the stripped remains in the previously prepared solution to soak overnight before leaving the lab around 3:15.

            Due to the traffic gridlock, she didn’t arrive until 4:25.  Walking past the beautiful front garden, she entered the front doors and was spotted by the front desk person.

            "Hello, Miss Jessica. What a pleasant surprise."

            “Hi, Janeen.  I called earlier and the doctor said I could visit with my dad today since I’ll be busy this weekend.”

            As she waited for the nurse to come get her, Jessica looked around at the homey walls. Nearby, one of the residents was walking one of the German shepherd therapy dogs. She smiled, grateful that her father could live his days in a wonderful home like this.

            “Jessica?”

            The anthropologist turned and saw a middle aged African-American woman.  Walking over, she greeted her.  “Hi, Gail.  Sorry for the short notice.  I’m not messing up his routine, am I?”

            “No, his therapy was this morning, so it’s fine.  We do have to take him to dinner at 6:00.”

            “No problem.  Thank you.”

            The two women got through the initial set of doors and headed down a hallway.  The older woman smiled at Jessica.  "So, an unscheduled visit.  Any special occasion?"

            Jessica put a smile on her face as they walked through another set of doors.  "No, I have to help a friend move this weekend and he’s under a time crunch.  How has my father been doing?  Is he still having the incontinence issue?"

            Gail nodded.  "There has been some improvement, but he's still stubborn about drinking the amount of water the doctor recommended. However, his blood pressure is stable, he's eating normally, and he's his charming, flirtatous self."

           “I’m glad.”, Jessica said.  “Can he have some coffee if he drinks water afterwards? We both know he'll want coffee."

            "I think we can handle that. Just let me know.", Gail responded.

            "Thank you so much.", Jessica responded.           

            The two ladies went through the main lobby.  “Charlie is outside playing cards with his friends since the sun isn’t as bright as it was.”

            “Oh good.  He hates being cooped up inside.”

            The two women walked past the garden room and out into the courtyard.  Jessica immediately saw her father and his shock of red hair as he was playing cards with three other men. Making sure to walk over to his left side, she came around and gave him a kiss.

            "Hey, a…picky…" Charles hesitated, thinking of the right word. "…pretty girl…kissing…me."

            "Hi Dad."

            Charles lifted his lanky 6'3" frame out of his chair and turned to his friends.  “S…sorry…boys…got…better…plans."

            Jessica smiled.  “Want to go to the bench by the oak tree over there?”

            “S…sure.”

            Jessica stood on his right side to help him if needed due to his impaired vision. However, she knew how proud he was so she stuck close as they walked slowly to a nearby bench underneath a Northern Red Oak tree

            "Do you want something to drink, Dad? The doctor said you need to drink more."

            The older man sighed.  He knew better than to fight his little girl. "Yes…coffee."

            "If you promise to drink water afterwards.", Jessica said. "Don't lie, Dad. I know when you lie. We redheads can't hide it."

            "I…promise…J-Jessie.", Charles said with a slightly lopsided smile.

            Jessica turned and found Gail already heading to them with two small Styrofoam cups. The nurse gave the one with the lid and straw to Charles before giving Jessica the other with a small bottle of cinnamon.

            "I snuck you some of the good creamer we have for the staff. I have to take the cinnamon with me though. Your young man convinced everyone to try it in their coffee when he was here, and it's a hot commodity now."

            "No problem. I'll just shake some in.", Jessica said before giving it back. "Thanks a lot."

            "Did you…give…me…real…coffee…Sweetheart?"

            The African American woman turned to Charles. "You got the decaf you're supposed to have due to your high blood pressure. However, I may or may not have mixed a small amount of regular in."

            "I'm…told…you…get…gestated…" The redheaded man pursed his lip thinking of the right word. "Divorced…so…we…can…run…off...together."

            "Sorry, Charlie. However, you just keep trying, you smooth talker.”, Gail said before leaving.

            Jessica chuckled. "You're such a flirt."

            "Just…a…fine…affection…for…littles…ladies.", Charles said before they enjoyed their beverages for a moment. "Now…why…did…you…come…see…me…early…Jessie?"

            _'Damn.  Busted!'_ Jessica thought. "Can't a daughter come see her father?"

            "No…because…I…know…when…you…lie…too…young…lady." The redheaded man looked back at her with his green eyes. "What's…wrong?"

            Jessica took a deep breath.  “Aubrey and I met up at a Star Wars convention almost two weeks ago and we had so much fun…we talked at the Mall afterwards and we both screwed up, so we’re right now friends again even though we love each other, but something holds me back from telling him that I love him.  I want to be more so bad, but I’m scared of what will happen, plus Aubrey got a new house and I flipped out when he made a casual comment about how great the house was to have a family but then my reaction flipped him out so I kissed him and we almost…never mind, you don’t need to know that…I think I want more now but what if I screw up?  What if Aubrey wants more when I don’t but I think he does but he’s cool with waiting since he said he will wait until I’m ready but what if I rush him since he’s still working on his issues with his dad and Mom called and wants me to have dinner with her in Philadelphia.”

            Charles chuckled slightly.  "It…seems…you…have…a…few…things…on…your…mind."

            "Yeah.", the redhead said. She took a breath to get the courage to ask what she wanted next. "Dad, do you regret marrying Mom?"

            Charles’ face morphed into one of incredulity.  "What…kind…of…flip...fucked…up…quip...question…is…that?"

            Jessica snickered. The stroke may have impaired his speech, but it didn't take away his directness. "One that I need answered."

            Charles didn't hesitate. "No…I…don't…Jessie."

            Shocked, Jessica sat up straight. "But…she was sick and…she is still so…"

            "Discontin….Discontented…miserable…residen….resentful?", Charles said in a tone with sadness. "Yes…she…was…all…that."

            "But if you could turn back the clock, would you marry her again? Have six children with her before divorcing her after 32 years of marriage? Doesn't it seem like…you could have done better things with your life? You would have been happier, that's for sure."

            "Maybe…not…have…a…stroke…is…what…you…mean." Charles continued with a sound that resembled a laugh. "She…wasn't…always…like…that. We…laved…loved…each…other…once. She…was…also…sick. Biped…bipolar…disorder…options…"

            "She made you miserable.”, the anthropologist said. "She always blamed you or us for things going bad for her when she wasn't having one of her hypomanic episodes or being mega depressed."

            Charles moved his left hand over to his daughter's. "Not…blameless. Put…self…career...first. Also…"

            Jessica waited for him to continue but realized she may have been taxing him out. Feeling guilty, she grabbed her purse. "Dad, I'm pushing you. I'm sorry. I can talk to you about this later—"

            "Simmer…down…Jessie. Give…your…old…man…a…minute.", the former professor replied. "Things…were…different…back…then. I…thought…my…love…alone…be…enough. Then...thought...I….could….use….my...nurbo….neuro…sky….science….to….cure….her...but….wrong.  Ellie…needed…more…."

            “Why?”, Jessica said with emotion in her voice.  “Why weren’t we enough?”

            Charles sipped coffee through the straw. “Ellie…always…troubled…not…you.  Wanted…career…first…family…second.  James…diffi…different…you…first…then…career.”

            Jessica stammered at the change of subject.  "We say that now, but…what if something goes wrong?  What if he realizes that he can’t wait for me anymore?”, Jessica asked.  “We love each other now, but what if we rush things?  How do I know that I’m ready without panicking?  What if we turn out like you and Mom?  He’s my best friend, Dad.  I can’t lose him…I’m so scared to lose him.”

            "Your mad…mom…and…I…loved…each…other…Jessie.", Charles said as his left hand brushed the side of his daughter’s head.  “Ego...said...use...science...help...Ellie.  Too...caught....up...in...career...let...things...get...too...fat...far.  Two...ped...people...love...each...other…have…to…neuter…nurture…love…respect…partner's…needs. We…didn't…do…that."

            “But…”

            The man saw the conflict in his daughter's eyes. "You…will…with…James.  He…will…you."

            The dam finally burst as a tear came down Jessica's face. She wiped it away before her father handed her a handkerchief. "Thank you."

            "Did…you…hear…what…I…said…young…lady?"

            "Yes.", the redhead said as she wiped her eyes. "How do you know?"

            "Because…saw…how…he…looks…at…you.", Charles said while leaning back in his chair.  "He…worries…that…you…deserve…better."

            "Better that what? Him?", Jessica asked concerned. "Why?"

            "Worries…about…his…father…hurting…you…or…career.", Charles said before his good hand squeezed his daughter's. "He…doesn't…want…to…let…you…down."

            Jessica was confused. "H-how do you know this?"

            "Jessie…it’s…obliv….obvious.", Charles said before taking a breath. "Also…told…me…first …time…you…bringed…brought…him…here…you're…his…best…friend…and…first…girl…he's…ever…truly…loved.  Can't…lose…you."

            The anthropologist sat in shock. Aubrey had relationships in the past, but knowing he felt that way moved her because she knew she felt the same way. "I worry…"

            "About…what…Jessie?"

            Jessica wiped away another stray tear. "I worry that I could be a hindrance to him in the future because he wants to move up in the FBI. I also worry…that we will fail and hate each other like you and Mom hate each other—"

            "I…don't…hate…your…mother."

            Shocked, the redhead thought for a minute. "But she was always so bitter, even when she was on her meds. The way you two argued..."

            "Mom…bitter…about…life...limitations. One…of…Ellie's…wilted…weaknesses…"  Charles struggled before continuing. "…was…not…accepting…fault…for…failures…she…did."

            The older man sucked his coffee through the straw. "She…felt…deserved…more. Mom…never…accepted…she…couldn't…always…get…what…she…wanted. Some…of…due…to…illness. Some…resentful…of…life…and...me."

            He put the cup down before squeezing his daughter's hand again. "You…asked…question. Would…marry…Mom…again?  Yes…Jessie…I…would. If…not…no…memories…good…times.  No…sons…or…my…special…girl. Only…reg…reb…regret…not…leaving…with…you…sooner. Can't…a...say…sorry…too…"

            The redheaded man thought for a moment as his daughter sat quietly. "Too…much. I…blame…myself…always…for…what…happened…"

            Jessica immediately knew what he was talking about. "Dad…don't—"

            "I…do. I…loved…her…but…illness…out…of…control. You…got…hurt...could...have...d..."

            Jessica squeezed back. "I'm fine, Dad. I lived. I've moved on."

            "No…not…moved…on. Move…on…when..." Charles looked at his only daughter and smiled. "Move…on…when…not…scared…of…future…with…James.  You…love…him.  He…loves…you.  Best…frol…friends…cry…laugh…together.”

            Jessica thought about all their fun times together, including their almost coupling a few days earlier.  No one could make her laugh like the lanky FBI agent could, like the day last summer when she had a bad day all around regarding her research.  By mid afternoon, she was frustrated and cranky to everyone, including Aubrey.

           Not wanting to pick a fight from her bad mood, she told him he could go home if he wanted.  To her surprise, he instead stayed while she immersed herself in her dissertation.  After a while, he got her attention.  Annoyed at the interruption, she looked up and her jaw dropped when she saw her boyfriend mooning her.

           Before she could get a word in edgewise, he pushed a button on his phone before shaking his ass while singing along to _'I Touch Myself'_ by the Divinyls. She remembered almost peeing her pants from laughing so hard. When he was done, she asked what had possessed him to do that and his answer was simple.

            _'I wanted to make you laugh, Jess. I wanted you to be able to smile at least once today. But whatever you do, never tell Booth or anyone about this.'_

            She kept her promise to him as she now realized it was another way he showed his love for her. As she considered things, her thoughts were interrupted.

            "Best…friends…love…each…other.  Go…to…James.”

            It was then she saw Gail walking towards them with two objects. When the object was placed in her hand, she smiled and thanked her. Taking the straw out of the wrapper, she put it in the bottled water and set it in her father's left hand.

            "I'll talk to Aubrey when you drink your water that you promised to consume."

            Charles knew he was beat. "Stubborn…girl. When…did…you…get…so…smart?"

            "Inherited it from the smartest man I know.”, Jessica said.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Thirty minutes later, Jessica walked out of the nursing home with a smile. Her father drank his water as promised and she was now more hopeful for the future. As she was starting up her SUV, her phone buzzed.  When she saw the message, she did a jig in her seat.

            “Yes…Aubrey is going to be so stoked!  He’s going to have the best birthday ever.”

            Jessica saw the clock and calculated the time she needed to get home.  Her boyfriend was bringing over pizza so they could hang out that evening at her place.  She had time to take a shower and fix up her hair and makeup a little bit.

            They were still being friends but there was nothing wrong with giving her boyfriend something to appreciate.

            Then her phone rang and she saw the Caller ID.  Her stomach dropped as she knew who was on the other line.  Not wanting to get into a discussion with her mother while driving, she let it ring.  She would call her back...after taking the scenic route home.

* * *

            Aubrey pulled into the Korean grocery store parking lot around 7:00 with a extra large half Meat Lovers and half Veggie Lovers with pepperoni. along with a six pack of Yuengling beer.  When he got out, he waved to Jessica’s landlord, who also ran the ground floor market.  Grabbing the items, he hit his fob to arm his SUV and walked towards the back of the building.

            Things were looking good for him and Jessica.  While they almost got carried away Sunday afternoon, it showed that they were both on the same page.  Slowly, they were working their way back together, although they were “just friends” for now.

            Opening the door, he contemplated yesterday’s events further as he walked up the three floors to the redhead’s apartment.

            He loved that their friendship continued to get stronger, but he wouldn’t turn away more kisses from Jessica like he got on Sunday, either.  Should those kisses move them towards second base...he wouldn’t complain.  Nothing wrong with baby steps because practice made perfect.

 _‘Maybe we could sneak in a few kisses...or maybe several...later.’_ Aubrey thought to himself as he knocked on the door.  However, those thoughts died when his girlfriend opened the door.

           “Hey, Aubrey.”

            Jessica’s face and eyes were red and she sniffled.  Only an idiot could miss that she had been crying recently.  “Jess, what happened?”

            “Nothing Aubrey...just got a little emotional is all.  Come on in.  It looks like you have your hands full.”

             The agent immediately came in and put the items down on the kitchen table as Jessica locked her door.  Turning around, he immediately took her in his arms.  He didn’t say a word, only rubbed his hand down her red hair and held her closer as she sobbed on his shoulder.  When the tears died down to a whimper, he inquired again.

            “Jessica, what has you so upset?”  When she was silent for a moment, he pressed further.  “Jess, we promised not to hide things from each other, right?  Talk to me, please.”

             The redhead moved out of his arms slowly and wiped her eyes.  “Aubrey, you came over so we could hang out and have fun, not listen to me whine.”

             “You’re not a whiner, Jess.  I would like to help you if I can.  That’s what best friends do.”

             “Oh, okay...if you really want to know.”  Seeing Aubrey nod, the anthropologist sniffled one more time before explaining.  “I was on the phone with my mother before you arrived...I told her I was staying here to help you move instead of going to Philly for dinner.  Let’s just say she didn’t take it well.”

             “Shit…”, Aubrey said, but let her continue.

             “It got loud and nasty until I hung up on her.  She called me back twice and left mean voicemails when I wouldn’t answer…”

             “I’m so sorry, Jess.”  Aubrey forgot about their pizza, beer, and his other naughty plans for the evening.  “Do you want to talk about the fight?”

              Jessica wiped her eyes and smiled weakly.  “Not now, Superman.  Maybe later, okay?  I just want to wash my face and hang out with my best friend while we watch science fiction.  How about some _Star Trek_?”

             He didn’t take offense, realizing she needed a distraction from what happened.  He had a feeling she merely skimmed the surface of what actually occurred, but he wouldn’t force her to talk about it.

             “Only if we can have this awesome DiAngelo’s pizza and beer while we watch.”

             Jessica smiled again and Aubrey caught the silent thank you before she went into her small kitchen for plates and napkins.  

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

             For the next four hours, after they ate, she’d huddled close to him like they used to do and they watched Netflix.  When she absentmindedly scratched his abdomen, he could feel the stirrings of a partial erection.  However he remained a gentleman and limited himself to putting his arm around her.  She needed her best friend tonight, not a horny man.

             When it was 11:30, he reluctantly went home alone, but not without a smoldering kiss goodnight from Jessica.

            “Thank you, Aubrey.  You always know just what to do to make me feel better.”, Jessica said.  “Someday I hope to return the favor.”

            Aubrey gave her one more small kiss.  “Anything for you, Jessica.  Good night.”

           “Good night, Superman.”, Jessica said while leaning against the door jam.  

            Aubrey waved at her as he walked down the steps.  When he heard the door shut, he took a deep breath to hold in his anger.  To make Jessica cry like that, her mother must have been brutal.  Yes, he knew that Eleanor had a mental disorder.  However, as he could attest from personal experience, words can cut more deeply than any weapon.

* * *

             The next afternoon, Aubrey was in the break room pouring a cup of coffee, thinking about his girlfriend.  When he called her this morning to check on her, she’d said all the right things, but he could tell that she was still hurting.  Unfortunately, he had a meeting with the Finance division so he couldn’t take her to lunch.

            They texted back and forth throughout the day, but it wasn’t enough for Aubrey.  Before he could think any further, his phone rang.  He answered it as he stirred the cinnamon he’d just added to his coffee.  “Aubrey.”

            _“Special Agent James Aubrey?”_

            “Yes…may I help you?”, the agent said, keeping his tone professional in case it was someone calling in with a tip.

            _“This is Eleanor Gordon, Jessica’s mother.”_

            The stiff formality in her voice put Aubrey on edge, and he could understand how Jessica would want to cower when she heard it.  “Yes, Ms. Gordon.  How can I help you?”

            _“I’m glad you’ve asked.  My daughter has decided that it’s more important to help you move this weekend than to have dinner with me and some of my associates here in Philadelphia.  You are to tell her otherwise. You will tell her that her assistance is not needed in your house moving endeavor.  Then you will let her know the reservations are set for 7:00 Friday night at Vetri.  She needs to dress in something classier than one of those mini dresses she favors, because my associate’s spouse works in Harvard’s Department of Anthropology.  I’ve told them about Jessica and she may be able to transfer up there next fall, but I need her to demonstrate some decorum and not go into one of her silly lectures about protecting the environment like she did last time.”_

            “Um…”, Aubrey said, treading carefully. “Jessica doesn’t want to transfer schools, Ms. Gordon, and I can’t see how anything I can say would change her mind about coming up there or anything else that you might wish her to do, Ma’am.”

             Eleanor’s tone was cold and demanding. _“Agent Aubrey, don’t sell yourself short.  Unlike some of the other men my daughter has dallied with in the past, you seem to have some sort of influence over her.  Now, I need you to talk some sense into her and let her know that her place is with me Friday night instead of moving whatever trivial odds and ends a man like you might possess.  I suppose it’s too much for me to suggest that  you hire a mover instead of relying on my highly educated daughter to move your material goods like some common laborer.  Of course, given your modest means as a law enforcement officer, I’m sure you feel that it’s more economically feasible for you to rely on the misplaced generosity of your supposed girlfriend.  It’s just another example of the way Jessica cheapens herself.”_

             “Jessica has her own mind, Ms. Gordon, and you know that as well as I do.  She makes her own decisions about her life.”  Fighting to keep his temper under control, Aubrey inhaled deeply.  “She has explained the situation to me...about the conflict of my moving to a new house with your dinner plans, and I have suggested that she join you for dinner instead of helping me move.  That’s all I can do.  She’ll do what she wants to do, no matter what you or I suggest.  That’s who she is.”

            _“Agent Aubrey, my daughter has a tendency to do exactly what she wants instead of choosing the correct thing to do.  Now, once again, let me explain what I need you to do.  Find someone else to help you move, tell her to get over herself, and instruct her come up here for dinner.  I have some important people who want to meet all of my children, not  just my oldest son.  It’s bad enough Aaron won’t come without that...arrogant Gypsy woman he married.  Jack is too busy in Canada with his ‘boyfriend’ or whatever he calls that horrible man he lives with, Stephan and that...mechanic wife of his simply refuse because their shop needs them, and Jason said it’s not enough notice for him because he has to be in court that day.  However, Jessica just has that silly lab she works at for college credit.  It seems like it would be easy enough for her to get time off for something this important.  She was foolish enough to reject Harvard when she offered a full scholarship years ago for that...Michigan school, but I can rectify that now, and I intend to do so.”_

             Aubrey took another deep breath to hold his temper in.  “I’m sorry, Ms. Gordon.  I will not tell Jessica to do something when she feels is not in her best interest.  She believes strongly in keeping her promises and in considering of the feelings of others.”  Unable to resist a small jab, he continued calmly.  “Pretty sad, but it seems that I know your daughter better than you do.  You, of all people, should know the value Jessica places on her friendships.”

            There was a mirthless chuckle on the other end. _“Agent Aubrey, get off your soapbox.  While you do have some influence over her, you’re nothing more than a plaything for her.  On the other hand, I’ll always be her mother and I have more importance in her life than you do.  I’ll be here for her long after she decides she’s tired of you.  Unfortunately, in spite of my influence, she’s still flighty, ungrateful, sometimes a spoiled brat, and she needs to quit being such a bleeding heart for people.  It’s time to rein in that childish foolishness.  She needs to come to her senses and act like an adult.  Tell her I will expect her attendance at dinner, no matter what other plans she thinks she may have.  This dinner is far more important than whatever she’s planning to do that night.”_

            The agent sighed audibly, stunned at the cruelty he was listening to.  “Wow, you think a lot of your daughter, don’t you?  She’s a kind, intelligent person with a bright future ahead of her.  I think she deserves respect for those things, Ms. Gordon.  The lab she’s working at is the finest one in the country, and her mentor is a world renowned scientist...”

            _“Agent Aubrey…”,_ Eleanor interrupted in a patronizing voice.   _“My daughter has…strong opinions about things that her father unfortunately encouraged, thinking it a good thing that a young woman have a mind of her own.  She’s all into science and that other worthless crap just  like her crazy father was.  She has so much potential that could be used in other more financially sound endeavors, but she won’t use it because she ‘loves’ science.  Jessica has never had a serious boyfriend, and has blown every chance she has ever had with men of good families and social standing who have shown an interest in her.  She will never have a husband or even a steady boyfriend until she learns to compromise on those lofty and holier than thou attitudes.  Until then, she will have nothing more than casual sexual relationships.  Don’t get your hopes up for a serious relationship with her, young man.  She’ll be over you in a week or two...”_

            “Wow...I can’t believe what I’m hearing.  Not exactly the doting parent, are you?”  Aubrey puffed out an exasperated sigh.  “Listen to me carefully, Ms. Gordon.  Jessica is a brilliant, independent woman who has worked extremely hard to succeed in her chosen field.  She’s also a beautiful woman, inside and out.  She’s her own person and that’s the way I like her.  I’m sorry you can’t appreciate her for who she really is, because she is truly a very special person, and instead of denigrating her accomplishments, you should be proud of how successful she’s already become at her age.  As far as I can tell from our conversation, there’s no good reason for her to cater to the wishes of someone who thinks so negatively of her.  I’ll do you the courtesy of passing along your message to her, but believe me when I tell you I’ll stand by any decision she makes in that regard.”  Before Eleanor could get in another word, he stopped her.  “This conversation is over, Ms. Gordon.  Good bye.”

            Aubrey disconnected the call and took another deep breath to calm himself down. _‘What kind of person dismisses their child like that?’_

            Then he realized the answer. _‘My dad.’_

           For the first time, he really understood why Jessica had experienced those initial conflicts with Dr. B at the lab before they worked things out.  He also understood why she avoided her mother at all costs.  It seemed his father wasn’t the only parent who felt it was their prerogative to tear down their child’s self esteem whenever they did not live up to their parents’ impossible expectations.  Eleanor had done the very same thing to her daughter last night.

           Which led him back to his initial conundrum.  He wanted to make Jessica feel better and help get her past this, but how?

            Then it came to him.  His redhead had her yoga class tonight and they would be busy the rest of the week.  Making his decision, he went online and found the address he needed since he had only been there when Jessica drove.  Finishing up his tasks, he left at 3:00, taking work home with him and making plans to come in at 7:00 tomorrow morning to make up the time.

* * *

          Arriving at his destination, he grabbed his overcoat and headed inside.  After giving his name, he was led out to the garden room where he saw who he was looking for sitting in front of a large screen television.

            “Hey, Dr. Warren.”

            The redheaded man looked up to his visitor before standing up with his cane.  “Ah….Aud…Aubrey.  Please…nice…surprise.”

            Aubrey walked over and held out his hand, but was rebuffed.  “No…hand..shake…shit.”

            To the younger man’s surprise, the man hugged him with his left arm.  Not wanting to offend Jessica’s father, he returned the sentiment.  It didn’t hurt too much because he enjoyed spending time with the man.

            “Getting…ready…to…see… _Gilda_.   Care…tough…to…join…us…me?”

            Aubrey smiled.  “Always up for a Rita Hayworth movie, sir.”

            “Not…tell…you…again.  The older man said as he turned to the younger man in front of him.  “No…doub…Doctor…sir…shit.  I’m…Charlie…”

            “Only if I’m James...or Aubrey works, too.”, the agent said with a grin.  

            Charles gave the younger man a crooked grin due to his paralyzed side.  “Okay.”

            The two men sat and watched the opening scenes of the movie on the television.  

            “So…James…what...bail…brings…you….there…here?”

            “I-I…wanted to talk to you, sir—Charlie.”, Aubrey said as George Macready came on the screen.

            “My…daughter…I…presume…”, Charles said.

            Aubrey blushed before continuing.  “Yes, Charlie. Um…”

          The older man turned to Aubrey.  “Spit…it…out…Son.  Gilda…will…be…on…shortly.”

           Screwing up all the courage he had, Aubrey spewed it out.  “I’m in love with your daughter…I…want a life with her…I’m scared that she will want someone else more…”

            “More…what…kid?”, Charlie said before tapping Aubrey’s leg with his cane.  “Hush…and…think.”

            The two watched Glenn Ford’s character’s face of surprise at the singing in the background.  Then came the lines that they repeated with the next scene.

            _“Gilda…are you decent?”_

_“Me?”_

            The men watched the scene before Charles turned to Aubrey.  “So…more…what…kid?”

            Taken aback, Aubrey turned to the older man.  “More assured…I’m so afraid to make a mistake, Charlie.  She…is so scared of commitment…and I’m not ready for marriage and a family either, but I made a stupid statement about my new house being great for a family and her reaction made me flip out…”

            Aubrey skipped past what happened in the bedroom.  “Her mother’s been on her case to come visit this weekend.  I told her to go but she said she wouldn’t.  She got into it with her mother on the phone last night and she was pretty upset.  Then that...woman called me today and I was rude to her when she was mean about Jessica.  Why does her mother get that way?  Then I have to deal with this lady at work who thinks we have something going on but we don’t and I’m trying to be nice because I may have led her on when Jessica dumped me but I—“

            “Slow…down…son…I’m…used…to…Jessie’s…verbal...dig…diarrhea.”, Charles said.  ”First…Eleanor.”

            “She called Jessica and demanded she come up to Philadelphia for dinner.  Not _‘are you available?’_ or _‘I would love to see you...’_ but just told her to be ready to move.  Jessica didn’t want to go, and I was not there for the conversation, but she was pretty upset when I came over last night.  Then her mother called me at work today, telling me I had to make Jessica have dinner with her.  She’s also arranged an interview with someone from Harvard’s anthropology program, so I need to have her dress more conservatively and behave correctly so she will be accepted in the fall.  Also, I’m not her boyfriend, but a male figure who is there only as a friend with benefits until Jessica gets bored, so I shouldn’t expect anything long term with her.”

            “Sounds…like…Ellie.  Ignore…her.  Be…there…when…Jessie…need…you.”, Charles said.  “Give…her…space…but…not…too…much.  Next.”

            “I have someone at work who was a friend after Jessica broke up with me.  I kind of made your daughter think there was more to us because…I was an asshole…and Karen thinks she and I are a couple when we’re not.  She shows up at my apartment unannounced and sends graphic texts to Jessica and tried to make her not want to even be my friend anymore.  My cat hates her guts.  I’ve told her no more stunts with Jess and we could only be friends.  I’m trying to not be a dick because I led her on but it’s getting out of hand.”

            “Sounds…like…you…have…an…ardent…afl…admirer.  Be…considerate..but...draw…a…line.  If…she…crosses…cut…her…off.  Don’t…let…take…”, Charles stopped as he thought about the right word.  “…advance…advantage…your…guilt…James.”

            Aubrey nodded.  “How do I stop making Jessica scared of commitment?”

            “Can’t…help…her…when…you…are…scared…too…Son.  My…Jessie…loves…you”, Charles said in a halted tone.  You…is…are…frisk…first…man…ever…introduced…to…me.  Not…going…to…run…away…from…you…because…of…pick…piece…of…shit…father.”

            Charles knew he struck a nerve when he saw the young man’s eyes grow large.  

           “Don’t...let...fait...father...can’t...control...life.  You…two…stop…run…running…from…each…other.  You…Jessie…best…friends.”

            “I’m trying, Charlie.”, Aubrey said with a tear in his eye.  “I’ve never felt for anyone what I feel for Jessica.  It’s wonderful…scary…exciting…terrifying.”

            “Then…it’s…real.  Love…ain’t…all…fun…Son…takes…work…both…of…you.”, Charles said.  “Loved…Ellie…but…stopped…trying.  Took…daughter…hurt…see…marriage…over.  You…Jessie…”

            Aubrey was curious as to what _‘took daughter hurt’_ meant, but there was no elaboration.  Patiently he waited for the older man to speak.  When he did, it was a surprise.

            “Will…be…stronger.  Both…you…stronger…than…I…Ellie.  Good…for…each…other.  Jessie…scared…too…long.  You’re…good…for…her…James.”

            “Really?”, Aubrey said, still a little bit disbelieving at what Jessica’s father was saying.

            “No…doubt…you’ll…marry…my…girl…someday.”

            “How do you know that?”, Aubrey asked before feeling a pain at his leg.  “OW!”

            “Because…I…know…my…kids…that’s…why.”, Charles said.  “Any…more…nonsense?”

            “How do I cheer her up from her mother making her feel like crap?”  Aubrey asked.  “She’s my best friend, sir and I know if it was my father she would want to help me, too...and could.”

            “Use...brain...James.”  Charles replied.  “Do...slug...something...only...you...can...do.  What...else?”

            Rubbing his leg, Aubrey smiled as he pondered.  “Um...so you’re saying to be there for Jess, don’t let her push me away, respect her, don’t let my father haunt me, and have confidence in myself?”

            “Sounds…abit…about…right.”, Charles said with a grin.  “Now…quiet.  Rita…to…sing.”

            The two men sat back and watched as Rita Hayworth sang _‘Blame it on Mame.’_

* * *

            Jessica walked up the steps to her third floor apartment about 9:00.  Yoga usually relaxed her but she still felt tense.  She felt silly for crying on Aubrey’s shoulder like that last night, but as Angela once said, that’s what boyfriends are for.

           She was prepared for her mother’s anger and guilt trips, but the vitriol that she heard cut her deeply.  According to her mother she was now a selfish, ungrateful spoiled brat who didn't know how well she had it.  Eventually, even Aubrey would get tired of dealing with her flightiness and inability to do the right thing so she needed to cut her losses now.

           It was bullshit of course.  Aubrey had encouraged her to go see her mother, but she was the one that said no.  When she couldn’t take the verbal abuse anymore, she hung up on her mother, who called twice and left unpleasant voice mail messages.

          As she arrived at the third floor landing, she decided it wasn’t too late, so maybe she would call Superman when she got settled in.  She felt bad that their date last night consisted of her crying over their pizza and beer before they watched television.  

          When she got off the last step, she was surprised to see a gift bag hanging on her door.  Walking up to it, she looked in and saw a book and a card.  Pulling the card out, she laughed as she saw it was one of an orange tabby cat.  Opening it, she smiled at the neat and familiar print.

**_I know you are still upset about your mother.  I don’t know all that she said to you but whatever it was, don’t believe it.  You’re the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. If you ever need to vent, cry, or just laugh, I’m always here._ **

**_Skinner and I got you a small gift to cheer you up.  He said he caught you looking at it on your phone._ **

**_Love, Superman & Skinner_ **

         Jessica pulled the book out and laughed when she saw _Claudia Gray’s The Last Jedi: Leia Princess of Alderaan._ It was a Young Adult novel she saw at Dulles while she and her boyfriend waited for Daisy and Beau to arrive.  Most guys would make fun of the fact she wanted a teen novel, but not Aubrey.  He knew that Leia Organa was her idol.  Unlike her mother, he didn’t make her feel silly or tell her she was childish.

         Unlocking her door, she came in and locked it behind her.  Putting her yoga mat and other stuff down, she grabbed her phone and sent a message.  Aubrey would understand if she wanted to spend her evening getting lost in a young Leia’s struggles with a bubble bath.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

         Aubrey was working on his laptop at home when he heard his phone buzz.  Picking it up, he smiled when he saw the message.

**_Thanx Aubrey & Skinner.  My boys know just what I need. :)  C u tmrw._ **

         The agent grinned.  His Jessica was happy now and her father felt sure they would be together.  Giggling to himself, he went back to work.


	17. Aubrey Makes A Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So...a lot going on in this chapter. The title is very appropo, so how does Aubrey make a move? Is it just one? Read and find out.
> 
> PS: Spicy stuff 3/4 of the way in the chapter. Read in a quiet corner.

            Jessica was a success teaching her first class alone on Thursday morning.  She’d had a few moments of nerves, but her rapport with the students went a long way as they got through the three hour session together.  When she called Aubrey afterwards, he congratulated her.

            “I was so nervous, Superman.  Dr. B is very particular with her classes.”

            Aubrey smiled.  “Well, Booth told me the only other TAs she’s ever had teach her classes unsupervised were Wendell and Arastoo.  She has confidence in you, Jess.  Dr. B suffers no fools.  You know that better than most.”

            “I do...I definitely do.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

               Jessica rushed home from the lab and made it by 6:00 under the wire, thankful that Hodgins didn’t have much for her to do and let her go home early.  Quickly stripping off her work clothes, she got in the shower and cleaned up.  When done, she opened her closet and pulled out the dress she’d bought on a whim Sunday.  

            Aubrey would love her in it.

            That was when it hit her.  This was more than just a celebratory dinner.  It was more than just dinner between friends or even a fun date to the movies or watching television.

            It was a…DATE.

            Smiling to herself, she put on a bra and panties that matched the dress before going into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

            It was a big step for her and Aubrey…but she was ready for it.

 

 ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***            

            Aubrey was whistling a tune as he fed Skinner while wearing only in a towel around his waist.  When his cat was occupied, he went back into the bathroom and shaved.  Satisfied with his appearance, he went into the closet and pulled out the outfit he’d set aside for tonight.

            As he got dressed, he thought about the redhead he would be spending time with this evening.  He was glad she felt better after the way she was raked over the coals by her mother.  Of course, as he could personally attest, some people are not meant to be parents.  Eleanor Gordon, like his father, seemed to be one of those people.

            Aubrey was determined to give Jessica a fun night to celebrate their respective victories.  As he preened in the mirror, he noted that he was wearing one of Jessica’s favorite shirts and the jeans she once said _‘make me want to take a bite out of that nice ass’_ of his.

            His redhead would love that.

            Then realization hit.  Tonight wasn’t just a celebration of her class and his new house.  Nor was it a fun dinner date between two friends and former lovers.

            Tonight…was a DATE.

            Smirking to himself, he grabbed his wallet off the dresser.  After making sure he had enough cash and his credit cards, he put it in his back pocket before walking out.

            Tonight was a big step for him and Jessica…but he was ready for it.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            By 8:00, Aubrey and Jessica were enjoying each other’s company at the Blue Duck Tavern.  After ordering their wine, the agent regaled his girlfriend with Skinner’s latest adventure with the toy mouse she’d bought the orange tabby last week.  She was still cracking up when the waiter returned with the Mer Soleil Chardonnay.

            As Jessica sampled the wine, Aubrey enjoyed her attire for the evening.  Her deep green lace dress went a couple of inches above the knee and had lace elbow length sleeves.  The skirt was flouncy and complemented her figure beautifully.  It gave a wonderful contrast to her ivory skin and red hair.

            As their waiter poured Aubrey his wine, Jessica admired her date.  He wore a black sports jacket that fit his lean frame to perfection.  The gray of his button up shirt also brought out his eyes.  Of course, he wore those jeans that made his cute butt so delicious.

            Controlling herself, she sipped her Chardonnay.  Before their cheese and charcuterie board and raw oysters arrived, Jessica proposed a toast with their wine.  “To your new house and one more step towards me teaching at a major university someday.”

           Aubrey raised his glass.  “And to not paying two rents in November.”

           They clinked glasses before they sipped their wine.  Jessica put her glass down and looked into Aubrey’s beautiful blue eyes.  “It’s a new beginning for both of us, isn’t it, Superman?”

           The agent took the redhead’s hand and looked into Jessica’s eyes with love.  “Yeah, Jess, it is.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            After dinner, they walked off the wine and food at the Mall since it was a warm night.  Their topics of discussion ranged from the value of pastrami to how anthropology affected the Star Wars universe.

            Jessica felt inspired as she listened to Aubrey make a point of how her field could have led to Jar Jar Binks.  Stopping them, she gave the agent a deep kiss.  When they were done, she felt shivers when she saw him looking at her in _that_ way.

            Like he wanted to take her home and get her naked.

            But he didn’t...and they couldn't...yet.  Instead, he took her hand and led her along the water under the almost full moon illuminating the skies of the nation’s capital.  More than once for the rest of the evening, they would stop to find each other’s lips again.  

            Aubrey and Jessica were nervous, but eager to continue the path they were on.   They didn’t feel any pressure to make love, only to show their love for the other.  Each knew that they would get there eventually because for them, the journey was just as important as the destination.

* * *

            Aubrey woke up the next morning after 8:00.  He didn’t get in until after midnight from taking Jessica home and didn’t fall asleep until after 1:00 because he was too keyed up after his evening with his girlfriend.

            When she kissed him last night, his basic instinct was to take her home, strip her naked and make passionate love to her.  However, it took all the willpower he had to take her hand and continue that walk.  It was the right thing to do because it wasn’t the right time yet.  

            Yes, the sex would be amazing, but they needed more than a physical connection with friendship on the side.  Each needed to work on pushing away the fears that led to their break up the first time.  This time, they couldn’t fail and he would be damned if he would let it happen just because he was horny.

            Aubrey knew that it would take time for everything to come together, but he and Jessica had all the time in the world.  After last night, they were one step closer.  It was a baby step, but their friendship was building towards something beautiful and strong.  

            After feeding Skinner, he started a pot of coffee and looked around his soon to be former apartment.  As he waited for his coffee in his open kitchen, he smiled while remembering _“the incident.”_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

_It was two weeks after they’d finally slept together for the first time, a Sunday that they were spending at his place cooking spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.  They were bogged down with the case they were working that weekend and it was closed earlier in the day.  Each was happy to spend some time together after their busy week._

_After their dinner, Aubrey had plans to take his redhead into his bedroom and make love to her all night because they hadn’t been together for four long days.  It was a challenge_ _to behave himself_ _when she wore one of her cute button up summer dresses and her red hair was down.  Throughout the initial dinner preparation, he was getting antsy but maintained control._

_He even managed to keep his hands to himself when her green bra strap was peeking out against her ivory shoulder as she started the water to boil for the wheat pasta.  Aubrey was quite proud of himself for remaining a gentleman.  To him, a true gentleman doesn’t nail his girlfriend right after she walks in the door, especially when she was providing homemade meatballs and pasta sauce for a nice dinner._

_Then Jessica spoiled everything when she bent over to reach into the fridge, giving him a nice view as she wore no nylons and the hem was dangerously close to her appealing ass.  She had barely stood up when he quickly kissed her and scooped her up._

_“Aubrey!”  Jessica squealed.  “What are you doing?”_

_“I can’t wait anymore, Jess.  I haven’t touched you in four days.”_

_The redhead smiled and put her arms around his neck.  “Well then Special Agent Aubrey...what are you waiting for?”_

_Deciding it would take too long to walk her to his bedroom, he knocked the napkins and various other items off the counter by the stove before setting her on it.  To his delight, she didn’t waste time undoing his belt and fly before pushing his pants down.  He returned the favor by pulling off her panties in record time and tossing them aside.  Unable to resist, his hands kneaded her lovely mounds before entering her._

_“I love your ass, Jessica.”_

_They had only enjoyed each other for a minute when the smoke detector went off.  Startled, they turned around to see the remains of Jessica’s underwear on fire by the burner where the water was boiling.  Aubrey almost stumbled as he grabbed the fire extinguisher while Jessica turned on the sink and used the sprayer simultaneously._

_After the fire was out, the dust had barely settled when there was a knock on the door and Mrs. Hall called his name from the other side.  Aubrey quickly pulled his pants up and zipped them before answering the door to the worried woman.  On the fly, he made up a story to his elderly landlady while the redhead carefully hid what remained of the start of the blaze from the woman’s view._

_Like the responsible adult he was, Aubrey offered to pay for the damages to the nearby counter, but she turned him down because it was covered by her homeowner's insurance.  After they assured Mrs. Hall they were alright, they said goodnight to the older woman._

_The agent shut his door and turned to his girlfriend before they finally let out the laughter they were holding in._

_“Well, you did promise me a fun night, Superman.”  Jessica said in between giggles._

_“Yeah.  I had a plan to light your fire later, but that wasn’t quite what I had in mind.”  The agent quipped as he hugged her._

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

               Aubrey chuckled again as he recalled his bedroom...the living room...his shower...the Star Wars room.  He and Jessica defiled each room in his apartment in some manner and they had memories that he hoped would last a lifetime together.

               His phone buzzed, so he looked and smiled when he saw the message.

**_Since Dr B & I talked about seminar Tues we r not mtg 2day 4 dissertation.  Will be there lunchtime.  Will bring food.  Any requests?_ **

                Aubrey didn’t have to think about it.   **_Meat please._ **

                Jessica responded a minute later.   **_No surprise there.  C u later._ **

                Aubrey laughed as he put his phone down.  Realizing his coffee was gone, he poured another cup and added some cinnamon when his phone buzzed.  Looking at the caller ID, he rolled his eyes when he saw it was Karen Delfs.

                “Sorry, Karen...enjoying my morning coffee...you will have to stalk me another weekend.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Jessica showed up at Aubrey’s apartment around 1:00.  After greeting each other with a kiss, she presented him with a large bag from Mr. Leonelli's store.  Opening the bag, Aubrey got excited as he saw three sandwiches along with two bags of _Miss Vickie’s_ BBQ chips.

               Handing her boyfriend a Yuengling, she smiled.  “Mr. Leonelli made you a pastrami on rye and a turkey club.”

               “Awesome!  I was in the mood for a pastrami on rye.”,  Aubrey said as he dug it out of the bag.  “What did you get?”

                Jessica smiled.  “Roast beef and swiss on rye.”

               “Have I ever told you how cool it is I have a carnivore for a girlfriend?”, Aubrey said.

               “You have.  I’m healthy, but I still love red meat.”  Jessica said.  “Oh, Mr. Leonelli told me that he received the meat and other items you ordered for tomorrow, including the halal stuff for Arastoo.  I hope it’s enough to feed everyone that helps us move.”

               “I think so.  I don’t mind leftovers, though.”  Aubrey replied, not missing Jessica’s slip of the tongue.

               After eating their sandwiches and chips, the two packed up essential items for Aubrey to take to the new house.  Along with the essential items, he was taking Skinner over there with him to spend the night there so the cat wouldn’t be too spooked.  Jessica’s Jeep would remain empty until they picked up items from the agent’s storage unit later on.   

               After they loaded his SUV, they walked back down to Mr. Leonelli’s so Aubrey could stock up on some pastrami and other meats for himself since his trips there would now be few and far in between.   He also purchased a lasagna for two and a bottle of wine for himself and Jessica for their dinner at the new house.  

               By 4:00, with Jessica’s help, Aubrey had put an annoyed Skinner in his cat carrier.  “Sorry, Buddy.  I can’t let you loose in a federal vehicle.”

              They took some cleaning supplies and the cat down to Aubrey’s vehicle.  When done, they went to talk to Mrs. Hall and let her know about their return tomorrow.  After receiving a cherry cobbler and dinner invite for the both of them, the agent and anthropologist walked out onto the sidewalk and looked up at the building one more time.

             “We had some good times in your apartment, Superman.”

              Aubrey put his arm around Jessica, who in turn put her head on his shoulder.  “We did, Jess, but we’ll have more at my new house.”

             Jessica gave him a kiss.  “That we will.”

             The two got in their vehicles.  Jessica waited for Aubrey to make sure Skinner was settled in his pet carrier in the front seat.  When he signaled, they both backed out of the driveway behind the old house and headed out to 1297 Janus Street.

* * *

              At 4:30, a frustrated Karen came into the Major Crimes Division looking for Aubrey.  She’d called his office as well as his cell phone today, but he never returned her calls.  Walking with purpose, she strode to the man’s office and was not happy to see it once again locked with the lights off.  Turning her head, she saw Genny in her office.  

             Exhaling her annoyance, she walked over and knocked on the door frame.  “Agent Shaw, where’s Aubrey?”

            Genny saw her come into the bullpen and knew she would come over when she saw Aubrey wasn’t in.  “He’s off today.”

            “That’s obvious, Agent Shaw.  My question is where is he and when is he coming back?”

            “I don’t know where he is currently, but he’s out until Tuesday.”

             Karen didn’t like what she heard.  “What for?”

            The petite woman turned to the profiler.  “For whatever reason he took today and Monday off.”

            “Like what, Genevieve?”, Karen said.  “As his friend, he may need my help.  As Special Agent in Charge, he can’t be taking time off willy nilly.  There are cases that need his attention.”

            _‘And a whiny ass profiler who can’t take a hint.’_  Genny thought.  “He’s aware of that, so he completed the things that needed his immediate attention before leaving last night.  He also briefed me on what needed to be done today as well as calling me this afternoon to check in.  He plans to remote in Monday morning to submit any last minute items for agents and our support staff to Pay Management before 10:00.  Now, is there something I can help you with, Dr. Delfs?”

            “So you don’t know why he took today and Monday off?”, Karen asked suspiciously.  “You two are pretty chummy and if he’s going to tell anyone, it’s his second in command.”

            “His reasons are personal and don’t affect my job, so it was none of my business.”,  Genny said, trying to hold back a grin.  She knew exactly why her boss took an extended weekend, but the nut job in front of her didn’t need to know that.  “Why don’t you call him?  He said he would have his phone on for emergencies.”

            “With whatever is going on, he has been too busy to answer the phone.”,  Karen said.  

            “Well, I would leave a message and I’m sure he’ll call you back when he’s able.”  Shaw turned to the woman and bit her lip, hoping not to laugh.  “You could always try Agent Booth, the lab, or even Jessica if you need him immediately.”

             Karen recalled her conversation with Booth a few hours ago and his terse reply when she requested he try to contact Aubrey and tell him to call her.

_“If Aubrey is not answering, he’s obviously busy, as am I.  Don’t you have cases to work?  That is what the FBI pays you for, isn’t it?”_

             Forcing a smile on her face, the profiler answered.  “No, that’s all right.  I won’t disturb the work at the Jeffersonian.  Instead, I’ll just borrow Aubrey’s office keys from you so I leave some files in there for his perusal.  Can I have them please?”

             Genny knew Aubrey would be pissed if she did that and nothing could get her to hand the keys over to the profiler.  Karen needed to get a life.  “No, but you can give me the files.  I have full authority until he returns.”

            “No, these are for the Special Agent in Charge for Major Crimes, Agent James Aubrey.”,  Karen replied stiffly.

            Genny straightened her spine at the obstinate profiler.  “Dr. Delfs, for the last time...I’m Acting Special Agent in Charge until Aubrey returns on Tuesday.  That means all things pertaining the function of this division and cases go through me until then.  Now for the last time, please give me the files to review so I can go home tonight.”

           “Sorry, little girl.  I will go over these with only Special Agent Aubrey.”, Karen said, pleased with her successful block of the agent’s power trip.

            _‘Little girl?  If that’s how she wants to do it, I can play games, too.’_ Genny thought before she smiled.  “Okay.”

            “Okay?”, Karen said.  “Good.  Now can you let me into Aubrey’s office, please?”

            “Just a moment.  I need to make a phone call.”, the Acting Special Agent in Charge said calmly as she searched the FBI directory.  Dialing a number she waited.  “Yes, direct me to the BRIU please...thank you.”

            That got Karen’s attention.  “What are you doing?”

            Genny put her hand on the receiver.  “I’m just calling your supervisor at the BRIU to discuss your obstruction of our division’s cases…hello.  This is Agent Genevieve Shaw, the ASAC for Major Crimes.  I need to speak to SAC Jake Tanner, please.  Yes, I’ll hold...thank you.”  

            Quickly Karen jumped in and thrust the files to the agent.  “You know...there’s not need to call Special Agent Tanner.  I’m sorry if I gave the impression I’m not a team player, or someone who would jeopardize a case for personal reasons.  I’m just used to dealing with Aubrey is all.  Here you go.  Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

            Shaw took the files Karen had with her while still on the phone.  “Thanks Dr. Delfs.  I’ll let Aubrey know you stopped by and I’ll review these right now.  Good night.”

            Annoyed at the easy dismissal, Karen stormed out.  Genny chuckled as she waited on the phone.  “Hi Jamie, this is Genny Shaw...yeah, sorry about all that...I had a pest in my office.  I’m calling to place a carryout order for a large pizza and breadsticks, please.”

* * *

            The next morning, Aubrey stumbled out of his borrowed bed in the master bedroom of his new house around 7:30.  After feeding Skinner in the downstairs bedroom, he put the cat’s toys in there along with his litter box and favorite blanket.  As he finished getting ready, Jessica arrived to pick him up.

            On the way, he stopped first to pick up his rental truck before a second stop at a nearby Tim Hortons to pick up his catering order as well as two orders of the Tims Take Twelve coffee and hot drinks with decaf and tea included for Arastoo, Angela, and Jessica if she wanted.  Arriving at just before 9:00, he was greeted with his friends who were very appreciative of his gift to them.  

            Aubrey, being the gentleman he was, introduced his friends to Mrs. Hall, who was elated to meet her favorite novelist.  After Brennan signed all her novels, they went to work.  

            The morning was spent with packing up the rest of the agent’s belongings.  He and Jessica took charge of the Star Wars room, entrusting the rest of his belongings to their friends while Brennan plotted out the locations on her spreadsheet.  All were aware that time was of the essence to help their friend get out before Karen decided to make another visit.

            Daisy and Beau were late arrivals in her car around 11:30, not his F-150 truck as promised.  “Sorry we’re late, Aubrey.”, Daisy started before being interrupted by Beau.

            “I was needed for a team meeting at the Fed Ex, and I’ve been too busy to take my truck in to get the brakes fixed.  No hard feelings, right?”

            “Of course not.  You’re here and that’s what counts.”, Aubrey said, trying not to be annoyed with the man’s broken promise.  Things did happen.

            “Hey, there’s food and coffee.”, Beau said before heading over.

            “Sure. Help yourself, Beau.”, Aubrey muttered sarcastically before getting a stern look from Jessica.  Recognizing the warning, he went back to work.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

             Two hours later, the rental truck, Wendell’s Dodge Ram, Jessica’s SUV, Daisy’s car, and Angela’s van were packed.  As the redhead headed to pick up the items from Mr. Leonelli’s store for lunch, the rest drove to the Mighty Hut, now Aubrey’s Mighty Hut.

             As Jessica arrived at the new house, Andie showed up after her morning shift with beer, along with water and Gatorade for Arastoo and the kids.  After everyone ate their meal, they unpacked the van and other vehicles.  As Booth, Wendell, and Aubrey carried the Han Solo Carbonite statue up the stairs, the older man shook his head.

            “Aubrey…do I even want to know how much you paid for this…thing?”, Booth said as he was bringing up the rear.

            “This is…watch it, Booth…a piece of movie history.”, Aubrey said as he led the way.

            “Aubrey, this weighs a ton.  You better not be making me carry this to the far bedroom.”

            The agent gulped for a moment and decided it didn’t matter which room he wanted to make as his Star Wars room.  “First door on the right.”

            “Good call, Aubrey.”, Wendell said in relief from the middle.

* * *

              Jessica grabbed a box while a pregnant Angela grabbed two bags out of the older woman’s van.  “Now according to Dr. B’s spreadsheet, Aubrey wants these in the bedroom across from the main room.”, the redhead said.

            “Why aren’t we just putting everything somewhere?”, Angela said as they walked up to the house.

            “Dr. B said an organized move is the best move.”, Jessica said.  “She has a whole plan laid out for us.”

            “Sounds like Bren.”, Angela said as they stepped onto the porch.  “So where’s Skinner?”  

            “He was a little spooked when we got here last night, so Aubrey put him in the downstairs bedroom this morning with his food, toys, and litter box.”, Jessica said.  “This way, no one accidentally steps on him and he won’t get out and be lost.”

             Angela smirked.  “Did you spend the night with Aubrey and Skinner, Jessica?”

             “No, I went home after we had dinner……we’re just friends, Angela.”  Jessica replied with a blush. _‘No need to mention I didn’t leave until almost midnight after we watched movies on his laptop...and a lot of kissing.’_

             “Not for long the way you two look at each other.”, the artist smirked.

              Going through the doorway, Jessica encountered Aubrey, Wendell, and Booth coming down.  “Superman, do you think Skinner might want a treat?”

              “Yeah, I’ll check on him in a few minutes.”, the agent said.  “Did you put his treats in the room with him?”

              “No…on the kitchen island.”

               Booth rolled his eyes.  He hated cats.  “Okay, folks…Skinner will live for a few more minutes while I take a break.  I want a beer.”   

               Aubrey let Booth around him with Wendell following until he found the cooler.  The couple continued to look at each other before Angela interrupted.

              “I’ll just take these upstairs before helping Hodgins in the kitchen.  Between the two of us, we can get the food dealt with while you give each other CFM eyes.”

               Both blushed further until they went back to their activities.

* * *

              As the adults unpacked and put important stuff in their rightful place, Christine and Michael Vincent played on the jungle gym in the backyard, left over from Booth and Brennan.  Nearby was the tree house that Cam’s boys went in and out of, along with the other kids.

              Jessica watched them play with abandon and felt a warmness in her heart.   _‘Perhaps someday that will be my family with Aubrey out there.’_

             She was joined by Aubrey a moment later, who took her hand in his as they watched the kids.  They didn’t realize that everyone else was observing them with smiles on their faces.

             “They’ll be together by Christmas.”, Hodgins said.  “Count on it.”

             “They’ll be together by Thanksgiving at the latest, Bug Boy.”, Booth said.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

              By 10:00, everyone had gone home except Jessica, who sat in the living room on the couch with her head back and eyes closed.  Suddenly, she felt something cold on her breast through her thin sleeveless button up shirt.

             “Ahhhh!”, Jessica yelled before she saw a laughing Aubrey holding two beers.  “You asshole!”

             “Come on…it’s funny.”

             The redhead looked at her boyfriend.  “You won’t think it’s so funny when I do that to your junk someday, Agent Aubrey.”

             “No, you won’t.”, Aubrey said as he handed her the cold Yuengling.  “You like it too much.”

             “It serves a purpose, that’s all.”, Jessica retorted.

              Both laughed as Aubrey plopped down.  “To moving day being over…and I wasn’t stalked by Karen...physically.”

             “Here, here.”, Jessica said as they clinked beer bottles.

            “Thanks so much for all your help, Jess.”, Aubrey said.

            “I didn’t do much, Superman.”, Jessica said.  “I helped pack some boxes and assisted you with Skinner when he was flipping out last night.”

            “No…you did help...a lot.”, Aubrey said as he turned to his girlfriend.  “This house is more than just a place to get away from Karen.  It’s a new beginning for me…part of Booth’s advice about growing up.  I’m just glad you are here to share it with me.”

            “There’s no place I would rather be right now.”, Jessica said with a smile. _‘Maybe I’ll live with him and Skinner here someday.’_

             Aubrey smiled in return.   _‘Maybe she’ll even live in it with me and Skinner someday.’_                

            They sat and looked at each other for a moment before Aubrey set his beer down and took Jessica’s hand on the back of the couch.  “Jess...um…”

            “What, Superman?”, Jessica said as she put her beer on the floor.

            Aubrey became annoyed as the words he wanted to say became jumbled.  The perfect moment and he was tongue tied like a teenager.  “Damn it.  I have something I want to say but I can’t...I…”

            Jessica pondered for a moment before deciding to go for it, suspecting what he might want to say.  “I-I don’t know when I will be totally there...but...dealing with my mom helped a bit...and talking with my dad.  I will say that I’m almost ready, too Aubrey.”

            “Really?”,  Aubrey said, surprised but happy.

            “Yes.”, the redhead said, but she mistook Aubrey’s expression for fear.  “Shit, Superman, I’m rushing you.  I’m so sorry--”

            “No!”, the agent said.  “I’m sorry...it’s just...I’m almost ready, too.

            They looked at each other before they slowly came together in a kiss.  At first it was simple and sweet but it quickly became passionate as hands began to roam.  It didn’t take long for Aubrey to push Jessica down on the couch, their beers forgotten as his lips moved to her earlobe.  When the redhead’s legs encircled his waist, his hand moved up to the top of her shirt.  As he efficiently unbuttoned her top, his lips moved down to her soft neck, her panting encouraged him.

             The agent’s hand had a mind of its own as it pulled her clothing open, revealing a lovely royal blue bra with a front clasp that looked beautiful against her porcelain skin.  The faintest sense of cherry vanilla only excited him...and his friend more.

             As Jessica’s encouraging hands moving under his t-shirt onto his naked back, Aubrey’s hand moved slowly down her abdomen and back up.  He felt his girlfriend’s moan into his ear as his palm cupped her breast before it slid underneath the lacy cup, making him hard when he felt her nipple harden.

            “Jessica…”, he groaned as his lips traveled down her neck.

            “Don’t stop…”, the redhead responded before her hands moved under his waistline, earning a moan from the special agent.

            Aubrey’s fingers began playing to the clasp in the front of the bra as the redhead nibbled on his earlobe in the way she knew drove him nuts.   As his lips traveled further down, the urge to taste her grew stronger.  He just needed one...just enough to hold him.

            Just as he was ready to throw caution to the wind and go for it, his phone rang to the _Jaws_ theme.  Groaning, he buried his head into her neck.  “Son of a bitch...”

            Jessica’s frustration gave way to laughing.  “What the hell is that, Aubrey…”

            “It’s my new ringtone for Karen.”, the agent growled, annoyed at the interruption.  

            The couple waited for a moment until the voicemail app lit up.  Grabbing his phone, he pushed it and played the message on the speaker for Jessica to hear.

            _‘Hey Aubrey...it’s Karen...again.  You weren’t at work yesterday and all your assistant special agent in charge would say was that it was ‘none of her business.’  We’re supposed to be friends and when you don’t return my calls from yesterday or today, I get concerned.  I don’t appreciate being pushed aside like I don’t matter, Aubrey.  You’re important to me.”_

            “Shit.”, Aubrey said before turning to Jessica.  “I’m going to make this quick.  Can you listen in?”

            “Sure, Superman.”, the redhead said.

            The couple sat up and Aubrey watched her button her top back up, making him whimper.  The only thing he wanted to do right now was go back to kissing Jessica and have his hands...and lips...on her very lovely breasts, but it wasn’t meant to be.  Pushing the phone function, he kept it on speaker and after one ring, Karen answered.

            _“Hey, stranger.”_

            Aubrey pinched his nose.  “Hey, Karen.  Sorry I haven’t got back to you.  It’s been pretty busy for me these last couple of days.”

            _“Why did you take off Friday?  Are you sick?”_

            “No, not sick.”, Aubrey said while squeezing his girlfriend’s hand.  “Just had some stuff come up.”

            _“Like what?”_

            Aubrey didn’t want to tell her he moved...yet.  “A personal matter I’m attending to, Karen.”

            _“But I want to help you.  Tell me what happened.  Did that brat Jessica hurt you again?”_

            The anthropologist rolled her eyes as Aubrey rubbed his face.  “No, Karen, and don’t call her a brat.  No more name calling.  As for why I’m gone, I just had things to take care of this weekend.  I’m not dying...not in danger...all is good.  I just wanted to reassure you of that.”

            _“Maybe I should bring you dinner--”_

            “Not necessary, Karen.  I’m fine.  I’ll see you Tuesday, all right?  Good night.”

            _“But--”_

            Jessica put her hand on Aubrey’s shoulder as he ended the call.  “I’m sorry, Superman.  

            The agent closed his eyes.  “God...she’s annoying me…”

            They sat together in the silence for a moment before Jessica grimaced.  “I should probably get going.”

            The agent turned his head up.  “You don’t have to go…”

            Jessica got up.  “Yes I do, Superman.  You’re getting harder to resist so I need to go home while I still have my panties on.”

            Aubrey chuckled.  “All right.  I’ll walk you to your vehicle.”

            ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Five minutes later, the two got to Jessica’s Jeep.  Before opening the door, she turned to her boyfriend.  “Soon, Aubrey.”

            The agent nodded his head.  “Soon.”

            They shared a kiss goodbye before she climbed in.  “I’ll send you a text when I get home.”

            “Okay.”,  Aubrey replied.

            He watched her pull out of the driveway and observed until her taillights were no longer in his vision.  Going back inside, he locked the door and collapsed on the couch.  Skinner came downstairs and weaved through the living room boxes before jumping on his owner’s stomach.  

            _‘Damn Karen...Jessica’s skin felt so good…”_

             Then another thought came to him. _‘I almost got her bra open, but there was no sex.  We were just enjoying each other.  Jessica and I could have contained ourselves...at least I think we could have.’_

             Aubrey’s thoughts were interrupted by the buzz of his phone.  Looking down, he smiled.

**_Me & panties made it home.  Good nite Superman._ **

             Settling back down, his thoughts drifted back to the redhead until he fell asleep in the chaos of his living room.

* * *

            Karen woke up Sunday morning with a mission...to get Aubrey’s undivided attention.

            As she got around, she thought about this weekend.  She was surprised when to see Agent Shaw in charge again she came by Friday afternoon.  She was even more surprised to find out that Aubrey had taken that day and Monday off and no one would give her the courtesy of answering why.  Agent Shaw acted like she was a bother, but at least she was more polite than Agent Booth.  In her opinion, he should have been more concerned about his friend.

She’d called Aubrey three times Friday and twice on Saturday before he returned her call.  He said he was fine and not to worry about him, but wouldn’t discuss why he had the time off.  It sounded like she interrupted him during something.  Probably another one of his pity parties over that redhead twit.  

 _‘If Aubrey keeps letting that redheaded bitch overrun his life, he’ll lose his career at the FBI or worse, his life because he’ll be so distracted.’_ Karen pondered.  Well, she would show Aubrey how much he needed her to take care of him.  

            Her morning was spent straightening up her apartment and paying bills.  By the afternoon, she was ready for action.  Making a pot of coffee, she got comfortable with her laptop and started her research.

            After about thirty minutes, she found a recipe for an Asparagus and Cheese Tortilla Tart.  After reading the ingredients, she realized she didn’t have fresh asparagus, but she had canned asparagus and some canned green beans.  Getting up, she checked her cupboards and pulled out the canned veggies before grabbing her jar of spaghetti sauce.  Finding that the Ragu she had was expired, she decided to use salsa instead.

            “Tortillas need salsa, not pasta sauce.  What are these chefs thinking?”

            Setting everything on the counter, she grabbed her almond soy mozzarella cheese substitute out of the fridge.  “This soy cheese can’t be that much different than regular cheese.  I doubt Aubrey will notice.”

            Putting everything together, she followed the instructions and baked the dish.  When done, she grabbed her emergency bottle of Riunite Lambrusco from the fridge and was almost out the door when she stopped.  Putting the items down, she ran into her bedroom.  Rummaging through her lingerie drawer, she grabbed her special pink panties and put them on.

            “Always good to be prepared.  Aubrey may need some comforting.”

            Rushing out of the apartment with the items, she arrived at Aubrey’s apartment at 5:30.  When she got there, she went up to his apartment and knocked.  Getting no answer, she tried again to no avail.  Going to the window facing the back of the house, she saw a federally issued black SUV.  Annoyed at being ignored, Karen set the pan on the floor and called him.

            When she got no answer, she walked downstairs and knocked on Mrs. Hall’s door.  She was greeted by a middle aged woman whom Karen recognized from the pictures on the mantle as her daughter from Baltimore.  When let in, she saw the older woman smiling as she sat in her rocking chair.

            “Mrs. Hall, I brought James some dinner but he’s not answering his door.  I tried calling him a few minutes ago but he didn’t answer.  Do you think you can go up and check on him again for me?  I want to make sure he’s okay.”

            “I can’t do that, Dear.”                

            Confused, Karen put a smile on her face to hide her annoyance.  “Why not?  You’re his landlady.”

            “Well, he moved yesterday, Honey.”

            Karen felt like she had been blindsided.  Aubrey didn’t mention he was looking for another apartment.  “He-he moved?”

            “Yes, dear.  He and that lovely girl Jessica took some boxes over Friday night to his new house.  Such a lovely girl.  I’m glad she’s spending time with James again.  Occasionally on nights when James would be working late, she would come down to my apartment and we would have tea together.”

            “He moved Friday?”  Karen almost choked.

            “No, he moved Saturday.  All his friends met him here to help him move.  Lovely people, especially that Agent Booth and Dr, Brennan.  She signed all of her books for me.  I’m going to miss James.  Such a good boy.  He referred someone to me so the apartment won’t be vacant.”

            Holding in her fury, Karen took a breath.  “But I saw his SUV outside.”

            “That is my daughter’s vehicle.  She’s in charge of her division at the Treasury department and received a government car like James has about five months ago.”, the elderly lady said.  “Would you like to come in and join us?  We’re having tuna casserole for dinner.”

            Karen thought fast.  “No.  I thought James said he was still staying the night tonight and not moving until next weekend, but that’s okay.  I’ll run this over to his new house, but I would have to stop at my office to get the address.  Do you know it so I can save a trip because I would hate for his dinner to get cold?”

            “No, he didn’t have it on him, either.  He said he would bring it over later this week.”

            “Did he happen to say when this week?”,  Karen asked desperately.

            “I’m not sure Karen—“

             “When you do think?  Perhaps tomorrow...maybe Wednesday…”

            “Our dinner's getting cold, Mama.” the daughter said, suspicious of her mother’s interrogator.  “I’m sure if you call Agent Aubrey, Dr. Delfs, he’ll let you know.  Good night.”

             Karen stood in shock as the door was shut in her face.  Holding her temper in, she walked out into the night and to her vehicle, which now had a parking ticket on it.  Grabbing it, she read it and went to the other side of the vehicle.

             “So my bumper was in front of the damn hydrant!  Who gives a flying fuck?”, Karen growled.

              Getting into her vehicle, she starting it, and drove off in a huff.  “This is not how you treat a friend, James Aubrey.  Friends before hoes.  That’s the rule.”

              Angry and hurt, Karen waited at an intersection for the light to change, still fuming at the treatment her supposed friend had inflicted on her.  “After all I’ve done for him, he treats me like dirt.  Maybe I should just give up and move on to someone new…”, she grumbled.

              When the light turned green, she floored the accelerator.  “That would show him, wouldn’t it?”  

              Several minutes later, she was still grimacing as she turned onto Q Street.  When she arrived at her apartment a couple minutes later, she sighed before realizing what she needed to do.

              It was more than just making Aubrey realize that she was the woman he needed in his life.  Now, she also had to show that skinny bitch Jessica who was really in charge.  

             “I’m going to win this fight, no matter what it takes.  No way Little Miss Scientist beats me.”

              After locking her vehicle, Karen took her casserole dish and wine upstairs to her apartment above the Starbucks.  When she came in, she slammed the door before throwing the items in the refrigerator and then collapsed on the sofa to have a good cry.  

             “I’m going to win this battle, no matter what it takes.  Aubrey may not know it yet, he’s going to be mine.”


	18. Dreams & Schemes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Aubrey’s moved into his house, it’s smooth sailing for him and Jessica and their relationship, right? Read on to find out!

          Aubrey stood in the kitchen of his new place early Monday morning, exhausted but happy.  He’d spent all day yesterday unpacking and putting stuff away throughout the house.  Today, he wanted to concentrate on getting the kitchen and family room done before returning to work tomorrow.

          Glancing at the _Darth Vader and Friends_ calendar pinned to the wall, he grinned when he saw October 22 nd boxed in with green highlighter.  This upcoming Saturday…his 33rd birthday.

           Jessica had done that before she’d given it to him as one of his Christmas presents last year.  Flipping back to May, he saw where he’d done the same to May 8th, Jessica’s birthday.  After their break up, he’d been dreading his birthday, but the Star Wars Convention had changed everything for the better.  He had his favorite redhead back in his life, and he was happy again.                  

           After pouring himself another cup of coffee, he realized it was time to stop procrastinating.  He needed to put things away in his kitchen.  It was going to be nice to have room to spread out all of his cooking utensils, but it would take a lot of time to decide the best place to put everything for easy access.

           First, however, he had something very important to do.  Glancing at the time on the microwave, he finished his coffee and pulled out his phone.  Hitting the speed dial, he waited for his favorite squintern to pick up.

           “Hey, Aubrey.”  Jessica smiled to herself as she pictured him standing in his new kitchen, wearing his faded fraternity tee shirt and ratty sweatpants.  “What’s up?  Get everything put away yet?”

           “Hell, no.  Who knew I had so much junk?  Maybe I’ll just get rid of some of it.  That’d be a lot easier.”  He chuckled as he leaned against the counter, imagining her smile as she sat in the living room of her tiny apartment.  “So I was wondering if you’d do something for me…”

           “Well, that’s just great. So you called just to ask me for a favor? I thought maybe you wanted to talk to me.  I bet you need more help with unpacking, right?  Because if that’s what you want, I’m really busy at the moment.”  Giggling, Jessica opened up her laptop to access her dissertation files.  “I have a lot of research to do…”

           “No, that’s not what I had in mind, although if you wanted to help, I wouldn’t turn you away…”  He laughed, reaching down to scratch Skinner’s ears as the tabby brushed against his leg.  “...but what I wanted to know is if you’d come to dinner at my new house this coming Saturday.  It’s my birthday, you know, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather share it with.  I’m going to make us something really special...maybe Beef Wellington with some baked potatoes, some blanched asparagus with almond butter, a nice tossed salad, and probably some cheesecake for dessert.”

           “Maybe…let me see...hmmm….” Jessica groaned softly, biting her lip to keep from laughing out loud.  “Oh, no!  You mean this coming Saturday evening?  I completely forgot about your birthday being this weekend!”, she exclaimed.  “I’m so sorry...I can’t on Saturday, Superman.  I have to go to my niece’s dance recital.  We’ve been planning on it for a couple of months...she has a solo, you know?  She’s the fairy queen.  I can’t cancel those plans.  It would break her little heart.”

            “Well, I guess I could go with you to the recital…if you want...”  Aubrey began.  He felt a little miffed that Jessica hadn’t thought of that solution herself.  “I don’t mind, and then afterwards, we could go out for a bite to eat…or maybe we can have lunch together before you go...”

            “No, that won’t work, Aubrey.  I’ll need to leave here pretty early to avoid traffic, so I’ll be gone most of the day.  My sister in law said she could only score one extra ticket.  Anyway, the dance school is going to have an ice cream social afterwards, and I promised my niece I’d stay to have ice cream with her.  Besides, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t enjoy watching a group of little girls you don’t know flit around the stage, right?  I mean, it’s fairy princess stuff...definitely not your style.”

             Jessica giggled quietly as she heard Aubrey grumble.  “Let me look at my calendar, Superman, and see if I can find another day, okay?  How about Sunday?  I know it’s not your birthday, but...oh, wait.  We can’t have dinner at your house on Sunday, either.  We’re supposed to go see Beau play football.  Daisy scored one of those plush VIP skyboxes at the stadium, and we’re all going to meet there...you know, Cam, Arastoo, Agent Booth, Dr. B, Hodgins, and everyone else from the lab, so it might look odd if we didn’t show up.  It might be enough to start rumors about us being a couple, and you don’t want that right now, do you?  I’m really sorry, but I don’t think we can get out of going to the game.”

           “Don’t worry about it, Jess.  Family is important.  You need to go watch your niece dance, especially if you promised her you’d go.”  He clenched his jaw in an effort to contain his disappointed sigh.  “Listen, it doesn’t make any difference which day we celebrate my birthday, okay?  It’s no big deal if we can’t have dinner together on Sunday, either.  We can pick a day next week instead.  I can’t wait to cook a nice meal in my fancy new gourmet kitchen, that’s all.”

            “You know I wouldn’t turn you down without good reason, especially on your birthday.  I’m really disappointed…I’ve been looking forward to having you cook dinner for me, too.”  It was all Jessica could do to keep from laughing out loud.  “I’ve already got your gifts and everything…”

             Now Aubrey was all ears.  “Gifts?  You bought me a birthday present?  What is it?”

             “Presents, as in plural. Of course I got you gifts for your birthday.  I picked them out especially for you, but you’ll have to wait a while longer to find out what I got you.  I’ll make sure I bring them whenever we decide to have dinner together, okay?”  Jessica chuckled as he tried to pump her for information.  “No, I’m not giving you any more hints.  It’s a secret.  Oh, look at the time.  I’ve got to go.  I have a dentist appointment this morning before work.  Call me later?”

             “Yeah...if I ever get my kitchen set up, that is.  I’ll talk to you after work, okay? Bye.”  

              After hanging up his phone and tossing on the kitchen counter, Aubrey stood for a minute with his arms crossed over his chest, trying to get over feeling slightly upset by the unexpected turn of events.  After all, he was a grown man, and he knew it wouldn’t make any difference if he celebrated his birthday on a different day as long as he could celebrate with Jessica.  He did think it was strange that she hadn’t told him about her niece’s dance recital until just now, but he figured that was because they weren’t a couple when she’d found out about it.  He nodded to himself as he finished his coffee.  

_Yeah, that must be it,_ he thought as he rinsed out his cup.   _I don’t think she’s still feeling weird about me saying this house is a great place to raise a family.  I mean, that’s what Booth said, and I was just repeating it to her, right? And I don’t think she’s trying to avoid me, especially after we’ve spent so much quality time together, like when we walked along the Mall on Thursday, or after everyone helped me move on Saturday...we were having a really great time together that evening, until Karen called, that is.  I guess I’m making a big deal over nothing...I don’t think there’s anything to be worried about, is there?_

             He smiled as he remembered what Charlie had told him earlier that week.

             _My…Jessie…loves…you.  You…is…are…frisk…first…man…ever…introduced…to…me.  Not…going…to…run…away…from…you…”_

            Putting his cup in the dishwasher, he sighed as he looked out the kitchen window.  He knew that, sooner or later, he and Jessica would put all of this uncertainty past them, and right now he was hoping for sooner.  As far as he was concerned, that would be the best gift Jessica could give him for his birthday.

  ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Jessica hurried as she dug through her closet to find a pair of nice slacks and an appropriate shirt.  She definitely did not want to be late for her appointment this morning.  She giggled again as she thought of Aubrey pouting in his kitchen, thinking she’d be okay with skipping his birthday dinner.  She couldn’t wait to prove him wrong.

**Oooooooooo**

            An hour later, Jessica grimaced slightly while perched nervously on the edge of a chair in Booth’s office.  It was totally irrational to be afraid of Dr. B’s husband, especially since she’d talked to him many times when they’d worked on cases, but he was a formidable man.  It seemed awkward to ask him for a favor, even if that favor was going to benefit his friend.

            Pushing his fingertips together as he sat back in his chair, Booth thought over Jessica’s request.  “So you think he’ll buy it?”

            “Well, he knows you’re investigating a case over there.  You just have to come up with a reason for him to go with you instead of the agent you’re currently mentoring.”

            “I see.”  Nodding thoughtfully, Booth rubbed his chin as he considered his visitor’s request.  “It might work.  However, there is one important question you need to answer. How are you going to get into the house to set things up without Aubrey being suspicious?  You can’t just ask him for his key, or do you have one already?”

_'Crap...didn’t think of that.’_  Jessica thought to herself.  “Ummm, no, I don’t have one…yet...”

            “No problem. Just ask Bones for her spare key.  That way we can keep Aubrey completely in the dark.”

            “That’s a great idea. You don’t think she’ll mind?  I don’t want to impose...”

            “Nah, she’ll be happy to help.  Now, what’s our time frame Saturday?”

           “I’d like to get everyone over there by around 5:30 and then you can bring Aubrey back around…6:00?”

            “Yeah, I can make that work.”

             Jessica checked the party planning list on her phone.  “Any place in particular people can park nearby so he won’t see cars in the driveway?”

             “There’s a playground people can use around the corner from the house, and a small path people can take to our back yard through the woods.  Angela can drop off Hodgins at the house before parking the van.  What about food?  You’re gonna need a lot to feed that many people...”

             “I’m going to call Daisy to arrange for Pixler’s to cater some barbecue, and I’ll ask people to bring a side dish to go with it.”  Jessica gave Booth a bashful smile.  “I think Aubrey will be really surprised...and pleased.  What do you think?  Are you in?”

             Booth studied the young woman sitting across from him.  It was obvious how much she loved Aubrey.  Both of them had seemed happier in the last couple of weeks, and he was happy for them.  Maybe they were finally on the same page about their relationship.

             Booth nodded in agreement as he rose from behind his desk.  “Yeah, I guess so, but on one condition...I ain’t footing the bill for his lunch while I keep him out of the way…”

             “I’ll spot you a twenty, and if that isn’t enough, I’ll reimburse you later.”  She and Booth both laughed as they left his office.  “Is it a deal?”

             “Okay, it’s a deal.”  He gestured for Jessica to walk with him.  “Are you going to go see Aubrey now?”

             “No, he took off today to unpack and put stuff away.  I need to go talk to Agent Shaw and let her in on the plan. By the way, thanks for all the help, Agent Booth.”

             “No problem.  Also, it’s just Booth.  Anyone who can make my friend smile the way he has for the last couple of weeks is a friend of mine, okay, Jessica?” 

              The redhead smiled shyly.  “Okay, A--Booth.” 

             “Good.  So you’re going to be _‘gone_ ’ all day on Aubrey’s birthday, right?”  He winked at her as he escorted her to the elevator.

             Jessica heaved a melodramatic sigh.  “Yes, I’ve promised my niece to come to her dance recital, and I won’t be back until late Saturday night.  Poor Aubrey, having to celebrate his birthday all by himself in his new house.”  She smirked as she got on the elevator, giving Booth a silent thumbs up.

             Booth chuckled as the doors started to close. “That’s okay.  He’ll have a lot to do at the Mighty Hut on Saturday anyway.  He’ll be too busy to be lonesome.”

             Catching a snippet of the conversation as she came around the corner toward Booth’s office, Karen’s Aubrey radar went on high alert.  

             “He’s going to be by himself on his birthday?  At his new house?” she muttered under her breath.  “That’s awful.  That little girl doesn’t deserve any more attention from James.”  

             Thinking the situation over, Karen suddenly had an idea.  “Perhaps it’s time to check on Mrs. Hall and see how the poor dear is doing, now that her favorite tenant has left…and maybe I can ask her about ideas for an ideal gift for James.”

**Oooooooooo**

              Before leaving the Hoover, Jessica stopped by Shaw’s office.  “Hey, Genny...I’m giving Aubrey a surprise birthday party on Saturday.  Why don’t you come by?  Bring your son if you want...it’s going to be a family party, and I’m sure Danny would have a lot of fun playing with Christine and Michael-Vincent.”

              “That sounds great.  I love surprise parties, but Aubrey’s pretty sharp.  How are you going to manage to pull it off?”, the agent asked, holding her hand up when she heard her phone ring.  “Just a sec.  Special Agent Shaw...Oh, hello, Dr. Delfs.”  

              Rolling her eyes as she made a silly face, Agent Shaw continued in a cool, professional tone as Jessica snickered softly.   “No, Agent Aubrey isn’t in today, Dr. Delfs.  As I explained last Friday, he’ll be out until tomorrow.  No, I really have no idea when Agent Aubrey will be in tomorrow, but I would assume he’ll be keeping his normal hours.  Yes, I’ll give him your message, but feel free to leave a message on his voicemail as well, if you’d like.  Yes, I promise I’ll tell him you called. Goodbye.”  

              Genny slammed the phone down on the receiver.  “That woman gets on my nerves!  Anyway, where are you having the party?”

              “At Aubrey’s new house...1297 Janus Street.  Booth is supposed to keep him busy all day while I get things set up.  5:30 or so on Saturday, okay?  You can park at the playground around the corner from the house.”

              “Yeah, I’ll try to be there.  Hey, watch out for you know who...she’s been snooping around a lot lately.”

              “Believe me, I know…” Jessica waved goodbye and turned to leave the office, only to run into the man in question.  “Oh...Aubrey...hi…what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at home unpacking, aren’t you?  I mean, that’s what you said...you said that you still had a lot to do...”

              “I forgot to sign some stupid job review forms, and of course, personnel needed them ASAP, so they told me I had to come to the office to take care of it this morning.  But I could ask you the same question, right?  I thought you said you had a dentist appointment today.”  Aubrey gave her a suspicious look.  It wasn’t like her to lie to him.  “You’re kinda dressed up to go to the dentist, aren’t you?

              “I did have an appointment, but I also had to return something to Agent Shaw, so I just stopped by for a few minutes, since it was on the way to the Jeffersonian.  I borrowed...one of her manuals.”, Jessica said before turning to the other woman.  “That’s right, isn’t it, Genny?  One of your protocol manuals…”

              Shaw caught on quickly.  “That’s right, Boss.  You were out of the office when she needed one, so I lent her mine.  No big deal.  I was glad to help.”  Shaw turned back to her monitor so Aubrey wouldn’t see her smile.

             “Okaaaay….”  Aubrey knew something was up, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it was.  “Well, since you’re here, Jess, want to go have lunch?”

              “I can’t...my mouth is still a little numb.  Besides, I have to go see Dr. B over at the lab.  I need to talk to her about some details on my dissertation before I go work with Clark this afternoon.  That’s why I’m not wearing jeans this morning, you know...got to impress the mentor.  Anyway, I don’t know how long that’ll take, since she’ll want to go over my stuff with a fine toothed comb, and then Clark wants me to help him with some of the artifacts from one of those Viking burial mounds they found in Nova Scotia.  But call me later, okay?  Maybe we can have dinner together at my place tonight.  My yoga class was canceled for this evening because my instructor is ill.” 

               The agent sensed something was off, but he realized Jessica was waiting for him to answer.  “Yeah, that would be be nice.” 

               Jessica arched her eyebrow at him and lowered her voice to a sultry whisper.  “And then maybe after dinner, you can help me study my anatomy lesson this evening.  Muscle attachments are so hard to remember, especially all of the lower abdominals.  I think maybe I need an anatomically correct model with an impressive set of muscles to study from.”  She gave him a flirty giggle as she turned to leave.  “Gotta go...bye.”

              “Bye...I’ll definitely help you study your anatomy…and maybe even give you some extra lessons if you want...”, he muttered as he watched her walk away, appreciating the view before being distracted by someone clearing their throat.  Turning around, he saw his second in command smirking at him.   

              “It’s a good thing you stopped by.  You’ve received quite a few phone calls while you were out today, Aubrey.”  

               Aubrey glared at Shaw as she laughed at his annoyance.  “Let me guess...Dr. Delfs called again.” 

               “She is really persistent.”  Genny pulled a folder from her desk drawer.  “Here are those forms you need to sign.  Sorry I couldn’t sign them for you, but the guy from HR said they had to have the real signature from the real deal.” 

               “Yeah, well, it’s no big deal.  It was my fault anyway.  I’ve been distracted with moving, but I still should’ve been more detail oriented with the paperwork.”  Quickly signing the forms, he closed the folder and handed it back to her.  “There you go.  Send them on to HR for me, okay?” 

               “No problem, Boss.  See you tomorrow.”   

               “Okay.”  Still slightly suspicious, Aubrey hesitated before leaving.  “Why did Jessica need to borrow a protocol manual?  That’s kinda strange, isn’t it?  I mean, it’s not like she can’t look that stuff up online...” 

               “I don’t know.  She didn’t say.  She was in a hurry that day, so I just let her use mine.  I imagine it had something to do with evidence management or something like that...you know, how to maintain the proper chain of evidence for the FBI and the other federal law enforcement agencies.  Jessica would have to know all of that as a forensic anthropologist working for any government agency.”  Shaw grimaced slightly, hoping her boss would buy the load of bull shit she was selling.  “Maybe she wants to work for the FBI some day, so she wanted to get a jump on things.” 

              “Maybe.”  Aubrey scratched the back of his neck as he thought things through.  “I guess that makes sense, although it seems like she’d already know all of that stuff, especially as many cases as she’s worked with us.”  Finally deciding it was really no big deal, he shrugged.  “Okay, then...I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

               “You got it, Aubrey.  Enjoy the rest of your day off.” 

                He chuckled as he walked toward the elevator.  “Oh, you know it.  Nothing beats unpacking kitchen utensils…”

**Oooooooooo**

                In the meantime, Karen used her lunch hour to pay a social call on Mrs. Hall.  After sitting through three cups of lukewarm tea and about a million pictures of the woman’s grandchildren, the profiler finally got the information she needed.  Aubrey’s favorite sports team was the Chicago Cubs, and his forwarding address was 1103 W. Warrington Way in McLean, Virginia.  Now all she had to do was search the internet for the perfect birthday gift.

**Oooooooooo**

                After calling Daisy to make arrangements for several pounds of barbecue to be delivered for the surprise party, Jessica dropped by the lab to extend some invitations there.  She peeked around the door of her mentor’s office.  “Hello, Dr. Brennan…”

              “Ms. Warren. I wasn’t expecting you to see you today.”  Looking up in surprise, Brennan pointed to a chair across from her.  “Please sit down.  What can I do for you?”

              “Well, I went to see Agent Booth this morning, and he’s going to help me surprise Aubrey with a party for his birthday on Saturday.  He suggested that perhaps you could lend me your key to the Mighty Hut so I could go over early and get things set up.”

              “Of course.”  Brennan pulled a heavy key chain from her purse.  “Here you go.  While I personally am not fond of surprise parties, I believe Aubrey will be very pleased that you did this for him.”

               “I hope so.”  Jessica twisted nervously in her chair as she fidgeted with the key.  “I’ve never pulled off a surprise party on this scale, but I think I’ve got everything covered.  Naturally, I want you both to come, and please bring Christine and Hank.  I know he’s is very fond of them.”

               “I’m sure Christine will be thrilled.  After her father, Aubrey is her favorite FBI agent.”  Brennan smiled as she looked toward the doorway.  “Have you finished that rendering, Angela?”

               “Here it is.”  Angela handed Brennan the picture as she grinned at Jessica.  “Hey, Sweetie.  What’s up?”  

               “Oh, I just stopped by to borrow Dr. Brennan’s key to the Mighty Hut.  I’m planning a surprise party for Aubrey’s birthday Saturday.  I hope you and Curly can make it, and bring Michael-Vincent if you want…”

               “We wouldn’t miss it.”  Angela winked at Brennan as she sat down next to Jessica.  “I’m assuming there’s someone who’s not on the guest list…”

                Blushing slightly, Jessica nodded.  “Yes. Dr. Delfs’ name has been omitted from the list.  She makes Aubrey very uncomfortable…”

                Angela nodded.  “You can count on us not to mention anything to her.  We won’t spill the beans.”

                “Thank you.”  Jessica picked up her purse as she got ready to leave.  “So 5:30 on Saturday night, okay?  You can park at the playground around the corner from the house.”

                “It sounds like an excellent plan, Ms. Warren.  See you then.  Now, if you’ll excuse us, I need to study Angela’s rendering…”

                Jessica checked her phone as she walked out of the lab and was surprised to see that she’d missed a call from Aubrey.  “I’ll just call him on my break. I’m sure he won’t care if I don’t return his call right away.  He knows I’m busy today.”   

                The redhead dropped her phone back in her purse as she thought about what she could fix Aubrey for dinner that evening.  “Perhaps we can have spaghetti tonight...yes, I think spaghetti and an anatomy lesson sounds good tonight.” 

                Then she flashed back to the previous Saturday night.  “We’re not ready for meatballs yet...but we will be soon…very soon.”

                She giggled to herself as she went to find Wendell and Clark, who were working together in Cultural Anthropology.   

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Checking his phone again, Aubrey grumbled to himself as he sat down at his kitchen counter to have some lunch.  Something was up with Jessica, and he didn’t like it one bit.  It wasn’t like her to ignore his calls, unless...maybe she was still feeling skittish about them being in a committed relationship.

                Piling some leftover cold cuts on some rye bread, he fretted a little bit about how to assure her that things were good between them.  “I know what her dad thinks, but maybe I’ve put too much pressure on her…I should just back off, I guess.  I don’t want to come across as clingy or needy, especially since she’s so independent.  On the other hand, I think she’d want to know for certain how I feel about things so she can decide what she wants to do.”, he mumbled under his breath as he took a sip of his beer.  “Maybe someday, I’ll be able to figure her out.” 

**Oooooooooo**

                The next morning a frustrated Aubrey arrived at the office around 7:00 to get caught up after being gone for a couple of days.  His date with Jessica last night had been cut short just as they were going to get to the fun part of the spaghetti, when she got called to cover for Brennan at a crime scene with Booth because Dr. B needed to stay home with Hank and Christine, both of whom had colds.   

                He’d been really looking forward to giving her that anatomy lesson.  Spaghetti was always fun with his favorite redhead.  When they got to the point where they could have meatballs again...it would definitely be a good night. 

                As he brewed a fresh pot of coffee in the break room, he heard his phone buzz.  Looking at it, he saw that a new message had arrived in his FBI mailbox.  Opening it, he groaned when he saw the message.

**_I made you an Asparagus and Soy Cheese Tortilla Tart Sunday, but your landlady said you’d moved.  It wasn’t very nice of you to forget to tell me about that little detail, James.  However, I will chalk it up to you being busy, so I’ll forgive you.  Just to show that there are no hard feelings, I left the pan in the fridge in the 4th floor break room for you to enjoy.  I will be very busy this week but I will call you soon._ **

**_Karen :)_ **

                Groaning, he walked to the fridge and opened it, seeing the pan on the top shelf.  Taking it out, he pulled the foil, looked at the pan’s contents, and was disgusted as the foul odor wafted toward his nose.

               “Aubrey, what the hell is that?”

               Startled, he looked up to see Booth, who had just arrived in the break room.  Holding the pan away from his body as he cringed, Aubrey shook his head.

               “Something Karen made for me Sunday night.  An Asparagus and Soy Cheese Tortilla Tart.  She left it for me to _‘enjoy’_.”  Smelling it again, he grimaced as he fanned his hand in front of his nose.  “Man, I hate soy cheese.”

               “Jesus, that stuff stinks.   I wouldn’t foist that on anyone, not even Oliver Wells.”, Booth growled.  “Aubrey, for the love of God, please get that nasty shit out of here.  I don’t want the pancakes I made this morning to make an encore appearance.”

                Aubrey grabbed a large spoon from the silverware drawer.  Scraping the casserole out, he dumped it all in the garbage.  He then removed the used coffee grounds from the pot of coffee that just finished brewing, and dumped the filter on top of the food before pulling the trash bag out of the can and tying it off.

               “Done.  Now, I’m going to enjoy my sweet nectar of life.”  Aubrey grabbed a bottle of cinnamon from the cupboard before pouring a cup of coffee.

                “Hopefully that food dies quickly.  I’d hate to see that shit come crawling out of the trash can.”  Booth poured some coffee into his Steelers mug before the two men walked out of their break room.  “See you later, okay?” 

                “Yeah…”  Aubrey nodded as he walked toward his office.  “Later…” 

**Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

                The remainder of the week before Aubrey’s birthday flew by.  Between working on cases and trying to unpack, he’d had very little time to mope about having to spend his birthday by himself.   

                He kept reminding himself of Charlie’s opinion about the situation with Jessica, but he just couldn’t seem to shake his doubts about her unusual behavior during the last week.  Things had been strange between them ever since he’d moved into the new house, and he began to wonder if Jessica was feeling pressured.  He needed some way to find out what was going on in that brilliant brain of hers.  However, whenever he tried to get her to discuss what she was feeling, she insisted that everything was fine and that she was happy with how things were going between them.

                 Instead of going out on Thursday evening, Jessica had brought over a crock pot of her wonderful homemade vegetable soup and some warm cheese biscuits, much to Aubrey’s delight.  After dinner they’d arranged more of his massive collection in the Star Wars room upstairs before sitting down in the family room to watch a couple of episodes of _The Twilight Zone._ She’d fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder, and he hated to wake her, but it was midnight and they both had to work in the morning.

                “Hey, Jessica.”  He nudged her slightly.  “Jess...you got to wake up, Darlin’...Superman has to go to work tomorrow and you have to be at the lab bright and early, remember?”

                “Huh uh.”  She snuggled closer to him.  “You can’t get up.  I’m too comfortable.”

                “Nope...that’s not going to work this time, Jess.”  He chuckled as she opened a sleepy eye and glared at him.  “You can sleep here on the couch if you want, but I’m going to bed...by myself.”  He stood up and shook his head.  “Nighty night…I’m going upstairs.”

                “You’re no fun, Agent Aubrey.”  Groaning softly, Jessica stretched out on the couch and plumped up the sofa pillow.  “It’s late…I’ll just sleep here.  Wake me up when you get up in the morning, okay? Night...”

_Well, I can be a lot of fun...wanna find out?_ Embarrassed at the passing thought, Aubrey caught himself, hoping he hadn’t said that out loud.   

                 Realizing she’d already gone back to sleep, he sighed as he went upstairs to his bedroom.  Hopefully, he’d be able to get some rest instead of thinking about Jessica, all warm and lovely as she slept on his sofa.  

                 Climbing into bed, he stared at the ceiling as he tried to relax, telling himself not to think about Jessica being downstairs.   _Yeah, right...like that’s gonna work._  

                 Rolling over onto his side, he closed his eyes, determined to behave himself instead of giving in to his surging libido, but Jessica made it hard to behave himself.  He knew they couldn’t rush things...that he had to be patient if he wanted to achieve his goal of a long term relationship with her.  It wouldn’t be easy, but in the long run it would be worthwhile.  

                 He smiled as he grew drowsy.  Things were going well between them.  If he played his cards right, the long run might turn into a short sprint, and he couldn’t wait to cross that finish line.         


	19. Happy Birthday, Aubrey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A happy birthday not only to our favorite Bones foodie James Aubrey, but also to John Boyd! 
> 
> For those who don't follow Laura or myself on Twitter, we have been posting Love & Carbonite extras for certain chapters posted on my Tumblr account (mphs95/MiBonesFan). We have several special ones planned for this chapter and in the future. Watch for those updates on Twitter or subscribe to my Tumblr page. Enjoy.
> 
> Michelle & Laura

 

_Aubrey was in the shower when he heard the glass door open.  Turning around slowly, he saw a nude Jessica saunter in to join him, licking her lips as she admired his masculine form._

_“You know, Superman, as government employees, we really should conserve water.”, she purred, running her hands slowly down his wet skin.  “We need to set a good example…”_

_They came together under the water before she slowly backed the agent into the wall.  Her kisses then followed his treasure trail until she got on her knees.  Aubrey felt her take him into her mouth and he moaned loudly…_

**_*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*_ **

              “Dammit!”  Aubrey groaned as his phone rang early Saturday morning. “I don’t even get to sleep late so I can enjoy a good sex dream on my birthday....Aubrey…”

               Booth’s SUV was quickly making it’s way across the city.  “Hey, buddy, it’s Booth.  Listen, I hate to call you so early on the weekend, but I need a big favor…”

_Yeah, of course you do._ Rolling his eyes, Aubrey stretched as he sat up in his bed, uncomfortable from the bulge in his boxers.  “Sure...what’s up?”

              “I gotta go back to Richmond today and see that guy I interrogated last week.  I got a hot tip and I need to check it out with him as soon as possible.  Chamberlain can’t make it...he’s got baby duty while his wife is visiting her sick mom in Sheboygan.  You know the regs...I got to take a partner…and since you’re a special agent in charge, you don’t mind filling in for him, right?  After all, that’s why they pay you the big bucks...”

               “Yeah, sure.”  He thought back to his conversation with Daisy and Beau.  “I know...as a Special Agent in charge, my time is not my own.  No problem…”   

               “Great.  I’ll be there in fifteen minutes…Bye.”  Booth smiled as he ended the call.  The first step of Jessica’s plans for the surprise party had been set into motion. 

                Aubrey ended the call before sighing softly as he slumped against his headboard. _Shit...I do not want to spend my birthday riding around in the car all day working on a case...but I guess it goes with the territory, doesn’t it?_ Groaning softly, he reluctantly crawled out of bed for a quick shower and a bite to eat before Booth arrived.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Thirty minutes later, the Special Agents were on the road for the two hour drive to Richmond.  “So how are things going, Aubrey?  The house looks good…”

                “Thanks.  I got most of the boxes put in the rooms where they belong.  You know, it was great how everybody helped me move last weekend, and that made things a lot easier.  Jessica came over Thursday and helped me unpack some more things…”

                Booth smirked as he gave his friend a sidelong glance.  “Jessica, huh?  You two are doing better, I guess?”

               “Maybe.  I mean, things are going okay.”  Aubrey turned to look out the passenger window, hoping Booth would figure out he didn’t want to discuss that topic right now.

                However, the fact that Aubrey didn’t want to discuss things wasn’t going to stop Booth from poking around.  He grinned to himself as he continued his interrogation.  “So is she going to help you celebrate your birthday tonight?”

                “Nooo…”  Aubrey shook his head slowly.  “She has to go to her niece’s dance recital this evening, and there wasn’t any way for me to go with her…”

                “You get to skip the recital?  Man, she must be crazy about you.”  Booth snickered at Aubrey’s confusion.  “Trust me, I’ve been to enough of those damn things to know they are no fun.  You have to sit through what seems like hundreds of groups of little girls in feathers and frou frou so you can watch your kid dance around for five minutes, and if you’re lucky, you might get to see her from where you’re sitting.  Then, it’s hard to leave without being rude to the people who are sitting around you waiting to see their kid, so you have to sit through the whole damn show.  It sounds like you got the better end of that deal…”

                “Yeah...but it was weird, you know?  I mean, she didn’t tell me about the recital until earlier this week.  I mean, she knows when my birthday is, but she said she forgot it was this weekend.”  Aubrey sighed as he smoothed his tie, trying not to feel sorry for himself.  “I just hope she isn’t giving me the brush off.”

                “Why would she do that?”  Booth was clearly exasperated with his friend.  “I thought you guys finally talked everything out and were on the same page, and all that shit…”

                “We did talk.  We had a good, long talk a few weeks ago.  We both know that we have things to work on before we can be together, but I think she’s still skittish.  When I told her last week that the Mighty Hut would be a great place to raise a family, she freaked out a bit…”

                “Are you sure?  Or are you the one who freaked out a bit?”  Booth gave his friend a knowing look.  “I think maybe you’re still not sure what you want, either…”

                “I know I want Jessica in my life, Booth.  I never want to go back to a life without her.  But it may not be the right time…”

                “It’s never going to be exactly the right time.”  Booth pursed his lips as he checked his mirror, avoiding Aubrey’s look of surprise.  “Look, I know what I told you the morning after Daisy’s wedding.  You both still have a lot of growing up to do, but it seems like you’ve made some progress, especially if you’ve talked things through honestly.  Now you just have to get ready to take the leap…”

                “That’s the scary part…”,  Aubrey began as he stared out the front windshield.  “Waiting for both of us to take the leap together.”

                “You don’t have to leap together.  All you have to do is tell Jessica you’re all in on her...that you’ll wait until she’s ready to make the leap.”

                “I already told her that…”  Aubrey grimaced slightly.  “She said it was going to be a while…”

                “Okay, so she’s being honest with you, too.  That’s good.”  Booth nodded as he glanced at his friend.  “Now, tell her like you mean it.  Every day, without fail, whenever you see that girl, you tell her you love her, and you’re serious about her.  However, you also need to tell her that you’re not worried about things like getting married or having a family right now because all you want is her in your life and you’re willing to wait years if that’s what she wants.  Right now, she’s in control of how things go between you two.  Take the pressure off, and let her decide what she wants to do without being worried about you being in a hurry.  Let her know that you’re fine with whatever she wants.  That way, Jessica will know that you’re going to love her no matter what.  I have a feeling you’ll like what she decides.”

                The agents rode in silence for several minutes as Aubrey thought through what Booth had said.  He knew Booth had used the same tactics on Brennan when they’d first made the effort to be a couple, and they were happy now.  All Aubrey really wanted was for Jessica to be happy, and he was willing to do what it took to achieve that goal.  

                “Thanks, Booth…I really appreciate the advice...”

                 Booth waved off his passenger’s speech impatiently.  “Just shut up about that shit, okay?  Let’s talk about this case.  Chamberlain says he thinks this guy we’re going to see is the ringleader, but the guy’s as dumb as a box of rocks.  I’m surprised the asshole can dress himself…” 

**Oooooooooo**  

                 It was 3:45 PM as Booth and Aubrey got in the SUV for the return trip to DC.  “I’m sorry this took all day, Aubrey.  The sheriff’s department was supposed to have that clown in the can for us when we got there.  I didn’t think we’d have to drive out to the other side of the world to pick him up ourselves and then bring him back to town.  I guess it was kind of a wild goose chase, wasn’t it?”

                “No big deal, Booth.  It’s not like I had plans for the day anyway.”  Aubrey sighed as he checked his phone once again for messages.  Clearly disappointed at having none, he threw his phone on the SUV’s console.  “We did have a good lunch…”

                “Yeah, that little cafe was pretty good, although I wasn’t sure you liked the onion rings.  You only ate two orders of them…”  Booth chuckled as he tapped on the steering wheel.  “So what do you think about that bastard?  Pretty stupid, right?”

                “He may be stupid, but I’m pretty sure he gave up the guy who did the deed.  You guys will have to check out the alibis, but…”

                “I know how to do my job, Aubrey”, Booth groused.  “Don’t forget who taught you everything you know.”

                “Like Hell you did...I was already on my way to becoming Special Agent in Charge without your help…that’s why they offered me the job in Los Angeles.”  Aubrey grinned at Booth’s teasing.  “I did appreciate the good word you put in for me with Deputy Director Stark...you know,  about offering me Halko’s position when the guy decided to retire…”

                 “No problem. After all, it was no big deal.  I just didn’t want to have to break in anyone new.”  Booth laughed at Aubrey’s irritation. “Hey, don’t forget to put in for your comp time okay?  Maybe you and Jessica can take a day off together…”

                 Nodding to himself, Aubrey considered what Booth said.  A day off with Jessica would be so nice...hopefully some place without a murder case or an annoying profiler to disturb them as they did some of the naughty things he ached to do with his favorite redhead.  He missed her addictive moans whenever he touched her...and the way she felt when they came together.

                “Sounds like a plan….” 

**Oooooooooo**  

                Fussing with the last of the party preparations, Jessica anxiously glanced around the family room of Aubrey’s house.  She knew it was silly to feel so nervous about the party, since he’d be happy with things no matter how they turned out, but she wanted everything to be perfect.  The barbecue had been delivered, and the drinks were chilling in the refrigerator. The kitchen island had been cleared for the side dishes people were bringing, and the cake was ready.  Skinner, usually skittish around large groups of people, was upstairs where he would remain for the night.  After one last glance around the room, Jessica dashed upstairs to change her clothes and put on her make up.   

               Unable to resist the thought of freshening up a bit, Jessica giggled as she turned on the water in the luxurious shower.  A quick dip would be refreshing after all the work she’d put in arranging chairs and setting out the tableware.  She hummed a little tune as she imagined the day she could share this very shower with her lover… 

               She quickly dried her hair, deciding to wear it loosely over her shoulders.  After applying her makeup, she took a jade green dress off its hanger and slipped it on, admiring her reflection in the mirror.  “I really didn’t need a new dress…”, she said to herself,  “...but I really liked this color, and I bet Superman will, too.  It’s perfect for his birthday party.”  Her fingers skimmed the hem as she turned to look over her shoulder at the back of the dress.  “I know he’ll like the length.”   

               Suddenly, the doorbell rang.  Gasping as she noticed the time, Jessica grabbed her shoes and raced downstairs.  Dr. Brennan had planned to be at the house about five o’clock to help with the final touches on the party before the rest of the guests arrived around 5:30.   

               Seeing her mentor on the small monitor by the door, Jessica squeezed her eyes shut and puffed out a big sigh.  “Here goes nothing….”

**Oooooooooo**

               Karen arrived at 1103 Warrington Way in a slinky black dress and her special hot pink panties, ready to help Aubrey celebrate his birthday privately.  In her purse was the box of condoms she had been carrying for the last six weeks in preparation for when she finally got a lonely Aubrey into bed.  In her arms was a small blue gift bag, a bottle of wine, and another batch of the improved asparagus tortilla tart like the one she’d made for him last week.

               “That little twit just screwed herself when she chose some stupid dance recital over Aubrey’s birthday.  With this birthday dinner and my sexy panties, I’ll make sure he has a wonderful birthday.  He’ll know who cares about him and he’ll forget that cocky little bitch in no time.”

               After juggling her packages, she rang the doorbell and waited with a smile, but she got a shock when she saw who answered the door.  “Um, hello?”

               Billy Gibbons looked at the woman in front of him and grinned pleasantly.  “Can I help you, ma’am?”

               “I hope so.  My name is Karen Delfs.  I’m looking for James Aubrey...”

               Billy chuckled as he realized who his visitor was.  “I’m sorry, Honey, but there’s nobody named James Aubrey here.  This house belongs to my daughter and son-in-law.  Maybe you know them….Angie and Jack?”

               “But Aubrey has to be here! ”  Karen groaned in frustration at Mrs. Hall’s mistake.  “His former landlady said that this was his forwarding address…” 

               “Well, I’m sorry, ma’am, but there’s no one here by that name.”  Billy said.   

               “This is Dr. Hodgins’ house?” Karen glanced at the side of the porch and saw a wheelchair ramp leading up to the front door.  “Wait a minute...are you friends with Jessica Warren?  Did she send you out here to answer the door so I can’t be with Aubrey on his birthday?”  Karen’s voice rose in anger as she stamped her foot.  “That selfish See You Next Tuesday...I want to see James right now!” 

               “Hey...that’s enough, Ms...Delfs.  Now I don’t know this Jessica you’re referring to, but no one with the name of James Aubrey is here.  This house belongs to my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson.”, Billy said, as straight faced as he could.  “Now if you’ll excuse me…I have plans with some friends this evenin’...”

               Thoroughly humiliated, Karen held her smile in place until her face hurt.  “Yes, as do I.  I’m sorry I bothered you. Thank you.”

               Karen stormed off as Billy closed the door and laughed out loud.  “My baby girl was right. That one’s got a touch of the crazy.”

               When the profiler got into her car, she thought for a minute before smiling to herself.  Getting her phone, she dialed a number.  “Hi, can you connect me to Charlie Burns, please?  He’s the SAC in International Operations…thank you.” 

**Oooooooooo**

               There was a minor traffic accident between Richmond and DC, so the trip home took slightly longer than it normally would.  When they got the Cleveland Park area, Booth called Brennan to give her the prearranged signal. 

               “Hey Bones, I’m almost to Aubrey’s house to drop him off, so I’ll be home soon.  What’s on the menu for dinner tonight?  Really?  That’s great...one of my favorites!   Okay...see you soon.  Yeah, I love you, too.  Bye.” 

                After a few seconds of trying to be cool, Aubrey’s curiosity finally got the best of him.  “So what’s for dinner tonight?” 

                Booth chuckled slightly, trying to hide his grin as he teased his friend a bit.  “Barbecue for me and the kids, and vegetable lasagna for her...probably a green salad and other sides.  For a vegetarian, she really makes good baby back ribs.” 

                Aubrey’s mouth was watering as he listened to his friend describe dinner.  More than anything, he wanted to join them,  but it would be rude to invite himself.  He waited patiently as Booth waxed poetic about Brennan’s potato salad and coleslaw,  but the invitation didn’t come.  Deciding he wouldn’t feel sorry for himself about being alone, he made plans to order himself a special double meat lover’s pizza with extra garlic drizzle for his birthday dinner before settling in for the evening with a six pack, some old movies and Skinner.  It wouldn’t be the first birthday he’d spend alone….but hopefully, it’d be the last. 

               Booth pulled the SUV into the driveway up to the gate of the darkened house a few minutes after six o’clock and turned it off.  

               “Hey, mind if I use the facilities?  It’s been a long drive…”

               “Sure...come on in.  I mean, technically, it is your house…”  Aubrey smiled as the motion sensor lights came on.  “I really like those lights and the video doorbell.  I feel a lot safer here.”  Finding his key, he unlocked the door and pushed it open.  “Make yourself at home…”

                Aubrey followed Booth in, coming to a halt in the middle of the family room as the lights in the house blazed to life.  

               “SURPRISE!”  There were at least twenty people surrounding him, cheering and throwing confetti.

               “HOLY SHIT!”  He stood gaping at his guests as he tried to process what had happened.  “Wait…”  He looked around at the people who were laughing and talking.  “Where is she?  Jessica?  Where are you, you ornery little devil?”

               “Who, me?”,  she laughed as she ran to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  “I guess we really did surprise you, didn’t we?”

               “Yeah, you really did.  This explains a lot of the weirdness that’s been happening over the last week.”  With an arm around Jessica’s waist, Aubrey chuckled as he pretended to glare at Booth. “You were in on it the whole time, weren’t you?”

               “Maybe, but we got some work done, so you can still put in for comp time.”  Booth grinned at Jessica.  “Hey, where’s my beer?  I need to get out of this suit, so I’m gonna go change.  Bones brought me some extra clothes.”

               Jessica  handed a bottle to Booth and one to Aubrey before taking his hand.  “Come look at this spread…”

               Platters of baby back ribs, brisket, chicken breasts and leg quarters, and pulled pork had been placed on the kitchen’s island, in addition to a large pan of vegetable lasagna.  There were salads of every description, and another large platter filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.

              “And look at this cake!”  Aubrey exclaimed.  The greeting _‘Happy Birthday, James’_ had been piped on the white frosting with orange icing.  “Wow, Jess...this is great.  Half chocolate, and half white, right…and Syracuse colors…”

               Jessica, who was beaming with pleasure as she saw the agent enjoying his birthday cake, shook her head as she winked at him.  “No, silly...Halloween…”

              “Aw, c’mon….”  He knew she was teasing him, and he smiled, twitching an eyebrow at her.  “Ready to light my fire?”

              “What?.”  Startled by his suggestion, Jessica blushed, remembering _‘the incident’_ in Aubrey’s kitchen.  “Oh, you mean the candles on the cake…” 

              “Maybe...or maybe not.”, Aubrey replied with a naughty smirk, enjoying his girlfriend’s blush.  “Maybe you can find out later.” 

              Clearing her throat, Jessica turned away from him.  “Why don’t you go change so we can eat…” 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

              Quickly changing into jeans and Jessica’s favorite dark blue shirt, Aubrey quickly returned to his party guests.  After he filled two plates with monstrous amounts of food,  his friends filled their own plates and began to enjoy their meal.  There was so much happy chatter that nobody heard the doorbell ring until the third try.  

              “I’ll get it.”  Beau lumbered toward the entry and checked out the video monitor.  “Huh…I don’t think I know her...”

              “Who is it?”  Daisy came up next to him, groaning as she saw who it was.  “Oh, Honey, you know who that is.  Remember, at our reception you wondered why she was there in a clown costume?”

              Beau scratched his head as he thought about the wedding. “Oh, yeah...she was wearing that pink dress with all the plastic crap glued to it, right?”

              “Yes.”  Daisy cringed as she turned to announce who was at the door.  “I think we have a party crasher…it’s Karen…”

              “Leave her outside”, Angela snarled, ignoring her husband’s snickers.  “I’m pregnant, and it’s not a good idea to make a pregnant woman angry.  I might throw something at her…”

              “Aw, that’s not nice.”  Aubrey rose from his seat and moved toward the door.  “We can’t just leave her standing out in the cold…”  He opened the door and waved.  “Hey, Karen...come on in.”

              “Oh, um...thanks.”  Karen was almost as surprised as Aubrey had been when she saw all the party guests.  “I thought you were going to be alone this evening…”  

               Uncomfortable that she knew that, Aubrey tried to shrug it off.   “Yeah, well, I thought I’d be alone, too, but Jessica and my friends arranged a surprise party for me.  Nice, huh?”  

               “Yeah, sure...I guess so...”, she muttered in annoyance before haphazardly putting the blue bag with the pile of gifts on the fireplace.  Offering him a sultry smile, she handed him a casserole dish before smoothing her form fitting black dress.  “I made you another asparagus and cheese tortilla tart.  Like the first one, I used soy cheese instead of regular cheese because it’s healthier.  It’s never too early to begin watching your cholesterol.”

              “Asparagus tart…with soy cheese?  That’s nice...thank you.”, he said politely, remembering that his mother had raised him to be a gentleman.  “But you really didn’t need to go to all that trouble…”

               “Oh, and here’s a bottle of a nice red that should go well with the tart.”  Karen showed Aubrey the bottle of _Ménage A Trois_ Cabernet Sauvignon.  “Isn’t that a great title for a wine?”

               “Yeah. Great…”,  Aubrey tried to offer up a sincere smile, but without much success.  “Maybe we can have it with the barbecue.”

                Ignoring the rancid smell coming from the casserole dish, he took it and the Cabernet toward the kitchen.  After setting the casserole dish on the center island with the other food and the wine with the other bottles set out for guests, he pointed out the buffet.  

               “Help yourself to some food, Karen.  There’s plenty.  Plates, napkins, and silverware are on the end there, next to the meat.  There’s wine on the counter and beer in the fridge, along with pop and bottled water if you don’t want to drink alcohol. Glasses are on the counter.”  Curious, he gave her a sidelong glance.   “So how did you…” 

               “Find out where you live?”  Karen asked brightly. “Well, I showed up at the address Mrs. Hall gave me and was greeted by someone who was obviously not you.  That sweet old woman must be getting forgetful.  Anyway, I then remembered hearing Booth say something the other day about you living in the _‘Mighty Hut’_ , which is such a cute name for a home, by the way.  So, I called Charlie Burns and he gave me the address.  I just plugged it into my Garmin and here I am…” 

               “Yeah...here you are…”  Aubrey took a drink of his beer to hide his grimace.  “That’s...nice.” 

                Karen gave him a flirty smile.   “My invitation must have been lost in the mail when Booth planned this shindig…” 

                “Um...no, I don’t think so.  Actually, Booth had nothing to do with this deal.  Jessica planned the party all by herself, Karen.” 

                “Well, then, now we know how my invitation was lost.”  Karen flashed a fake smile.  “Anyway, I’m so sorry I was late for the party.  I hope the asparagus tart isn’t too cold.  I guess it can always be reheated in the microwave...”

                Angela moved to sit next to Jessica, watching warily as Karen chatted with the birthday boy.  “Are you okay with this latest development, Sweetie?  Because I seriously can kick her ass out of here for you if you want.  I can use my pregnancy hormones as an excuse...”

               “I’m fine.  That’s just Aubrey, you know?  He may be a tough FBI guy, but he’s tenderhearted, too.  He doesn’t like to exclude anyone.”  Jessica grinned as Aubrey caught her eye and winked at her.  “He felt sorry for Karen, and he didn’t want to embarrass her.  He’s so thoughtful.  I think that’s sweet.”

               “Yeah, it’s sweet as long as she knows what the boundaries are...like keeping her hands off the special agent’s assets, right?”  Angela watched as Karen continued to try to flirt with Aubrey, much to his obvious discomfort.  “Are you positive?”

               Smiling as the man in question came back to sit by her, Jessica nodded.  “I’m positive.” 

               Aubrey grinned when he saw Angela and Jessica on opposite ends of his spot on the couch.  “Okay…it looks like I found a great spot to spend my birthday….on a sofa between two beautiful women.  What more could a man ask for?”

                Jessica rolled her eyes at his teasing.  “Don’t be a pig, Aubrey.”   

                After filling her plate a second time, Karen saw an open spot on the couch next to the guest of honor.  Heading straight for it, she was stymied when Christine cut her off and shyly walked over to Aubrey and his anthropologist.   

               “Jessica, can I sit next to Uncle Aubrey now?”

               “Of course you can, Christine.  There’s plenty of room.”   

                Seeing Karen’s annoyance, Jessica winked at Aubrey, trying not to chuckle at the obvious irritation of the profiler as she went to down in a chair next to Genny and Danny.  They moved over to make enough room  for Christine to happily squeeze in next to one of her favorite people.  When the little girl was set, Jessica turned to the guests.   

                “Okay, everyone, it’s time for Aubrey to open his gifts.  First up…”  

                 The redhead got up and went to the back door.  Making a sweeping motion with her arm, she turned on the porch light.  “...a new propane grill from Booth and Dr. B, installed and ready to use.”

                “No way…”  Aubrey grinned from ear to ear as he walked out to check out his shiny new toy.  “God, it’s beautiful…”  He lifted the lid to look inside.  “...a smoker, multiple grill levels, heat controls...I can’t believe this…”

                 Brennan held up some index cards for Aubrey.  “Here are some recipes for grilling vegetables…”

                 “No vegetables on that grill, Bones!”, Booth growled. “It’s only for meat.  Aubrey’s a carnivore…”  

                 “Here, open this one…”  Angela held out a package as the guest of honor came back inside.  

                 Quickly tearing off the paper, Aubrey laughed happily as he held up a painting for his guests to see.  “ _Sunset on Tatooine._  Very nice, Angela.  I’m going to hang this in my Star Wars room.”

                 Picking up another package, Aubrey grinned as he inspected it.  “Now, what do we have here?  From Jessica…”  

                 He unwrapped what was obviously a vinyl record album and laughed out loud.  “ _Bob Dylan...Nashville Skyline._ This is one of my favorites!  How did you find this?" 

                 “One of Aaron’s patients knew a person who knew a dealer and got me a great deal on it.  Do you like it?” 

                 “I love it! Hey, thanks, Darlin’...”  He smiled with pleasure as she batted her eyelashes at him.  Realizing he’d let an endearment slip, he hurriedly opened the next package, which was from Beau and Daisy. “Cool. A barbecue cookbook and a fish grilling basket.…”  He held up gifts for everyone to see.  “If anyone knows how to barbecue, it’s Beau, right?”

                 Beau shrugged as he put his arm around Daisy.  “I don’t cook barbecue.  I just eat it.”

                 “Oh.”  Hoping to let an awkward moment pass unnoticed, Aubrey gently elbowed Jessica and pointed to a square cardboard box.  “Hey, hand me that package over there...from Cam, Arastoo, and the boys.  What do we have here?  Oh, wow...this is great!”  

                 Aubrey held up some bottles.  “Look at this...an Alabama Crimson Tide Barbecue Sauce Gift Set…Montgomery Mop Sauce...Big Bob Gibson’s Alabama White Barbecue sauce...hey, thanks a lot, you two.  I can’t wait to use this stuff.”

                “Here, Uncle Aubrey.  Open this one.”  Christine held out a pink gift bag.  “I made it for you at school.”  

                 “Well, what’s in here?  Is it candy? I know...gummy bears, right?”  He laughed as Christine shook her head.  “Oh, look.  A new pencil cup.”

                 A Styrofoam coffee cup had been covered with mountains of glitter and sequins, and Aubrey’s name was colored in with orange marker.  “It’s beautiful. Thanks, Christine.  I’ll put it on my desk Monday morning.”

                “This one’s from me.”  Michael-Vincent said as he held out a square, tissue wrapped object.  “I hope you like it.”

                 “I’m sure I will.”  Pulling away the tissue, he found a small wooden picture frame that had been decorated with stray jigsaw puzzle pieces that were scattered randomly around it.  “Very nice.  I think I’ll put a picture of Ms. Warren in it.  She often says things that puzzle me.”

                 “James Aubrey!”  She playfully slapped at his arm.  “That’s not true…”

                 The agent laughed as he picked up a small blue bag to open next.  Pulling out the tissue, he partially unwrapped the item before hurriedly jamming it back in the bag.  “Here, hand me that box…”

                “Nope, that’s not how we play the game.” Hodgins said smiling.  “You’ve got to show us what it is.”

                 “I don’t think that’s necessary…”  Aubrey shrugged as he tried to pick out another package, but his raucous guests wouldn’t hear of it.  

                 “C’mon, Aubrey.  It can’t be that bad.  Gag gifts are part of the deal…”, Booth chuckled.

                  Aubrey sighed as he slowly pulled the tissue away from the object and pulled it out for everyone to see.  Suddenly, a hush fell over the guests as everyone looked around to see who might have brought Aubrey the unusual gift.  Seeing Karen trying to hide a guilty grin, Angela caught Jessica’s eye and tacitly gestured in the profiler’s direction.  The redhead’s eyes widened as she understood what was going on.

                  Christine tilted her head she stared at the gift.  “What is that thing, Uncle Aubrey?  A slingshot?”

                   It was a man’s G string with the cup section proudly emblazoned with the Chicago Cubs logo.  Aubrey shook his head in disgust.  

                  “No, Honey, it’s not a slingshot.  It’s more like underwear, okay?  Let’s just wrap that back up. We don’t need to see that right now.”  Aubrey looked for a name tag, but finding none, he haphazardly shoved the bag under the couch and reached for the next box.  “This is from Wendell and Andie…” 

                   Everyone chuckled as he revealed his gifts...a Dark Side Grilling mitt and lightsaber grill fork set along with a Darth Vader bottle opener that breathed like him and played his theme when in use.  “You guys...these are so cool.”

                   “We knew what Booth was getting you.”, Wendell said with a snicker.  “It seemed very apropos.” 

                   Aubrey saw there was one more box and picked it up.  “This is also from Jessica…”

                  “I hope you like it.”  Jessica was almost beside herself with excitement as Aubrey ripped the paper.  “I’ve had it for weeks…”

                  “Wow!  A Darth Vader car charger! This is great!  Did you get this at the convention?  How did you buy it without me knowing about it?  But it’s too expensive…”  Aubrey’s eyebrows knit as he remembered the price.  “I didn’t want you to spend that much money on me…”

                   Karen interrupted with a question. “What convention was that, Aubrey?  Was it for Special Agents?”.

                   “Yeah, I guess you might say that, Karen.  Jess and I ran into each other there while you were in Seattle.”  Aubrey smiled as he turned back to Jessica.  “Now tell me how you managed to get this home without me seeing it.”

                   “I took a little side trip on my way to the ladies’ room while you saved us seats in the auditorium.  I got a much better price on it when I pulled up a picture of one on eBay that was marked five dollars.  The vendor gave me a massive FBI agent discount, and she also shipped it to my apartment.”  

                   “Let me see that thing.”  Booth looked over the box carefully.  “Are you really planning on using this gadget in your SUV while you’re working?  I’m not sure the Bureau will approve…”

                   Grinning as he picked it up to inspected more closely, he winked at his friend.  “Well, what they don’t know won’t hurt them.  Of course I’m going to use it, especially since it came from Jessica.” 

                   After Aubrey had opened his gifts from Clark, Genny, and the rest of his guests, Jessica clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.  “Who wants cake?” 

                   There were cheers and laughter as everyone headed to the kitchen.  As Jessica moved to get up, Aubrey stopped her.  Reaching over to pat her knee, he flashed a dimpled smile at her. “Thanks, Jess...thanks for my great gifts and for planning my surprise party.”

                    Jessica looked into his eyes and felt her heart rate accelerate.  “You’re welcome.  I’m glad you’re having fun.”   

                   “Yeah, I am.”  His voice dropped to a husky whisper, inhaling deeply to keep his courage up.  “Jessica...I love my gifts.   I love how you picked them out just for me...that you knew just what I’d want.  I...I love...you…”

                   “I love you, too.”  For Jessica, the words just came out as the passion in his voice took her breath away.  Her heart was pounding so hard she just knew everybody in the house could hear it and the way Aubrey was watching her didn’t make it any easier for her to stay calm. 

                   Taking his hand, she gestured for him to get up.  “Come on, Birthday Boy...time for some cake.” 

**Oooooooooo**

                   After everyone sang _“Happy Birthday”_ , Aubrey blew out the candles and cut the first piece of cake.  Brennan helped Jessica dish up ice cream for everybody, and soon the guests were enjoying their dessert.  The kids adjourned to the man cave to watch a movie as the adults sat in the living room.  Seeing that everyone was happily occupied, Aubrey grabbed Jessica’s hand and pulled her into the dining room for a private chat.

                   “Hey, did you get me that G string?  Because that’s not the sort of thing to give me in public.  That’s more for just the two of us, alright?  I was really embarrassed.”

                   “Of course I didn’t get that for you.  I wouldn’t give you something like that in front of everyone else, although I do think it would be interesting to see you modeling it.”  She gave him a naughty grin as he rolled his eyes at her.  “Angela seems to think it was Karen…”

                   “Really?  Jesus...”  He puffed out a sigh as he shook his head.  “I’m so sorry, Jessica.  I mean, she’s just crazy, you know?  She has no sense of professional boundaries.  I’ve tried just about everything I can think of to get her to back off, but she just won’t listen.”

                   “It’s not your fault she got that gift for you.  It’s not like you’re encouraging her, right?  No more dinners together?”

                   “None.  It’s all been strictly professional on my part.”  Aubrey smiled as he gave Jessica a kiss on her forehead.  “I’d much rather encourage other relationships…”

                   “You’re so sweet, Superman…”

                    They walked back into the family room in time to hear a lively discussion between Karen and Brennan.

                    “But those things were old and used…” Karen began.  “I’d think she’d care enough to avoid buying second hand items for him.  I mean, it’s his birthday party, not some white elephant gift exchange.”

                     Brennan narrowed her eyes at the profiler, choosing her words carefully.  “Perhaps you are not aware of the trend toward buying vintage items, Dr. Delfs.  For example, Booth has quite an extensive collection of vintage sports equipment, including a hockey puck signed by one of my husband’s favorite players.   It was my gift to him as we celebrated our wedding anniversary last night.” 

                     “Your husband loved his gifts very much, Bones...all of them...”,  Booth winked at his wife, grinning happily. “They were perfect.  You always know just what I want.” 

                     “Thank you, Booth.”  Brennan smiled sweetly at him before turning her focus toward the irritant in front of her.  “In regards to Aubrey, Dr. Delfs, he has quite an extensive _Star Wars_ collection, as evidenced by one of the upstairs rooms of his residence being devoted to that sort of memorabilia.  He also has a large collection of vinyl albums sitting behind you next to his turntable.  I believe Ms. Warren’s choice of gifts would seem to indicate that she understands what he likes, therefore reinforcing her personal connection with him.”

                     “James and I have a personal connection as well, Dr. Brennan.”  Karen pouted slightly.  “We happen to be very close friends.”

                     “You bought him the Cubs undergarment, didn’t you?”  Seeing Karen nod, Brennan continued without missing a beat.  “Unfortunately, the birthday gift you chose for Aubrey shows me that you don’t know him well at all.  Aubrey is somewhat reserved, and he likes to maintain a certain sense of personal decorum, even when he’s among close friends.  Considering your professional relationship with him, it was extremely inappropriate for you to bring that sort of object to this type of party, and it was obvious that he was extremely uncomfortable with the awkwardness of the situation. There are also children at this party, Dr. Delfs, and they do not need to be exposed that sort of undergarment.  Perhaps you should’ve used more discretion in your choice of gift.”

                     “Well, I know for certain James likes the Cubs.”  Karen shrugged as she adjusted her glasses. “I wouldn’t know that unless I had a good relationship with him...” 

                     “Karen, everyone in Major Crimes, and probably in the entire DC field office, knows how much Aubrey likes the Cubs.”, Genny chimed in, rolling her eyes as she stood by the fireplace holding her beer.  “He has Cubs memorabilia all over his office walls at the Hoover.” 

                     Unable to ignore the chuckles of everyone in the living room, Karen squared her shoulders and and continued with what she thought was a zinger.  “Anyway, kids shouldn’t be at an adult party.  I’m sure that you and the rest of the guests here have more than enough money to spring for a babysitter, Dr. Brennan.  It isn’t fair to hijack Aubrey’s birthday party by bringing children just because you feel everyone enjoys being around your rugrats.” 

                   “Wow…”,  Arastoo grimaced in mock horror as he turned to his wife.  “Cam, I guess we’ll need to keep Tyler, Jordan, and Isaiah locked in the car next time we come over.” 

                   “If we must, we must.”, Cam giggled as she rolled her eyes at her husband.  “We all know what hellions they are, right?” 

                   Andie turned in shock to her boyfriend as Wendell snickered quietly.  “Babe, that’s not funny.  Karen’s being a real bitch.” 

                   He subtly pointed to Brennan, who was straightening her shoulders as she glared at the profiler with undisguised disdain.  “She’s giving Karen the _‘you’re such a dumb asshole’_ look.  Dr. B is going to take care of it…” 

                   As the laughter tapered off, Brennan crossed her arms and coldly stared at the profiler.  

                  “It seems you are mistaken, Dr. Delfs.  Contrary to your rather unique opinion, the children at this party were invited guests, unlike a certain late arriving individual who is now present at this party.”, Brennan countered primly, to much laughter and Hodgins low fiving a very proud Booth.

                   Karen was seething at her inability to shame Brennan, and decided to try another tactic.  Smoothing the skirt of her dress, she nodded in Jessica’s direction before commenting in a sarcastic tone.  “You know, I’m really surprised that Jessica _forgot_ to invite me tonight since she knows James and I are so close.”  

                  “Actually, I’m not sure Jessica did forget.”  Angela had heard enough of Karen’s stupidity, deciding it was time to be honest, even if it hurt the profiler’s feelings.  “Perhaps she was concerned that you’d embarrass Aubrey at his own birthday party, which is exactly what happened, isn’t it?  A G-string is not the kind of gift to give a guy when you’re in a professional or a platonic relationship with him…”

                   “I’m really tired of pointing out to all of you that we have a more personal relationship…”, Karen began, but seeing Aubrey’s obvious annoyance with her comments, she quickly changed the subject.  “The house looks great, James.  You’ve really accomplished a lot in a very short time.”

                   “Um...thanks.”  Aubrey winked at his girlfriend, putting his arm around her before continuing to make his next point.  “Jessica’s been a huge help.  I couldn’t have done it without her...” 

                   “Oh…”  Karen shifted uncomfortably in her chair.  “Good for you.  Well, if you need more help, you can call me.”

                   “I’ll remember that.”  Aubrey nodded and turned away, making a silly face at Jessica.  He leaned closer, speaking quietly.  “I don’t think I’ll ever need that much help.”

                    Jessica giggled as she took his hand in hers.  “I hope not.”

**Ooooooooooooooooooo**

                    It was getting late, and people began heading home for the evening.  Aubrey couldn’t wait anymore, so he pulled out his new album.  After putting the needle down, _‘Girl from the North Country’_ started to play.  In between saying goodbye to their guests, he and Jessica began collecting Aubrey’s presents and discussing where they would go...except one.

                   Miffed at seeing that her gift was being ignored after it had been shoved under the couch, Karen picked it up, putting the small blue bag in her purse.  She stewed quietly as she realized that, thanks to the obnoxious redhead working in the kitchen, her plans for a romantic evening with Aubrey were blown.   _‘Damn bitch snubbed me on purpose.  She deliberately left me off the guest list!’_  

                   Seeing another opportunity to force herself back into the spotlight, Karen came bouncing into the kitchen as Jessica was bagging up some trash.  “What can I do to help?”

                   “I have things under control, Karen, but thanks.”, Jessica said politely as she scraped some plates into another trash bag.  

                   “But just look at this mess.”  Karen said, still irritated with the idea that Jessica had taken charge of planning Aubrey’s surprise party.  “You don’t want to get stuff all over that little green dress, do you?  It’s so adorable on a tiny little girl like you.  It almost makes you look like an elf or something…” 

                    Jessica knew what Karen’s game was, but chose to ignore her.  “It’s okay, really…” 

                    “I insist...after all, you didn’t ask me for any help in planning this event, Jessica, and I’m sure you’re exhausted and want to go home.  I’m sure Aubrey wouldn’t mind my help tonight.  That’s what friends do, you know…”

                   Hoping to avoid a scene, Aubrey cleared his throat.  “Thanks for the offer, Karen.  We really appreciate it, but we’re almost finished here, so there’s no reason for you to put yourself to all that trouble.  I’ll see you at work Monday, okay?”

                   “Okay.  I hope you liked your gift, James.”  Karen gushed as she handed Aubrey the gift bag again.  “I picked it out just for you.”

                    Blushing furiously, Aubrey bit his lip as he set the bag aside. “Yeah, um...we’ll talk about it on Monday.” 

                    “I can’t wait…”, Karen replied with a flirtatious smile.

                    “Karen…”, an irritated Angela began as she entered the kitchen.  “We need you to move your car.  It’s blocking the driveway, and I need to pull mine in to collect Hodgins…”

                    “But I’m helping them clean up.”  Karen paused as she pulled back the foil covering her casserole.  “I guess no one knew this asparagus tortilla tart was here.  I’ll just leave this for you to snack on, Aubrey.”

                     Cringing, he shook his head.  “Thanks, but that’s really not necessary.  Anyway, there isn’t much more room in the fridge, what with the leftover meat and all…”

                     “Karen...now.”  Angela glared angrily at the profiler.  “I’m pregnant, I’m tired, it’s past Michael Vincent’s bedtime, and I want to go home.  Now.”

                     Sighing heavily, Karen picked up her purse, her almost full bottle of wine, and her untouched casserole before leaving the kitchen in a huff.  “Oh, all right.  See you later, James.”

                     Waiting until Karen, Angela, and Hodgins left,  Aubrey sighed as he slumped against the refrigerator.  “I thought she’d never leave.  Thank God she took that smelly asparagus...shit.  I really did not want that nasty stuff in my fridge.  The first one she gave me make the 4th floor break room reek for hours, even after I dumped coffee grounds on it and tied off the trash.”   

                     Jessica began bagging up the cans and bottles for recycling.  “I overheard Dr. B call her asparagus tart thing, _‘an abomination of vegetarian cuisine.’_  

                     Aubrey laughed at his girlfriend’s comments.  “That it is.”   

                     Booth and Brennan came out of the man cave holding their sleepy children.  “Good night Aubrey.”, Booth whispered.  “See you Monday.” 

                     “Night, Booth.  Night, Dr. B.  Thanks for everything.”, Aubrey said in a low voice. 

                     “Happy birthday, Aubrey.  I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.”  Brennan said, shifting Hank from one hip to another.  “It was a wonderful party, Ms. Warren.  Congratulations on it’s success.  Good night.” 

                     After they left, the house was finally quiet except for the music of Bob Dylan as Jessica began to put the leftovers away.  “It looks like you still have enough food to last you a day or two.” she said, smiling as she covered a large tray of ribs with some foil.

                    “I don’t expect you to clean up after planning this whole party…”, Aubrey began as he stole a rib from the tray.  “I know it was a lot of work...and with all that meat, it must’ve been really expensive to throw this bash for me.”

                     “Not really.  Daisy asked Beau’s dad to give me a good discount on the barbecue, so it didn’t cost that much.”  She shrugged as she stacked some plates in the sink.  “And I don’t mind cleaning up.  It’s part of the deal.  So you really liked it?  The surprise?”  Jessica reached up and wiped a bit of sauce from his lip as he nodded happily.  “I’m glad.”

                    He felt his body responding to her gentle touch.  “Yeah, I loved it.  Thanks again.”  He puffed out a sigh as he turned to collect more dirty dishes from the living room, hoping that there might be another surprise in store for him this evening.   

                    That would be the icing on the birthday cake…..  



	20. The Gift That Keeps on Giving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So we continue with Aubrey's birthday. Will he have a good one? Read and find out.
> 
> PS: NSFW Reading. Find a quiet closet somewhere to enjoy. Definite 'M'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watch for some L & C goodies for this chapter on my tumblr page (mphs95) or the link on my Twitter (@mphs95) or Laura's (@lauraopper).

             Aubrey and Jessica worked in tandem as they cleaned up the house.  For the agent, today had started out as one of the worst days of his life, and it was now one of the best he’d ever had.  His smile grew wider as he heard Jessica humming along to his new Bob Dylan album as it played on his turntable. 

             He knew that physically, he was ready to with her.  Two weeks ago in the bedroom…last Thursday at the Mall…Saturday after everyone left…Monday’s attempt at spaghetti…they weren’t the right time. 

            But tonight it looked like the timing was going to be perfect, because it had the right mood…and the right woman. 

            Only to Jessica had he confided about the birthdays in the past that he had spent alone, including the first one after his mother died.  While he was a dork and thought she had forgotten, she had actually gotten everyone who made up their own special family together to honor him.   

            The girl was swamped almost every day between working at the lab and Dr. B, her dissertation, and helping him get his house together.  However, she still carved out time to plan a surprise birthday party just for him because he never had one.  All that hard work and time to make today special…for her best friend.   

             Then the truth hit him.  It wasn’t just his body that was ready for her…not even just his head…but his heart was ready as well.  Not only did he want to make love, but he was ready to try again as her boyfriend...and partner in life. 

             Looking up, Aubrey watched as the lithe redhead gently swayed to the music while she cleaned the kitchen.  Jessica Warren was goofy, and stubborn, but also beautiful inside and out.  As he was now realized, the lovely woman in his kitchen was truly the love of his life.  His mother always said she would come when he least expected it. 

            As the realization of all that hit him, he got a little dizzy as he thought of all the risks and complications.  Yes, he was still scared of failure, but he’d learned valuable lessons the first time around.  He knew that they both got spooked by what had happened before and they didn’t want to repeat history. 

            He had faith though that he and Jessica would make it this time…as long as they trusted their friendship. 

            But was she ready? 

            It seemed like she was there, too.  After all, she threw him a birthday party that took a lot of planning.  She also was a willing participant in their recent make out sessions.  Tonight, she blew off Karen when the profiler was trying to cause a scene.  On top of all that, she gave him a special treat by wearing a very sexy dress that just begged to be lifted up to give his lips quick access to explore her hidden treasures underneath. 

            Most of all, she said _‘I love you.’_...to him.  She said the three words he had waiting to hear.  That was a birthday gift he would always treasure. 

            However, he still wasn’t 100% sure she was ready for that next step.  There was a difference between best friends working on the goal of being more to saying those three words and to finally getting there.  Making love was a big step and they were still vulnerable to failure, but as far as he was concerned, that was not an option. 

            However, as much as he ached for Jessica, it was more important not to rush her.  He was serious when he said he would wait for her as long as it took and that’s what he planned to do. 

            Of course, as Aubrey reached his decision, Jessica had to turn and give him one of her beautiful smiles.  Not only did his heart grow fonder, but so did another organ...one that usually had a mind of his own. 

           “Aubrey, why are you looking at me like that?” 

            Trying to contain himself, Aubrey smiled in turn.  “I’m just thankful to have you in my life, Jessica Warren.  You’ve made this the best birthday I’ve ever had.  Thank you for being here to help celebrate it with me.” 

            Jessica stopped what she was doing, walked over to him, and gave him a quick kiss.  “Of course I would help you celebrate.  I love you.  Now quit dawdling and get back to work, Aubrey.  The sooner we clean up, the sooner we can relax and enjoy the rest of your birthday.”

            _‘She loves me...I love you, too Jessica.’_  

             Aubrey watched her go back to work and smiled as he basked in the glow of her words.  He could be patient until she was ready to commit to restarting their relationship. 

            On the other hand, the way she looked right now made keeping his hands to himself very difficult.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Jessica was making room in Aubrey’s fridge for all the leftover food when he brought all the wine glasses and beer steins to the sink.  After giving her a smile, he went back to work in the living room. 

            God, he was so handsome, especially in that dark blue shirt, one of her favorites.  She loved the way his eyes sparkled, and he seemed to love the gifts she’d gotten him from the Star Wars convention as well as the album.

            For the last week, she’d debated on another gift for her best friend.  She was ready for this gift and the reaction she was sure she’d get.  However, she wasn’t sure if he was emotionally ready for this gift.

            As she started to fill the sink with hot, soapy water, she debated with herself.  Was their friendship strong enough now to withstand any other conflicts that could come their way?  What if their old fears came back and pushed them apart again?

           Would their friendship survive another failure?

           Of course, she still didn’t know how she felt about marriage.  More than anything she wanted to be giddy like Daisy had been about planning a wedding, but the thought of that type of commitment still scared her.  She knew Aubrey well enough to know that perhaps someday he would want to make it legal, particularly if he wanted to go into politics.   

           Jessica believed him when he said he would wait for her.  At the same time, she knew that marriage scared the shit out of him, too.  Aubrey still had his own emotional issues, particularly about his father and his abandonment to deal with before he could think of that step.   She hoped that eventually they could work though that together. 

           As she thought about the progress they had made in the last ten days, she smiled.  They had moved several steps past friendship and were almost to that final step.  They’d had numerous opportunities to make the final leap.   

           Two weeks ago in his new bedroom...last Thursday as they enjoyed their night at the Mall...last weekend when he moved...Monday when they attempted to have spaghetti before she was called away to cover for Dr. B. All were very enjoyable and would have led to a wonderful and passionate night together, but they didn’t feel right. 

           But it felt right tonight.  Seeing how happy he was when he greeted his guests filled her with joy.  He had confided in her about birthdays from his past, particularly ones after his father left and his mother died.  She knew the chance she’d taken when she made him think she forgot his birthday, but deep down she also knew it would work out.  She wanted him to have a wonderful birthday to help make up for the ones that were not so great.

            He seemed so happy just to spend time with her.  Not just sexually, but talking with her...watching movies together.  He seemed to love her just the way she was, and that was a gift she could never fully repay him. 

           Then her thoughts circled back to her original thought.  She was ready...not just to make love...but to try again.  The question, however, was...did Aubrey feel the same? 

           The gift she wanted to give him tonight was a special one...something Aubrey would enjoy…as would she.  Her boyfriend was an amazing lover.  Not once did she have to fake an orgasm with him, unlike with her previous partners.  The agent was a creative man who brought a few tricks of his own to their sex life, including his very talented fingers…and that wickedly talented tongue.  

           Jessica could feel her panties dampen just thinking Aubrey’s toned body next to hers.  That thought had everything to do with her recent visit to Victoria’s Secret to max out her Angels Card.    She was wearing one of those new sets now, and she couldn’t wait to see his reaction to the lace and satin under her dress.

           When she turned around, she saw Aubrey look at her with love in his eyes.  Self-conscious, she grinned while blushing.  “Aubrey, why are you looking at me like that?” 

            “I’m just thankful to have you in my life, Jessica Warren.  You’ve made this the best birthday I’ve ever had.  Thank you for being here to help celebrate it with me.” 

            The sincerity in his eyes and in his voice made her melt...and her insides warm with need.  However, she couldn’t keep herself from walking over to him and giving him a quick kiss.  “Of course I would help you celebrate.  I love you.  Now quit dawdling and get back to work Aubrey.  The sooner we clean up, the sooner we can relax and enjoy the rest of your birthday.” 

            The redhead turned around and went back to work, afraid if she didn’t she would jump him. 

            Yes, tonight would be very interesting.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            For the next fifteen minutes the couple continued to work as they enjoyed the music.  Each took furtive glances at the other as both contemplated what they should do when the work was done.

            As Aubrey picked up the last of the torn wrapping paper from the living room, the silence became deafening.  Walking to the garbage by the center island, he pushed the lever by his foot. 

           “Jess…I’m sorry Karen crashed the party tonight.  I hope you understand why I didn’t turn her away.”, he said quietly before throwing all of it in the can. 

           The redhead washed the last set of wine glasses before turning around.  “I do, Aubrey.  Even though it was your birthday party, you didn’t want to embarrass her in front of everyone.  However, I’m really pissed that she paid back your kindness in letting her stay by humiliating you with that damn G string.”

           Aubrey wiped his face with his hand, trying to get the memory out of his mind.  “I still can’t believe she did that.  It’s like everything I say to her goes in one ear and out the other.  She’s not stupid, Jessica.  Why can’t I get through to her?”

           Jessica answered her boyfriend the best way she knew how.  “She doesn’t want to understand, Superman, that you’re not interested.  That woman...reminds me of Lyndon Johnson.” 

           “What?”, Aubrey asked in confusion.  “What does LBJ have to do with anything?  Please explain.” 

            Jessica put the dishtowel on her shoulder and pulled a cold beer out of the fridge.  “Karen is someone who she sees something she wants and is determined to get it at all costs.  Not always a bad thing, but while most people move on when it’s obviously not going to work out, she tells herself it’s always the other person’s fault, in order to justify her actions.  Maybe she didn’t date much when she was younger, who knows.” 

            Jessica opened the bottle and took a drink before offering it to Aubrey, who accepted it.  “Now, much like LBJ when he wanted a bill passed or something done, she is going to use the sheer force of her personality by getting in your face, hounding you all the time, and doing whatever it takes until you realize that it’s easier to be with her than to ignore her.” 

            “So...she thinks I’m an obstinate child.”, Aubrey said with sarcasm before drinking and handing the beverage back to his girlfriend.  “Yeah, always a turn on for me when a woman thinks I’m too stupid to know my own mind.”   

            Jessica took a drink of the beer before setting it down along with her dishtowel.  “Superman, while I think she’s sincerely interested in you, I think...she sees you more as a goal to be accomplished.  That angers me, because you’re not a prize from the fair to show off to people.  You’re a real person who deserves to be cherished and loved, not eye candy for an FBI profiler to...nag into an intimate relationship with her.” 

            Aubrey felt his heart warm at Jessica’s words.  “You should be cherished and loved, too, Jess.  As for being getting involved with her...not happening.  You’re the one I want to be in an intimate relationship with, not her.  I want us to be together.”

           Jessica felt the love in Aubrey’s words and smiled to keep a tear from falling.  “I feel the same way about you.  However, Karen wants what she wants, and right now that’s you.  She’s going to do anything she can to snag you, including getting me out of the way so she can have you for herself.”

           “You’re not worried that she’s going to come after you, are you?”, Aubrey said before tipping back their beer.  “I mean, she’s crazy, but not in a dangerous killer way…”

           “No, I don’t think she’s going to resort to murder.”, Jessica said.  “However, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tries something to undermine me professionally, either as revenge or to just get me out of your immediate orbit.  She’s already struck out on playing on my insecurities, as well as in her efforts to make me jealous of her to the point where I’ll drive you into her waiting arms.”

          “Jess, after the crazy shit she’s pulled of late, nothing you could do would make me want to be with her over you.”, Aubrey replied before thinking of something.  “She hasn’t tried to come back to the lab, has she?”

          “Nope.  Not since Curly got her banned.  I think he put the fear of God into her regarding her position at the FBI.”  Jessica finished their beer before starting the water in the sink to clean it.  “Has she hinted at her special hot pink panties of late or stalked you at lunch?”

          “No to both.  If she tries mentioning her underwear, I’ll walk away.  When it comes to the latter, I’ve become an expert at ditching her at lunch--”, Aubrey said, tying the last trash bag before glancing up and becoming transfixed at the sight in front of him.

           Jessica was bent over the sink, causing her pleated lace dress to ride up to mid-thigh.  She wasn’t wearing stockings and her beautiful legs were accentuated with black, strappy heels.  Her cute little ass moved just enough to make something else rise. 

           Aubrey knew what he’d told himself earlier, but he didn’t care anymore because there was only one thing he wanted for his birthday.  It wasn’t another Star Wars item, vinyl album, or cool ass grilling tools.

           He wanted Jessica...in his arms. 

           He wanted to personally take off Jessica’s dress and her lingerie before throwing them on the floor.  Next, he wanted his hands on her ass so badly they were shaking.  After that, he wanted those long legs wrapped around his waist before he put her on the kitchen counter....dinner table...against the wall...and make the redhead orgasm and scream his name. 

           He wanted to make love to her all night long...then do it again. 

           Aubrey’s mind raced for a second before reality hit.  While taking her on the dining room table would be mind blowing and hot, she deserved more.  Tonight needed to be about showing her how much he cherished her...and loved her. 

          If she was ready to take that final leap with him. 

          Of course, it was possible she wasn’t ready yet.  However, he wouldn’t know if he didn’t try.  If she wasn’t, Jessica would be honest with him and she would still love him.  Then he would wait patiently until she was.

          Getting an idea, he walked over to the turntable.  Flipping over the record, he put the needle down and walked back to the kitchen sink as _‘Lay Lady Lay’_ began to play.

          “Dance with me, Jess.”, Aubrey said softly before taking her hand in his.

          He pulled her close before Jessica’s arm looped around him with her hand on the back of his shoulder and her head on the other side.  Gently holding her delicate hand close to his chest, he placed his other hand on the small of her back.  They swayed together as Bob Dylan serenaded the lover in his song.  Soon, feeling the heat of Jessica’s body next to him became too much and he couldn’t control his lips as they lightly tasted the skin of her earlobe while he held her closer. 

          “I love this song…”, he whispered in her ear.  “It reminds me of you…”

          The redhead shivered at the timbre in his voice and the gentle way his teeth and lips caressed her delicate skin.  Looking up, she saw the dark blue irises of Aubrey’s eyes were now mere rings as his pupils were enlarged.  She felt herself becoming damp again as his shaking hand gently brushed lower to just above her posterior.  But it was the love in his eyes that led her to make a decision.

          “I-I have another present to give you for your birthday.”  She grinned shyly as she looked up at him.  “It’s something I’ve wanted to give you for a long time.”

           Aubrey looked at the clock and saw it was 11:15 PM.  “Well, you have 45 minutes before it’s no longer my birthday.  I don’t think you can top that awesome car charger or Bob Dylan.”

           “I do like a good challenge, James.  Let’s find out.”, Jessica said before pulling Aubrey’s head down to give him a searing kiss, which he immediately responded to.

           Aubrey took her in his arms as Jessica wrapped her arms around his neck while standing on her tip toes.  Unable to resist, his hands gently squeezed her ass as he pushed her back until she hit the counter top.  When the redhead’s leg wrapped around his own, his hands went down to her thighs before lifting her onto the center island.  As his lips moved from her delicate earlobe to her neck, his hands started to move up under her dress but stopped as his head overruled his heart.

           Jessica felt Aubrey’s lips leave her skin.  Perplexed, the redhead looked at her boyfriend.  “Superman, what’s wrong?  Did I push you too far?  Do you not want to—“

           “Oh, I do, Jessica.  More…than you know.”, the agent said.  Taking a short breath, he rubbed his hand up and down her thigh, unable to stop touching her.  “But...” 

           “But what?”, the redhead asked before her hand gravitated down towards his zipper and her lips went to his neck. 

           Aubrey groaned, but stopped his girlfriend’s delightful hands.  “What are we doing, Jess?

           Jessica giggled.  “I think it’s obvious what we’re doing, Superman.  We’re in the kitchen making out with your hands deliciously close to third base.  Besides the bedroom and your awesome couch, you love making love in the kitchen because you always get hungry afterwards.”

          “No…what are we _doing_?”, Aubrey asked again.  “Is this going to be just a birthday gift of mind blowing sex on my kitchen counter with a side of friendship or are we going to make love and be together after tonight?” 

           “Aubrey…”, Jessica asked, confused and nervous at the turn of events.  “I don’t understand…” 

           “I’m sorry...I’m making you nervous…”, the agent said before rubbing her shoulders.  “It’s just...you look...amazing tonight.  That dress is stunning on you...your legs look...wow...and you smell so good.  Right now, the only thing I want to do is take you upstairs to my bedroom, take off your clothes, you take off mine, and we make love for hours.” 

          “So do I, Superman.  You have no idea how much I want to be with you right now.”  Jessica wasn’t sure what was going through Aubrey’s head and it worried her.  “Is something wrong?  Did I do something wrong?” 

          Aubrey saw her face and realized she got the wrong idea.  “No, Jessica.  You did nothing wrong...actually you’ve done everything right.  You’ve helped me to get our friendship back on track.  You’ve cooked me dinner even on nights after you work all day at the lab.  You and our friends helped me move last weekend at the last minute.  You’ve been tolerant when I’ve given Karen chance after chance to back off from her delusion of us as a couple.  You also made my birthday special by throwing me a surprise party and you understood why I let Karen stay when she crashed the festivities tonight.” 

          “I didn’t do all that alone, Aubrey”, Jessica said before inhaling.  “You helped get our friendship back on track, too.  You listen to me when I go on and on about anthropology and understand that sometimes my dissertation has to come first.  You confronted Karen and stuck up for me when she was on my back.  You let me cry when my mother ripped me up and watched _Star Trek_ with me instead of nagging me to talk, because you knew I needed a distraction.  You also understood why I had to go home last Saturday instead of spending the night with you.” 

          “Last weekend...or when we were at the Mall last week...Monday night at your apartment...none of those times were the right time, Jessica.  It wasn’t easy, but we...had to do things right.”,  Aubrey said as his fingers lightly traced her thigh, edging close to the hem of her dress.  “But tonight is different because there’s no Karen...no Star Wars...no friends to pick up from the airport...no fear...at least from me to disturb us.”

           “Not even Skinner?”, Jessica said to lighten the mood. 

           “Not even Skinner.”, Aubrey said before his love’s slender hand moved against his cheek.  Taking it, he kissed inside of her palm and her fingers before continuing to speak.  “Jessica, I want you right now more than anything or anyone in my life.  Not just as a lover, but as my best friend...my girlfriend...always by my side.  I love you so much it hurts sometimes.  It’s just…” 

           “Just what?”, Jessica said as she ran her fingers through the silvery tips over his right temple. “Please talk to me.”

           “I...can’t do this if we’re just scratching an itch.”, Aubrey said in a voice filled with emotion as he stared into her beautiful green eyes.  “Once this happens, I’m all in.  However, if you have any doubts or if you’re unsure...please tell me now and we’ll stop because I will wait for you, whether it’s a week or decades.  I’m nowhere near ready for living together...marriage or that other stuff.  What I do know is that I will never love anyone like I love you, Jessica Elizabeth.  I just want my best friend in my life...always.”

           The redhead felt her heart almost burst at the emotional words of the man holding her. “James Robert Aubrey...I want to make love with you because I love you.  If you go into carbonite…I want to go with you because you’re my heart.  I’m not ready to talk about living together and marriage either…but I’m ready for you.  I’m ready to trust that our friendship is strong enough that if we hit another rough patch we can get through it…together as long as we talk to each other.”

            “I love you.”, Aubrey muttered before his lips went to her neck as Jessica’s legs wrapped around his waist.   

            While one arm held her close, the agent’s opposing hand slowly traveled up her smooth thigh until he found lace.  As the redhead unbuttoned his shirt and made a trail down his well-defined abdominal area with her fingernails, he pushed under her panties to feel her smooth skin as his fingers itched to move down into her heat.  Bringing his head up, their lips came together in an emotional kiss as they held each other tight.   

            “Aubrey…”

             He ran his hand down her face.  “Yes.”

            “Take me upstairs...now.”

            No words were spoken as he helped her down from the center island.  Taking her hand, he led her through the living room to the foyer where she kicked off her shoes before they walked upstairs together.  When they entered his bedroom, the moonlight glow streamed in from the bedroom window as Aubrey kicked the door shut to keep Skinner out.  Bob Dylan’s music could be heard through the crack in the door as they came together like they had never parted.

            Jessica opened Aubrey’s shirt and her lips connected to the sensitive areas of his chest as she ran her hands lightly down his abdomen, making him moan.  As his lips traveled over her neck, she felt him unzip her dress and push it down past her shoulders.  She let go long enough for the dress to drop to the floor in a heap, revealing her black balconette push up bra and matching lace panties. 

           “You like?”, the redhead asked as her hands moved down his abdomen.  “I bought these just for you…” 

          “Yes...you’re beautiful.”, he whispered in between kisses as his hands explored the exposed areas of her smooth posterior. 

           When Jessica wrapped her leg around him again, Aubrey grabbed her thighs and lifted her up.  When her arms were around his neck and her legs surrounded his trim waist, he carried her to the bed.  Setting the redhead down, Aubrey made sure there was no light between them as he laid on top of her.  Pulling each other close, their hands roamed as they rediscovered all of the other’s pleasure points.  

           As his lips traveled down her neck and collarbone, the agent could feel his senses drowning in her familiar cherry vanilla scent.  Cupping her breasts, he kissed throughout her lace-encased mounds while whispering words of love to her.

           Jessica closed her eyes as her boyfriend explored her chest and abdominal area.  She could feel herself panting and moan as his tongue found her navel and explored it as his hands continued to caress her breasts.  As his toned body traveled back up and caressed her own, her shaking hands found his jeans and unbuttoned them.  When her open hand moved down past the coarse hairs towards his hardness, she felt Aubrey’s heart race against hers. 

           When the redhead felt him, she caressed him the way she remembered pleasured him.  She succeeded when she felt her boyfriend push himself into her hand, groaning into her touch.   

           “Oh yes...Jessica…” 

            However, it wasn’t long before he moved away from her hand and pushed his pants off quickly, leaving him in his boxers. 

            “If I let you finish, I wouldn’t last long, Jessica.”, Aubrey whispered before he began kissing her breasts again. 

             With efficiency, he flipped them over so Jessica was on top of him.  The agent took advantage of the position to continue exploring the redhead’s rear and smooth skin while she nibbled on his neck. 

             “I can’t take anymore...I need to see you.  Please...”, Aubrey begged. 

            Jessica sat up and locked eyes with him as she opened the clasp from her bra and pulled it off, tossing it on the bed.  The look of reverence he gave her melted her before his hands came up and cupped her breasts.  She groaned and her head tipped back as his fingers played with her nipples as they hardened to his touch.  

            Before she could respond further, Aubrey lifted himself and pulled her close to kiss her and run his hand through her tresses.  Needing flesh, the agent kissed and traveled down her abdomen again while her hands caressed the muscles in his back.  When his mouth moved back up to her nipples, he tasted liberally while his lover held him close. 

            “I’ve missed you so much, James.”, the redhead moaned softly.  “I missed you loving me…”

            Pulling her back down, he flipped her onto her back and became even harder as Jessica’s soft breasts pressed into his chest.  As Jessica caressed his scars from the bombing, he traced her body with his finger.  With a feathery touch, he mapped her breasts, navel, and her inner thighs to the edge of her underwear to her mewling.  Slowly his finger moved down over her panties until he found her damp core.  He moved over the area with a light touch, causing her to moan loudly.

            Aubrey saw Jessica get lost in his caress and needed to touch more of her...needed to love her.  “Look at me, Jessica.”, he growled in desperation.

            When her green orbs focused on him, he slowly moved his hand back up until he arrived at the edge of her lace.  Pushing past the material, his fingers lightly tickled past her curls and with one finger he traced her intimate areas.  When he found his target, he felt her visibly shiver before she pulled him close.  When he added a second finger, she groaned.  Using her body’s reactions to guide him, he pleasured his girlfriend.

            Jessica was losing control as Aubrey’s instinctual movements found all her sensitive points.  When he leaned down and began nibbling on her neck and collarbone, she thought she would lose her mind.  Soon her hips moved with him as she tried pushing his fingers as far into her as possible.

            “Oh my God…I…I...” 

           “Almost there, Jess...I want you to feel good…”, he whispered onto her lips.

            Aubrey felt a familiar shudder before hearing her scream his name.  He didn’t give her time to recover before he lifted one leg over his shoulder and began trailing kisses down it.  When he got to behind her knee, he licked in a spot that he knew drove her wild.  He wasn’t disappointed as his partner moaned loudly and begged for more.

           Enjoying her reaction, he did the same to her other leg.  Putting her leg down, his lips trailed up the satin smoothness of her milky skin.  When he reached her thighs, she spread them wide open.  Taking the invitation, he gently licked the inside of both sides, stopping short of her core.

           “James…please…”, Jessica begged.

           “Not yet.”, he whispered into the skin just outside of her juncture, exercising all the self-control he could muster.

           As Aubrey moved up his lover’s abdomen, he felt Jessica’s hands over his body.  Soon, they extended past the waistband of his boxers and she grasped his posterior.  When he felt her nails gently graze the tender skin, he almost exploded right there.  

           “Jesus…”, he groaned onto her right breast.  “Don’t stop…”

            Jessica’s back arched as she felt Aubrey’s lips all over her trunk and breasts.  As he got closer to her lips, she felt his desperation as he pushed himself into her.  Wrapping her legs around him, she joined him as they moved against each other, separated by two thin layers of material.  After a few more minutes of teasing, she roughly pulled down his shorts.

           “James, I need you…rip my panties off...if you have to, but please get inside me.”

           “Yes…”, the agent groaned, needing her just as desperately.

           Aubrey quickly removed his shorts and pushed them aside.  Grabbing her panties, he was so excited that he accidentally ripped them in his haste to get them off his girlfriend.  Not caring, he pushed the damaged material aside and pushed his way into her, sharing a joint moan with the redhead. 

           “Oh...James…”

            “Christ, Jessica…you feel so good…”

           When he felt her magical hands caress him, he pulled her body closer, craving the connection of her skin with his. For several minutes, Aubrey and Jessica’s lips found each other as the agent firmly thrust inside of his lover.   As his head burrowed into her neck, her hands held onto his posterior as their love drew them to move together in sync like they had never parted.

           Feeling Jessica’s shudders and hearing her beautiful moans, Aubrey recognized she would shatter soon and pushed hard into her.  When she squeezed him tighter, he bucked even harder before grabbing her hand and linking it with his.  Then he heard her loudly scream his name again, causing him to climax and fill her. 

           When they were done, they breathed heavily as they stayed connected.  As Jessica gently rubbed her hands into his hair, Aubrey’s lips kissed her gently.  

           “Well…that was…the best birthday present… I’ve ever received.”, the agent said as he continued to catch his breath in between kisses on his lover’s skin.

           Jessica chuckled.  “Even more…than the Star Wars car charger…or the Bob Dylan album?”

           “Oh yeah, Jessica.”, Aubrey said as his heartbeat regained normalcy.  Looking down, he noted what was left of his girlfriend’s ripped lingerie around her thigh.  “Sorry about this.”

           “Liar.”, Jessica said.

           The agent kissed Jessica’s skin a few more times before lying his head between her breasts, ignoring the blanket underneath them.  As he gently caressed her thigh and the redhead continued combing his hair with her fingers, they spent the next several minutes in a comfortable silence, the significance of what happened weighing on their minds.  

           For Jessica, the comfortable silence evolved to sadness when her mind began to race.  Unable to contain herself anymore, she exploded.  “I’m so sorry.”

           Concerned, he lifted his head and was alarmed to see tears in Jessica’s eyes.  “For what, Jess?”

           “For panicking and assuming things when you tried to tell me how you felt that night in front of the subway…for taking that class at the University of Edinburgh right as your father was still out there so I couldn’t be there for you…for overreacting when you did finally ask me to go to LA with you…for not trusting our friendship…for making the biggest mistake of my life when I broke up with you…”

           Aubrey immediately moved up and took her face in his hands.  “Jessica, stop blaming yourself for all this.  It wasn’t just you.” 

           “But--”, Jessica retorted but was interrupted when her lover held up his hand and started opening fingers.   

           “One, I should have pressed you further that night outside the subway, but I was too afraid of the answer.  Two, the timing of the class sucked, but it was going to help with your dissertation and no way in hell was I going to stand in the way of that.  I wasn’t alone here in DC when my dad came back.  When I called you after it happened, you talked to me all night when I needed to hear you and even offered to come home early.” 

            Not willing to take herself off the hook just yet, Jessica tried to intercede.  “Aubrey--” 

           “Hush, I’m not done yet.”,  Aubrey said gently before continuing.  “Three, yes, you overreacted, but I didn’t help matters by not talking to you about the offer in the first place, avoiding you while I debated on what I wanted to do, talking to everyone else but you when I debated on asking you to come with me, and then throwing the offer to move with me out there like it was nothing at a crime scene.”

            Aubrey took a breath and ticked off another finger.  “Four, you say you didn’t trust in our friendship but as we’ve already stated before, I didn’t either.  Finally, for being so hurt that you broke up with me that I childishly used Karen to work through my own feelings and threw her in your face instead of refusing to see that I was also to blame for what happened.”

           “James—“

           “Jessica, I knew how she felt about me but I was so...desperate to get you back...and deep down I was so angry with you because not only did you break my heart, you made me feel things that...I hadn’t felt since my dad left.  Instead of listening to what you were trying to tell me that day at the lab, I blamed you for being stubborn and used Karen not only to make myself feel better, but also to make you jealous.  Of course, that backfired…badly.  I don’t blame you at all for not believing me when I said how serious I was about you that day in Angela’s office.” 

           The anthropologist caressed his face.  “I wish I would have...I should have known better, Aubrey.  I…”

           “I wasn’t sure what I wanted from us until it was too late, Jessica.”, Aubrey continued as he gently rubbed the redhead’s naked thigh, contemplating his words for a minute.  “I think I would like us to get married in the future, but right now, I just want us to be together.  I’m in no hurry for all that stuff.  Are you?”

           The redhead smiled, happy that the mention of marriage made her feel warm inside, not afraid like in the past.  “Me too, Superman and no, I’m in no rush, either.”

           “Good.”, the agent said before hovering on top of Jessica and taking her in his arms.  “Now, I’m still the birthday boy for…” He looked at the clock while caressing the redhead’s body.  “...nine more minutes and I want to continue enjoying my birthday gift.”

           Smiling, Jessica looked at her boyfriend as her hand gently caressed his naked backside.  “Your car charger is on the living room table and your album is on your turntable.”

           “Cute.”,  Aubrey said.  “I meant…my other present.” 

           “What about cake?”  Jessica said with a smirk.  “You’re always hungry after we make love.” 

            Aubrey contemplated for a moment before looking back at his lover.  “The cake can wait.  I want to nibble on something better.”

           Before the redhead could come up with a retort, Aubrey’s lips surrounded her left breast and nipple.  Any semblance of thought disappeared as Jessica arched her back.

           “Well, it is your birthday, Superman…”

* * *

           Jessica woke up in the darkness.  When her sleepy mind wondered what took her out of slumber, the pressure on her bladder answered her question.  Not wanting to leave Aubrey’s warm embrace, she hunkered down but couldn’t ignore it.  Frustrated, she got up and tiptoed naked to his en-suite bathroom and answered Nature’s call. 

            Coming back to bed, she saw the digital clock display on Aubrey’s large nightstand read 4:53.  Next to it was a remnant of a large wedge of leftover cake covered with Saran Wrap as well as two empty bottles of Yuengling.  After they made love the second time, they had the munchies and indulged in more of Aubrey’s birthday cake.  Plates were unnecessary as they ended up eating the confectionery treat off each other in strategic places, which led to making love again before falling asleep in each other’s arms. 

             Resigned to being awake, she smiled as Aubrey held her close to him in his sleep.  Enjoying the warmth of his body, she snuggled close and watched him sleep. 

             He was like a little boy with most of his body under the covers and his hair askew.  The agent always had the cutest little pout when he slept.  As she continued to observe him, she thought of how he always made her feel special.  No one ever looked at her like James Aubrey did.  Besides her father and brothers, only her Superman made her feelings a priority. 

              Until Aubrey, most men tended to view her as nothing more than a good time girl, most initially attracted to the red hair and her flirtatious nature.  The problem was once she revealed that there was more than just hot air between her ears, most of them resented her genius intellect.  Some were even angered when she could best them in intelligence or in some activities.  After a while, it was easier to give up on finding someone special and to instead live in the moment. 

              She knew the agent was different the first time she laid eyes on him and talked to him.  The way she would look forward to his visits afterwards were unsettling, but she was always excited when he stopped and talked to her.  She loved the jokes he would tell her and the way he appreciated what she had to say, even if it involved correcting him.  When the jokes moved towards straight flirtation during the Hodsell case, she liked how he just rolled with the punches after she shot him down. 

              He had such a serious demeanor when he was in work mode.  However, more than once she saw his softer side with people in his cases, particularly if they were from single parents or in need much like he was  growing up.   

               Even better was his intelligence.  While his IQ was not as high as hers, his interests were vast, varied, and wide ranging, from Star Wars to five star gourmet cooking.  Few knew about his skipping a grade in elementary school as well as graduating at the top ten percent of his class in high school and Summa Cum Laude for his Bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor at Syracuse University.  He also finished third in his class at Quantico to her admiration. 

                She had more respect for him that he kept those parts of him to himself, only sharing with her or a select few.  James Aubrey didn’t have to crow about his accomplishments or doing the right thing, unlike Oliver Wells.  Knowing he did it was enough for him.

                  It still scared her how much her heart and life was intertwined with this man.  He could break her if he wanted to.  During those weeks they were apart her life had been empty and sad, and she prayed she never had to live that again.  Thank God, they got out of their heads and into their hearts.  Otherwise, they wouldn’t be here now. 

                Then, she heard Aubrey moan her name and felt him caressing her in his sleep.  Knowing her FBI agent, the dream involved them, sex, and food. 

                “I love you, Jessica…”, he whispered. 

                The love in his sleepy voice and the gentleness in his touch all made her want to do more than cuddle with her birthday boy. 

                Meanwhile, Aubrey was in the middle of a pleasant dream involving him and a naked Jessica enjoying breakfast in his kitchen.  Just when he began feasting on pancakes with syrup on her abdomen, he was awakened by kisses down his chest.   

                 As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a figure climbing on him before he was sheathed in warmth.

                “Holy wow…Jessica.”

                “Oh yes…”, the redhead moaned as she started to move.

                 As she bent down the agent’s mouth latched onto her breasts before the couple moved back up.  He explored her body with kisses and his hands as the redhead rode him.  They held onto each other tight before their joint climax.

                When their bodies were sated, she climbed off him before the two held each other tight in the darkness as slumber overtook them.

               “I love you, Jessica.”, Aubrey muttered.

              “I love you, too James.”, Jessica replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just because they've made love doesn't mean the story is over folks...we have a long way to go yet.


	21. Sunday Fun and Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So...now that Aubrey and Jessica are back together, is the story over yet?
> 
> The answer: No way. There's a lot more planned as we explore Aubrey & Jessica's new status along with their ups and down. There is an endgame but we won't be there for a while. So sit back and enjoy...
> 
> By the way...another NSFW M rated chapter...

            Sunday’s sun peeked into the quiet bedroom and directed its warmth toward the lanky man on the bed.  Roused by the light, Aubrey woke up and stretched.  In spite of only getting about four hours sleep, he felt more relaxed and alert now than he had in the last two months.  Turning to his left, he saw the reason why sleeping deeply in the middle of his bed.

            Aubrey missed Jessica hogging the bed at night.  He missed waking up to the edge of his side of the bed or her occasional talking in her sleep when she wasn’t in his arms.  He didn’t realize how well he slept with her until she wasn’t sharing his bed anymore.  

            Without a doubt, this was his favorite birthday.  He couldn’t imagine anything topping his night with Jessica.  Watching her sleep, he smiled as their Sundays were back.

            Aubrey had missed their Sundays together and not just because of the lack of sex while they were apart.  Alternating between his place and hers, unless there was a case it was their time to shut out the world, usually by making love throughout the morning before enjoying a late breakfast.  After that, he would read FBI reports and catch up on various work items while Jessica worked on her dissertation as they did their laundry.

            Some might have found it boring or weird, but it was a simple thing they both cherished.  Whether working together or independently, they would share a smile or two as they enjoyed the mutual solitude and domesticity.  No matter what the future held, he made a vow to never let Jessica Warren go again.        

            He wondered if maybe he should surprise her with breakfast and catnip tea in bed.  It was his birthday weekend, but he liked to cook and Jessica should have some sustenance.  After all, they did give each other a workout.

            Then she lifted her arm above the pillow, making her breasts pop out from under the bed sheet.  Her very pert, very delicious, near perfect handful breasts.

            His plans went out the window as another breakfast in bed came to mind.  He looked at the clock and saw it was 7:30 in the morning.  Like him, Jessica wasn’t a morning person, but he knew the best way to wake her up.

            Quietly, a naked Aubrey got out of bed and tiptoed around to the foot of the bed.  Like kismet, Jessica’s right leg bent up as she continued to sleep.  Moving the blanket they’d kicked to the end a few hours before, he lifted the bed sheet and inched slowly underneath, focusing on his target.  When it was found, he took his finger and lightly traced it down her abdomen, resulting in a sleepy moan.

            Gingerly lifting the other leg up, Aubrey began trailing feather kisses down her right inner thigh, then her left, followed by his tongue.  As he inched closer to his prize, he could hear Jessica moaning softly in her sleep before unconsciously spreading her legs.  When ready, he flicked his tongue where she was most sensitive.  Hearing her inhale, he smiled before he began exploring her.

             Jessica could feel something very good bringing her out of her slumber, but then she felt an explosion from her bundle of nerves.  Her eyes opening suddenly, she grasped the fitted sheet as she began shuddering.  Looking down, she watched as a pair of hands took hold of her breasts and touched them gently, driving her crazy.

            Aubrey got lost in Jessica as he traced a familiar dance over her.  As she rose off the bed, he had to let go of her breasts to hold her thighs open.  As she moaned louder, he increased his pace.  When he felt her grab his hair and moan his name, he pushed further.

            Jessica’s mind was wiped clean except for the shock waves Aubrey was sending through her.  Nobody had ever come close to making her feel like the FBI agent did while being intimate.  Suddenly, she hit her peak.

           “JAMES!”        

           When her orgasm passed, she collapsed back onto the bed to recover.  A few seconds later, she felt movement and saw her boyfriend emerge from the bedsheet with a dimpled grin on his face.  He laid on top of her before kissing her.

           “Good morning, Jessica.”, Aubrey said.  “Lovely sunrise, isn’t it?”

           Still trying to get herself under control, she chuckled.  “Yes…it is, Superman.  I missed waking up with you, especially on Sunday mornings.”

           “I missed this, too.”, Aubrey said as he took her hand in his.  “More than you’ll ever know.”

           The redhead squeezed his hand back and smiled.  “Maybe we should have breakfast.”

           Aubrey could feel his stomach rumbling, reminding him that he was ravenous, and his mind raced while contemplating his second breakfast.  “French toast sounds good.  Maybe sausage, bacon…some hash browns…maybe we can have the ribs, too...they sound good right about now...”

          “They do, but I want my breakfast first, Superman.”  Jessica retorted before catching her lover unaware by flipping him over onto his back with her on top of him.  

          “Ms. Warren...what do you have up your sleeve?”  the agent asked, turned on by the redhead’s aggressiveness.

          “Aubrey, you’ve had your breakfast…so I’m going to have mine.  Settle back and get comfortable, Special Agent.  This could take a while.”

           Before Aubrey could say anything, Jessica scooted under the sheet.  As he was going to ask her what she was planning, he felt it.

           “Oh wow….”         

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            It wasn’t until almost 10:00 that the reunited couple sat down to a brunch of French toast, sausage, hash browns, ribs, coleslaw, vegetable pizza, and potato salad.  As Aubrey put a forkful of hash browns in his mouth, his phone buzzed.  Seeing the message, he finished chewing and put his phone down.

           “All set for tomorrow?”, Jessica asked.

           “Yep.  She said a morning meeting would be perfect as we would have plenty of time to discuss my birthday.  Yay for me.”,  Aubrey said sarcastically before cutting his French Toast.

           “Are you going to call Genny?”, Jessica asked while pouring Frank’s Hot Sauce over her hash browns.  “I really think you should have her there as backup in case she tries lying about you later.”

           “I hate to think that, but you’re right that it would be smart to cover my ass.  I’ll call her after I take you to your Jeep.”

            Jessica sipped her catnip tea.  “I’m sorry you have to do this, Aubrey.  I know you wanted to spare her any embarrassment because she was a good friend when you needed one.”  

           “I wanted to also, Jess, but last night was the last straw.”, the agent replied after taking a bite of coleslaw.  “I can’t keep being the bigger person, making excuses for her actions.  Me being nice is what made things get so fucking complicated in the first place, and it’s up to me to put an end to all this...shit.”

           Jessica gave her boyfriend a look of sympathy before taking his hand and squeezing it.  After he returned the gesture, the redhead chewed on a rib.  “Kickoff for the game is 1:30, right?”

          “Yep, but Daisy told me last night it would be best to get to FedEx Field at least an hour early to get a decent parking spot.  I guess Detroit Lions fans are major away tailgaters as well.”  Aubrey said as he admired how Jessica looked wearing his blue button up shirt from last night and nothing else.

          “We have a couple of hours until then.”, Jessica said as she finished off the rib.  “This is your birthday weekend.  What else would you like to do?”

           “You in every room in this house?”, Aubrey asked hopefully as he took a bite of potato salad.  “What else?”

          “Oh, I think you’ll be ready for your mistress later at the team suite.”, Jessica said with a smirk.  “Besides, it will take days for us to christen this entire house.”

          “I love food, but I love you more.”, Aubrey said with a smile as he pet her hand.  “In regards to christening my house...we have all the time in the world, Jess.”

          “Yes we do, Superman”, Jessica said.  As she munched on a piece of vegetable pizza, she admired her boyfriend’s wiry build, clad only in a pair of boxers.  “I can’t wait to tell everyone we’re back together.  Everyone is going to be stoked.”

           Aubrey swallowed for a second.  He didn’t want to rain on his girlfriend’s parade, but he needed to set her straight.  “Jess, about that…”

          “What?”, Jessica said before finishing her tea.  When she saw his face, she slowly put her cup down.  “Aubrey, what’s wrong?”

          “Um…I don’t want to tell people we’re back together.”

           Hurt seeped through her.  “Why?  Do you regret that we made love last night?”

           Aubrey realized she’d gotten the wrong idea.  “Shit, no—“

          “That’s it, isn’t it?  You’re realizing we went too fast and you want to take a step back.”, Jessica said as tears formed in her eyes.  Getting up, she prepared to make a quick exit.  “It’s okay.  I’ll get dressed and be out in a few minutes.”

           The agent grabbed her arm quickly.  “Jessica, wait...you’ve misunderstood me.”

           “What?”  The redhead replied in a quiet voice.

           “I don’t regret that we made love...four times.  Six times if you include the other stuff.  ...I’m…excited…proud…happy…so many things...but...”

           Relieved, Jessica sat and looked at her boyfriend.  “But what, Superman?”

           Getting his thoughts together, he looked his girlfriend in the eye.  “Jess, remember last time when everyone found out we were dating?  How everyone had advice for us…and how they thought the way we were doing things was wrong…”

           “Aubrey…we broke up for two months.  We were doing things wrong.”

           “But not everything, Jess.”, Aubrey said as he took her hand.  “I just…I just want something for us for awhile, not forever...”

           “Oh.”, Jessica said.

            Aubrey looked at her and felt silly.  “You know what?  Never mind.  That’s sounds so lame and stupid.  Being careful got us in trouble in the first place—“

           “Okay.”

            Jessica’s answer shocked Aubrey.  “What?”

            The redhead took a breath.  “I do admit, I would like to work on us without interference and everyone’s opinion and I like the idea of having something for just us.  Let’s do it.”

           ‘Yeah?”, Aubrey asked.

           “Yeah.”, Jessica replied with a smile before they came together in a kiss.

           “It’s not forever, Jessica.”, Aubrey said.  “Our friends knows that we’ve been hanging out together anyway so it’s not like we have to hide anything.”

           Jessica took Aubrey’s hand.  “I know, Superman.  Until we’re ready to tell everyone, we’re still just friends.”        

          “Good.  You just need to behave yourself.”          

          “Me?”, Jessica said as she got up to take care of her plate.  “Speak for yourself, Buddy.  You’re the one with the CFM eyes directed at either my breasts or my heinie.”        

          “You’re the one parading through my house with no panties on right now, Jessica Warren.”, Aubrey said as he followed her into the kitchen.

          “Whose fault is that?”, the redhead said with a laugh.  

          “It truly was unintentional, but you were the one who said rip them off if I had to because you were so hot for me.  Besides, it’s always more fun to rip open birthday gifts.”        

          Jessica set her plate in the sink and crossed her arms as she controlled her laughter.  “So while part of you was excited to get a new birthday present...which was us tearing up the sheets of your bed all night...you were mostly trying to be respectful of my wishes?”        

          Aubrey put his hands on the counter, surrounding her.  “Of course I was.  I’m an FBI Agent, remember?  Fidelity...Bravery...Integrity.  You obviously needed some loving from your Superman and it’s my duty is to serve others.”        

          “Oh, I see.”, the anthropologist replied before they shared a kiss.  “How magnanimous of you.”

          Aubrey smiled as an idea came to mind.  Boxing Jessica into the counter, he then slipped his hands under his shirt and kneaded her naked ass.  “Did I tell you that these are granite counters?”        

          “I don’t think so, Superman.”, Jessica said with a grin.  

          “Well, they are.  They’re very hard...can withstand a lot…”,  Aubrey said before picking Jessica up to her squeals, lifting her up onto the center island, and unbuttoning her lone piece of clothing.   “I think we should test its strength, don’t you?”

         “Well...granite that is used on counter tops such as this one measures 7 or 8 on the Mohs scale.”, Jessica said as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and kissed him.  “Think you can handle that?”

         “You know it makes me hot when you get all squinty before sex.”, Aubrey said.

         Quickly, the agent pushed his shirt off Jessica with her assistance.  Taking in her naked form for a moment, he took her in his arms and they came together in a series of kisses.  

         “I think the birthday boy wants spaghetti and meatballs…”,  Jessica said in a teasing tone before Aubrey nibbled on the sweet spot on her neck.   “Oooohhhh….”

         "You bet your cute ass I do.”, Aubrey moaned into her collarbone before he bent his lover back and peppered her body with more kisses.  “Jess, this is the best birthday weekend ever.”

        “Ohhhhhh...I’m glad…I could...ohhhhhh…”, Jessica panted as the agent’s lips suckled her right breast.

* * *

            After their morning fun on the agent’s kitchen counter, Jessica reluctantly got dressed to go home and get cleaned up for Beau’s game at FedEX Field.  Aubrey threw on some clothes so he could drive her down to the playground where her Jeep was still parked.  After one more kiss that was contained and discreet due to the children already playing outside, the redhead grabbed a large bag containing leftovers from last night.  With a heavy heart, she got out of her boyfriend’s SUV wearing last night’s clothes sans one item with a plan for him to pick her up at noon.

           Aubrey watched her climb up in her vehicle before driving away.  As he put his own vehicle into gear, he grinned to himself as he thought about why she had no panties on under her dress.  His grin graduated into a full blown smile as he remembered his plans to keep those lace panties...or what remained of them...as a souvenir of the best birthday gift of his life.

           Turning onto the road, he then remembered the worst one…the wildly inappropriate, embarrassing Cubs G-string from Karen.  It was bad enough she’d actually gotten it for him, but then to let him open it in front of his friends…and their children, was unforgivable.  It seemed to him that any real friend would have never let it go that far.

           He hadn’t wanted to humiliate her when she showed up uninvited last night, but he now wished he had.  Not only did she embarrass him, but she insulted his guests and their gifts, bitched about being excluded, and belittled all the hard work Jessica put in to make the night special for him.

           As Aubrey pulled into his driveway, he concluded that he would have to take a hard line with Karen.  However, he also knew he was partially to blame for the situation, since he’d been the douchebag who’d led her to believe he might be interested in her romantically to make Jessica jealous.  In the end, it had been totally unnecessary, and only brought on more hurt for him and his favorite redhead.  He was lucky Jess was so forgiving about what happened and that she’d understood why until now he was treating the profiler with kid gloves.

           Coming into his house, he saw Karen’s gift bag on the living room floor.  Nearby, there was a trail of what Aubrey recognized as the shredded tissue paper from the bag leading from the room.  

           “Skinner...what are you up to now?”  Aubrey muttered before he made a face.  “Crap...please don’t let there be puke at the end of this trail or let me find it in his litter box later.  I’m still traumatized by last Christmas with the red and green ribbon in his turds.”

           Hearing a familiar thumping sound, he entered his dining room and saw his cat smacking the underwear around on the floor.  He debated on what to do before pulling out his phone to record the orange tabby dragging the G-string on the floor and throwing it around as if it were a catnip mouse.  He tried keeping the camera still but was laughing so hard it shook.

           After five minutes, Skinner grew bored and dropped the object before walking towards his litter box in the mud room.  Aubrey moved to pick it up but changed his mind before heading upstairs to get ready for the game _.  ‘Why take away Skinner’s fun?  He’s a good boy.  Besides, I don’t need it until later.’_           

* * *

            Jessica ran around in her bedroom trying to get dressed quickly because she’d taken extra time in the shower.  Aubrey would be over in a few minutes to pick her up for the game.  Afterwards, he was staying over tonight and she became excited in anticipation of the evening’s planned activities.  Looking in her top drawer, she chose one of her new sets from Victoria’s Secret and pulled it out, admiring the blush satin and lace confection.

           After putting on her new bra and panties, the redhead put on a pair of skinny jeans to wear with brown boots lying nearby on the floor.  Turning around, she checked her hair in the mirror one last time.  Satisfied with her ponytail and braids that crowned her head, she walked to her closet and looked for a top to wear.  She tried to focus on her search, but her mind kept racing back to last night and this morning.

           Last night was incredible...amazing...fun.  Without a doubt, the sex was better than it was the first time they were together.  Lovemaking with Aubrey was always really, really good, but last night was different somehow.  Then she realized it was because unlike the first time, they’d never experienced losing each other before.  Now that they knew what it was like to be separated, they had a new appreciation for being together.

           She and Aubrey were together again and she felt so…peaceful.  Things were always better when she had her Superman in her life.  They still had a long way to go, but they would get there if they worked as a team.

           But first, they had to do something about Karen Delfs.

           She knew that some of her anger at the woman came from feeling betrayed by the profiler’s false friendship.  She never had sisters growing up until Nadia came into her life when she was twelve.  It was now obvious that the profiler picked up on that and worked to fill that role, even though Gail, Angela, Daisy, and Andie had already done so.  Jessica’s friends tried to warn her about the older woman’s intentions, but she refused to believe it...or didn’t want to because Karen seemed to know just what buttons to push in her.

           She’d even ignored the bad vibe she got when Aubrey had told her about the way Karen would listen when he needed to talk about his father while she was in Scotland.  Never before had she pushed her instincts aside...and the one time she did it backfired.  Luckily, she’d gotten her head out of her butt and began listening again.  Now her life was starting to right itself and things were getting back to normal.

           Jessica also knew that the rest of her anger was because Karen continued to mess with her Superman’s emotions.  

           The anthropologist knew Aubrey still felt tremendous guilt over indirectly leading Karen on.  She agreed that what he had done was wrong, but he’d accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to the profiler more than once.  She also understood that her boyfriend also felt that he had to give Karen a lot of leeway because the profiler’s friendship helped him a lot after they broke up.

           However, Jessica was certain that Karen was now taking advantage of Aubrey’s sense of loyalty and guilt to wedge herself more into his life.  For weeks, the redhead kept telling herself that she was raised to be tolerant and forgiving.  However, Aubrey’s party was the last straw.

           It frustrated her when the profiler crashed the festivities, but let it go for Aubrey’s sake.  She grew irritated when the woman flirted with him, but blew it off when Aubrey ignored her.  She later evolved to anger when Karen gave her boyfriend that G-string, but was determined not to let the woman see how much it bothered her.  Hearing the profiler disparage the presents she got for Aubrey to Dr. B hurt for about two seconds before she realized that the only opinion that mattered was the guest of honor’s...and he loved them...and his party.

           Jessica was still mortified from Karen’s appalling comments about the guest list including children and shook her head at the woman’s audacity.  It took balls for a party crasher to animadvert a guest list for a party she was never invited to, especially since she was only attending because of Aubrey’s generosity.  However, her guests had no issue with the children there and she knew that Aubrey wouldn’t have enjoyed himself as much if Christine, Hank, and Michael Vincent were not invited.

           Later today, she would thank Dr. B for succinctly putting the profiler in her place as only the forensic anthropologist could.  Frankly, Karen Delfs could take her criticisms about the party and shove them up her lying, scheming heinie.  

           But what kept gnawing at her and really, really pissed her off was Karen’s selfishness in letting Aubrey open that very personal and inappropriate gift in front of his friends, knowing his private nature.  The profiler didn’t extend the courtesy of putting the gift aside to ambush the agent with at another time when she saw the large group attending the party.  She didn’t even care that she embarrassed her _‘friend’_.

           The bitch didn’t even offer Aubrey an apology for humiliating him in front of his guests.  All she cared about was laying _‘claim’_ on him in front of her and their friends.  In Jessica’s opinion, friendship meant thinking of other people besides oneself.  Perhaps that’s Karen why didn’t have too many friends, or, if she did, Jessica had never met any of them.

           Realizing that Aubrey would be there soon, Jessica continued her search in the closet while she tried to analyze the profiler.

 _'Why would any sane woman in her right mind continue to chase a man who is obviously not interested in her?’_ , Jessica asked herself.   _‘That seems masochistic…’_

           Karen was attractive.  Jessica had seen men give the profiler a second look more than once on the occasions when they’d gone out for drinks.  She wasn’t an idiot, either.  The profiler had enough intelligence to graduate from Georgetown and forge a successful career with the FBI.   She was also smart enough to be attracted to Aubrey, who was a hottie.

           On the other hand, Karen was over five years Aubrey’s senior,  which wasn’t the biggest deal in the world as the agent and herself had an almost five year difference.  However, her age could be an issue as it would be more difficult to have children as she got older.  Of course, as Karen had demonstrated last night, a family was not something she was interested in, unlike her Superman, who loved kids.  

           The profiler was also pushy, selfish, and bulldozed over people to get her own way, hence her very inappropriate birthday present to Aubrey.  Jessica smiled with satisfaction at having the upper hand, because while Aubrey was humiliated and didn’t want to acknowledge the other woman’s gift, he loved the presents she had for him…ALL of them.

           She was the woman Aubrey wanted to hang out with.  It was her that he wanted to spend his birthday with.  Most of all, she was the one who caused him to lose control when they made love last night...and this morning.

            Jessica’s thoughts then drifted to her conversation with Aubrey as they cleaned up after the party.

            She wasn’t exaggerating about her concerns about the profiler attempting to do something detrimental to her personal life or future career as retaliation.  Only an idiot wouldn’t notice her blatant pursuit to get Aubrey into bed and her intent to be in a serious relationship with him.  Karen’s bitchy attitude and catty comments to her last night were another indicator that the profiler was not happy about the renewal of her friendship with the agent and that her obvious plan to seduce Aubrey for his birthday was ruined.

            Jessica knew that when Karen found out that she and Aubrey fully reconciled this weekend, she would be seriously pissed that her plans were now up in smoke.  More than ever, she couldn’t let her guard down for anything when it came to that woman.

            Once again, she felt stupid for trusting the older woman’s offer of friendship when she returned from Kansas City.  However, what’s done is done.  While humbled, she was now wiser, but she wouldn’t let it make her cynical.  Karen didn’t deserve to have that power over her life.

            In the end, it was her that James Aubrey was in love with, not Karen Delfs.  They weren’t each other’s first loves, but they would be each other’s last.            

           Just then, she heard a knock.  Suddenly getting a mischievous thought, she left the top on the dresser and walked to her door.  Seeing her boyfriend in the Judas Hole, she opened the door and was rewarded to see his eyes pop out.

           “Jess!  Where’s your shirt?”

           The redhead stood with her hands on her hips and a smile.  “The bedroom because I needed to answer the door.  Now come in.  You don’t want me to get a chill, do you?”

           “I wouldn’t mind.”  Aubrey retorted as he came in, thinking of Jessica’s nipples hard and erect from the cold.

           The redhead smirked as she watched his eyes never leave her breasts.  “I bet you wouldn’t, James Aubrey.”

           The agent felt something rise as he admired how the cranberry embroidery of the bra complemented her fair skin.  “You know, we have a few minutes before we have to leave.”

           Before the redhead could move, Aubrey picked her up in a fireman’s carry to her laughter.  Kicking the door shut, he trotted her through the small apartment back to her bedroom.

_“ James Aubrey, if we have sex again, we’re going to be late….”_

_“Woman, you started it.  Besides, when has being late ever stopped us?”_           

* * *

            Aubrey and Jessica arrived at FedEx Field around 1:00 PM, still glowing from making love earlier.  Getting out of the SUV, they couldn’t stop touching each other as they walked.  Smiling, the redhead smacked Aubrey’s butt after they got past a few Detroit tailgaters.

           “Jess!”, the FBI agent loudly whispered.

           “What?  You grabbed my butt while we were walking to your SUV and Mr. Cho had customers in the parking lot.  Besides, I like your butt, especially in these jeans.”

           “Thank you.”, Aubrey replied as his ears turned red before taking Jessica’s hand in her own.

            They let go at the gate as Jessica’s bag was checked.  When cleared, they took each other’s hand again until they got near the stairs to the suites.  Reluctantly, they let go.

           “Sorry, Jess.”, Aubrey said.  “We need to be discreet, you know?”

           “I know.”, Jessica sighed.  “But as you said earlier, it’s not forever.  It’s a good plan.”

           “Yeah…it’s a good plan.”, the agent said with a shrug of his shoulder.  “So how do we get to the team suite?”

           Jessica gave their tickets to the guard, who opened the door.  “Daisy said take a right when we get to the second tier and when we get to a kiosk, we just have to give our IDs to the security guard.”

           “Cool.  I’m hungry.  I hear they always have a big spread in one of those fancy suites.”

            Jessica chuckled as she started up the stairs.  “You’re always hungry, Aubrey.”

            Aubrey opened the doors to the second tier.  “Well, you shouldn’t have rode me so hard earlier, Ms. Warren.  As you said last night, making love to my beautiful girlfriend always make me hungry afterwards.”

            It was Jessica’s turn to be blushing as the two walked out and found the kiosk.  When their IDs were confirmed, the guard pushed a button and the door opened.  Going down the hallway, they found the door to the team suite and opened it.  Inside, they were greeted by their friends, who were enjoying various drinks and snacks.

           “Look who finally decided to join us…”, Hodgins said with a wry smile before looking at the large digital clock on the wall.  “...and made it with twelve minutes to spare.”

           “Sorry…traffic was nuts around the stadium and Aubrey had to park by a bunch of rabid Lions fans.”, Jessica said, hoping no one had noticed her embarrassment.

            “Yeah, their chicken and hot dogs smelled really good, but we didn’t want to be late for the game, you know.”

            “One would think that an exit off 495 just for the stadium would make it easier to show up on time, but it’s not.”

            “I know...right?”, Aubrey said, as nervous as Jessica.  “Maryland or the Department of Transportation needs to do something about that.”

            “I hate being held up by inadequate amount of expressway planning.  It’s a pain in the ass.”

            Angela heard their nervous banter and saw that something seemed different between the two latecomers.  “I’m sure it was, Sweetie.”

            Booth came up holding his beer and pointing at the table at the far end of the room.  “Food’s all over there, Aubrey.  Don’t eat it all.”

           Aubrey gave his friend a face.  “Funny, Booth.  You’re a funny guy.”

           “Booth is not being funny, Aubrey.”,  Brennan chimed in.  “He’s referring to your very well-known eating habits.”

           “Of course, Doctor B.”, the agent replied before looking at his girlfriend.  “Jess, do you want a beer?”

           The anthropologist nervously played with her hair.  After they made love, she didn’t have time to redo her hair.  In a hurry, she quickly brushed it down as Aubrey hurriedly put his pants on before they ran out of the apartment.

           “That would be nice, thank you.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           Clark, Wendell, Hodgins, and Arastoo were enjoying their refreshments as they waited for Aubrey to make his way across the room to join them.

           “Ten bucks says they’re doing it now.”, Clark said.

           “Karen was a fucking pest last night.”, Wendell said.  “I say they couldn’t get her to leave, so they just made out before Jessica went home.”

           A returning Booth laughed as he sat down and took a drink from his beer.  “I’m not betting, but sorry, Wendell.  Aubrey has a goofy look on his face and it’s not from the food or the gifts he got for his birthday.  Besides, Bones, the kids, and I were the last to leave and Jessica didn’t look to be leaving anytime soon.  They slept together last night...and most definitely this morning...”

“...and probably afterwards.”  Hodgins said before pulling out his wallet and grabbing a bill.  “Twenty bucks says they were late because they were doing it before they left for the game.”

           “I’ll see that.”, Arastoo said as he put his water bottle down and pulled out his money.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           “Jessica gave Aubrey birthday sex last night.”, Angela said, nodding in the redhead’s direction before sipping her bottle of water.

           “Angela, they said they are friends while they are working things out.”, Brennan said as she continued to watch the couple.

            Everyone observed Aubrey bring Jessica a beer.  As the redhead took the bottle, all saw his hand moved to her back and slide lower before the redhead jumped slightly and blushed.

           “Jessica says Aubrey is a butt man.”,  Daisy said with a chuckle.  “I bet he really enjoyed hers last night after all of us left.”

           “You don’t know that they are having sexual intercourse now.”  Brennan replied.

           Cam sipped her cocktail.  “I’m with Angela and Daisy, Dr. Brennan.  I’m certain they have not only worked things out, but are moving along at lightning speed because Aubrey can’t keep his hands off her and Ms. Warren has that certain glow.”

            Brennan returned her gaze back to the redhead.  “Glow?”

           “Yeah, that _‘bow chicka bow wow.’_ glow.”, Andie said with a chuckle.  

           “I don’t know what that means…”,  Brennan replied.

           “Shhhhh…she’s coming.”, Daisy whispered.

           Jessica walked over and saw the guilty looks on her friends’ face.  “What?”

           “Nothing.  We were just talking about what a great party you gave Aubrey last night.  Not even the presence of that pain in the ass Karen...brought down the festivities.”  Angela smirked as she took another sip of her water. “I bet it’s was a birthday he appreciated immensely and will remember for a long time.”

            Daisy let out a muffled snicker as the other ladies bit back their laughter at their friend’s comments.

 _‘Shit, shit, shit, shit…’_ Jessica said in her head as she took a long drink of her beer.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           Aubrey saw the smiles on the guys’ faces and hesitated before he sat down.  “What’s the joke?”

           “No joke.”, Clark said, nudging Wendell slightly.  “So…did you have a good birthday?”

           Aubrey squinted his eyes in suspicion.  “You were at my party, Clark.  Did it seem like I had a good birthday?”

           “You look like you enjoyed it...except that it had to suck that you spent the day working with Booth.”,  Wendell said before the older agent smacked him.

           “Shut it.”,  Booth said.  “We caught a bad guy…that’s what’s important.”

           The guys laughed together for a moment before Arastoo jumped in.  “Say, did you and Jessica have much to clean up after we all left last night?  Cam wanted to get the boys home or else we would have stayed to help.”

           “Definitely had to get the boys home, Arastoo.”  Wendell said before taking a drink of his beer.  “I mean, after all, according to Karen all the children there hijacked Aubrey’s party...at least until Dr. B put her in her place.”  

           “Nope, didn’t take long at all.”, Aubrey said calmly as he drank his beer.

           Hodgins sat back in his wheelchair.  “So…what time did Jessica go home last night?”

           “Late…late-ish. It was kind of late, but I don’t remember the exact time.”,  Aubrey said in a moderate panic before taking a chug of his beer.   _‘Shit…they’re going to know.  Keep it a secret…keep it a secret.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           “So….Karen’s horrid gift didn’t put a damper on the evening, did it?”, Daisy asked as she munched on a pretzel.  “If someone gave that to Beau her body would never be found.”

           “No…in fact…”, Jessica said as she pulled out her phone.

             Jessica played the video of Skinner which cracked everyone up.  When it was over, the redhead hoped it was enough to distract her friends from their nosy questions.

           “So…what time did you get home last night, Jessica?”,  Cam asked.

           “Ms. Warren, I’m curious about that myself.”  Brennan chimed in.  “Booth and I left with Christine and Hank around 10:30 and we were the last to leave.”

            Nope…not enough to distract.

            “Late…got home late.”, Jessica stammered. “It was really late.”            

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           “So…Angie told me this morning that Jessica bought that dress specifically for your party last night.”, Hodgins said.  “She looked nice, didn’t she?  Green’s a good color for her.”

           “Yeah…yeah…”, Aubrey said, trying to keep the blush to himself as he recalled the easy access her dress gave him to her lovely body last night...and her lack of panties this morning under the same dress.  “She looks good in green…”

           “Andie bought that same dress in dark pink.  It’s…really convenient when we get busy in the kitchen.”, Wendell deadpanned.

           Aubrey spit out his beer and coughed.  “What?”

           Wendell kept the smile from his face.  “Sometimes when she runs late from the hospital and I’m running late from school, she has to get dressed while the meal is cooking.”

           “O…oh…”,  Aubrey said.

           The other guys snickered before Hodgins looked back at his wife.  Getting his phone, he quickly sent a text.

            **_They so did it in kitchen.  Always best place 2 get lucky.  We should know.  Newest Hodgins conceived in there._ **

           When Angela read it, she turned to her husband and gave a subtle thumbs up.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           “You know…Aubrey looked really cute last night.”, Daisy said.

           “Yeah Sweetie…didn’t you say once that the shirt he wore last night was one of your favorites?”, Angela said before munching on a carrot.

           “Yes...yes it is.”, Jessica said before stealing one of Daisy’s pretzels and eating it.

           “I remember you mentioned that when the two of you came to our house for Sunday dinner four months ago. You also said that it brought out the blue in his eyes.”, Brennan commented.

           “Wait…dark blue with small white dots… didn’t Aubrey wear a shirt like that on your first date?”, Andie chimed in with a smile.

           Jessica gulped before turning towards the field.  “Hey, look.  It’s 1:27.  Kickoff will happen in a couple of minutes.”

 ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***            

           With 2:24 left in the second quarter, Aubrey walked over to refill his plate of food and was happy to see his girlfriend separated from the others.  Walking up to her, he whispered into Jessica’s ear as she got some veggies on a plate.

           “I have my suit for tomorrow in the SUV and fed Skinner extra food before I left to pick you up.”

           Jessica smiled as she whispered back.  “I have the party leftovers in my fridge ready for later.  I also went grocery shopping yesterday morning and picked up that habanero jack cheese you like so much in your omelets.”

           “Ham, cheese, and spinach omelet….YES!”,  Aubrey exclaimed without realizing how loud he was.

           “Omelet?”,  Booth said.

           Aubrey stammered as everyone looked at him, so Jessica jumped in.  “We’re talking about where to meet up for breakfast tomorrow.  Aubrey insists on buying me breakfast as a thank you for his party last night.  There’s a café by my apartment that I suggested because it has a ham, cheese, and spinach omelet and Aubrey loves those.”

           “Are you talking about that vegan one, Jessica?”, Daisy said.  “I thought you said that their food tasted like cardboard.”

            It was the redhead’s turn to stammer nervously.  “Well…they’re expanding their menu a bit, so I decided to give it another chance.  Aubrey said it was okay as long as they didn’t give him soy cheese in his omelet.”

           “Soy cheese is evil.”  Aubrey chimed in.

           “Food is not good or evil, Aubrey.”  Brennan said.  “Soy cheese is a viable substitute for regular cheese and is quite flavorful in some dishes.”

            Daisy suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree.  “Look…my hubby is out on the field.”

            Everyone headed over to the window while Aubrey and Jessica sighed together in relief that didn't go unnoticed by Brennan and Booth.     

       ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           “Aubrey…are sure you don’t want to stick around?  The team is giving us another tray of food to celebrate their win over Detroit.”, Booth said in a sing song tone as his thumb gestured behind him.

            The agent looked at the spread one more time.  The meat was delicious, the cheese varied, and the vegetables nice, crunchy, and colorful.  However, he preferred to spend the rest of his Sunday with Jessica at her apartment nibbling on birthday leftovers before moving onto her smooth, cherry vanilla scented skin for the rest of the night.

            “No, I can’t.  Jess needs to work on her dissertation and I need to do my laundry.”

            “Okay, Aubrey.  See you at the Hoover tomorrow.”, Booth said, stifling a chuckle, knowing what the agent and graduate student were going to work on wasn't research or laundry.

            The couple said their goodbyes before walking out at a respectable distance from each other.  As soon as they got to the first level, they held hands again.

            “That was harder than I anticipated, Superman.”, Jessica said.  “I think they suspect something.”

            The couple got out the exit and Aubrey put his arm around his favorite redhead.  “Possibly, but that’s not going to stop me from going home with you and making love to you all night.”

           “All night, huh?”, the anthropologist said before she sobered, remembering what they talked about while preparing their breakfast earlier.  “What about tomorrow?  It’s probably not going to go very well.”

           “I know, but it’s got to be done.  I’m going to take care of it Jess.”, Aubrey said before closing the gap on their almost six inch height difference by kissing her on the top of her head.  “Now, no more worries.  Let’s think of more pleasant things tonight, okay?”

            Jessica smiled.  “You’re going to be a tired man tomorrow, Superman.”

           The agent smirked at his girlfriend.  “I prefer to see it as...fortified for battle.”

            First Jessica, then Aubrey cracked up as they continued walking to his SUV.           

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           “They are back together…I’m telling you.”, Angela giggled. “I’m going to make her spill Tuesday.”

           “If she’s going to tell anyone, it’s going to be me, Angela.”, Daisy said petulantly.

           “If Aubrey is going to spill to anyone, it’s going to be Booth.”, Clark said.  “Going to make him spill?”

           The older man thought of how things were like when he and Bones got together as he finished his beer.  Setting the empty glass down, he turned to everyone.  “No.  I’m going to respect Aubrey and Jessica’s privacy.”

           “Come on, Booth.”,  Wendell said.  “That’s no fun.”

           “So will all of you, okay?”, Booth said.  “They’re working things out, you guys, and I’m happy for them.  They already have Karen to deal with without us sticking our noses in where it doesn't belong.  They will tell us when they’re ready.  Let’s be their friends and support them without interfering in their relationship.  Agreed?”

           Booth heard grumbles.  “Agreed!?”

           The agreement was much more vocal this time.  Satisfied, Booth turned back to the food platters.  “Come on, Aubrey’s gone.  How often do we get seconds and thirds when he’s here?”

           “Booth!”, Brennan said while smacking his arm.

           “What?  It’s the truth!”,  Booth replied as he rubbed his arm.           

* * *

           Six hours later, there were dirty dishes in Jessica’s sink along with four empty beer bottles on the counter.  Aubrey’s jacket was thrown on the back of the couch along with Jessica’s.  On the floor, discarded clothes and shoes made a trail between the center island of the kitchen and the redhead’s bedroom.

_“YES!  YES!  YES!  Superman!”_

           Jessica was riding Aubrey as they made love for the third time.  Meeting each stroke, he held onto her for dear life while pushing harder into her from below.   When she tightened her thighs around his waist, he sensed her imminent orgasm.  Pushing himself up, Aubrey held her against him.

           “Aaaahhhhh….”, Jessica moaned as she held onto her lover’s shoulders tightly.

           Aubrey felt her warmth and he released into his girlfriend before collapsing back onto the bed panting.  A few seconds later, the redhead followed him with her head on his chest.

           “I’ve never…had an anatomy…lesson like that…Superman.”,  Jessica breathed.  “It was...so...worth the wait.”

            “Thank you.”,  The lanky man replied as he was finally able to catch his breath.  “I’m not just a pretty face with a gun, you know, Ms. Warren.  I am a constant surprise.”

           They laid together, not concerned about how sweaty they were, just happy to be together.  After a minute, Jessica hugged him as he took her in his arms.  “I missed being with you like this so much, James.”

            Aubrey gently rubbed his girlfriend’s naked back up and down.  “I missed this too, Jessica.”

            “I’m still a little scared, you know.”, the redhead said.

             Aubrey held the lithe woman closer to him in the darkness.  “I am, too.”

             Jessica placed a kiss on her boyfriend’s chest.  “I’m...still a work in progress, though.”

            “We both are, Jessica.”  Aubrey said as he continued to softly caress her.

             The anthropologist looked up at her boyfriend.  “But that’s okay, Aubrey because we’re going to do this together, right?”

            “Yeah.”, the agent said.

            “Are you scared about tomorrow?”,  Jessica asked.

             Aubrey thought about lying, but thought better as Jessica would hear it in his voice.  “Honestly...a little.  I have to agree with your earlier assessment that it’s probably not going to go well.”

             Jessica knew Aubrey didn’t scare easily and she could sense his trepidation.  Scooting up, she propped her head up with her right hand while her left drew patterns on her lover’s chest.   “I’m sorry that you are in this position.  I wish there was something I could do for you.”

             Aubrey turned on his side to face her and ran his hand softly up and down her covered hip.  “There is...forgive me for letting this shit storm go on for so long.”

             Jessica’s heart broke at how her boyfriend continued to blame himself.  “Superman, there’s nothing to forgive.  Not only did you take responsibility what you did wrong, but you bent over backwards to be the kindhearted, loyal person you’ve always been to Karen.  What has happened since is not on you.”

             “It is if she comes after you--”

             “Superman, enough.  You can’t stop her from being stupid.  What you can do is put your foot down and let her know the consequences of her future actions.  I…”,  Jessica said as her hand went to her chest.  “...can take care of myself, all right?”

             “I know...I know...you’re independent, Jessica, but...I want to protect you.  You’re my best friend...and the woman I love.”

             “You’re my best friend and the man I love, Aubrey.  When it comes to Karen Delfs, I’ll always be on my guard.  I promise if the bitch tries anything, I’ll let you know.”

             Aubrey touched her cheek softly.  “Okay, but I’m still going to worry.  You can’t take that away from me, Jess.”

             “And I’m going to worry about you every day you are on the job, but I know you take care of yourself.”,  Jessica said as her fingers rubbed the hairs on his chest.

             “Touche, Jess.”, the agent said before coming in for a kiss that Jessica answered sweetly.  “I love you Jessica.”

             “I love you, too Aubrey.”, the anthropologist replied smiling before pushing the lanky man down and snuggling next to him.  “We should try to get some sleep.  You have a tough day coming tomorrow.”

             “And early one.”, Aubrey responded before they came together in a another gentle kiss.  “Good night, Jess.”

              The redhead smiled.  “Good night Superman.”

              The lovers held each other close before going to sleep.  Aubrey needed all the rest he could get for what he had planned for tomorrow morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The game depicted in his chapter actually happened October 23, 2016 at FedEx Stadium. However, in real life Detroit won 20 - 16.
> 
> Go Lions!


	22. Setting Things Straight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, the time has come to deal with the pink elephant in Aubrey & Jessica's room. How do you think it goes?
> 
> Another A/N: Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming to L & C but not for a while so our holidays will be off, but we hope you enjoy those chapters leading up to the holidays enough that it will be worth it.
> 
> Now, on with the story...
> 
> Rated 'T' for salty language.

             Aubrey and Jessica were in peaceful slumber with him spooning her when the alarm went off at 5:15 AM.  Groaning, the agent reached behind him and shut off the buzzing on his phone.  As he turned back, the redhead rolled over and wrapped her arm around her lover.

            “Good morning, Superman…”, she whispered.  “How about you give me something nice and sweet to start my day?”

            Aubrey wanted to stay in bed with her, but real life was calling.  “I have to get up, Jess.”

            Jessica responded by holding him tighter.  “Five more minutes, Superman.  You’re so warm.”

            As he rubbed her back, her nude body tempted him further.  “God, you feel so good...”

            “Thank you.”, Jessica said with a sleepy grin.  “And I can make you feel good, too…”

            “...but today is too important for me, and I can’t afford to oversleep...or be distracted.”, Aubrey replied with regret.  “Even by my beautiful, hot girlfriend.”

            “Damn it...I hate it when you’re logical and right.”  Jessica sighed before reluctantly letting him go.  “I’ll be up in a minute to make you breakfast.”

            “I know you had planned to do that, but don’t worry about me, Jess.  Get some sleep.”, he said before kissing her head.  “I’ll tell you goodbye before I leave.”

            Jessica enjoyed the view of Aubrey’s naked backside as he got up and walked across the hall into her bathroom.  When the door shut, she got out of bed.  As she exited the bedroom, she pulled her boyfriend’s t-shirt from the floor.  Putting it on, she searched the trail of clothes until she found her socks from yesterday in the living room.  When she put them on, she smiled as she went to her task. 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***  

            Thirty minutes later, a freshly showered and shaved Aubrey came out of the bathroom, dressed for the day.  Seeing Jessica’s bedroom door shut, he figured she’d gone back to sleep until he heard noises from the kitchen.  Picking up their scattered clothes long the way, he made the short trip there as a wonderful smell was emanating from the front of the small apartment.  

            “Where’s my Quantico t-shirt?”, he muttered.  

            Arriving at her tiny kitchen, he found his missing clothing on his girlfriend as she stood in front of the stove.  Only on his redhead could an FBI t-shirt and brightly colored cat socks look so good.

            “Jess, what are you doing up? It’s ten to six.”, Aubrey inquired before dropping the pile of clothes on her couch.

            “Making our breakfast, silly.”, Jessica said before shaking some pepper onto her cooking and flipping pancakes expertly from a griddle pan next to her.  “I’ve got your omelet started.  I’m also making my cinnamon pancakes that you like so much and some of Mr. Leonelli’s wonderful link sausage, which I swiped from your fridge yesterday.  The coffee should be done brewing in a minute, and I’ve also set the cinnamon and your cup out by the coffeemaker.

            Aubrey felt guilty because she didn’t have to be at the lab until 1:00.  “Jessica, you didn’t have to do this--”,

            The redhead turned around and pointed her spatula at her boyfriend.  “Not another word, Superman, or I’ll eat all of this good food just to spite you while making you watch.”

            The agent saw the intense expression on her face and nodded.  “Damn, you would, too...and it smells amazing.”

            “Thank you.”  Returning her attention to her tasks, Jessica moved around the sausage as it cooked.  “I promised you a nice breakfast today, but you also need all the fortification you can get for your first order of business when you get to work.  I love you, James Aubrey, and I’m going to support you when you need me.  Now, be a dear and pour me a cup of coffee, please.  It’s too early for tea.”

            The agent had no words as the anthropologist turned her focus back to the work ahead of her.  Quietly, he walked up, hugged her from behind, and kissed her cheek.  “Thank you...for everything.” 

            “You’re welcome, Superman.  Now I just need my coffee and for you to put some toast in the toaster for us and we’re all good.”

            Smirking, he deftly maneuvered around the redhead in her tiny kitchen to get her MSU coffee mug down from the cabinet.  He poured her coffee before adding just enough cream and cinnamon.  Setting it down by her, he gave her another cheek kiss before pouring a cup of his own. 

            An hour later, a tired but determined Aubrey parked his SUV into his designated space in the Hoover garage.  Getting out, he grabbed his Star Wars travel mug and his computer bag.  When he was situated, he armed his vehicle and walked towards the entrance with purpose.   

            Jessica was right when she said that the breakfast and her reassurances were what he needed this morning.  They enjoyed their time together as they went over the plan for today.  His goodbye kiss lingered longer than in the past, but she then gave him a second kiss for luck.  With that kind of love and attention, he could conquer anything, including the task to be completed shortly.

            Full of nervous energy, he bypassed the elevator and instead took the stairs.  As he walked up to the 4th floor, he was filled with regret.  He’d tried to avoid this, but the issue was forced upon him.  Hopefully, this would be the beginning of the end of his troubles with Karen.

            Opening the stairwell door, Aubrey walked to his office, purposely passing the conference room where the person in question was waiting without a glance in her direction.  After hanging up his coat, he pulled a smaller bag out of his larger one and opened his top drawer.  Pulling out his bottle of cinnamon, he pocketed it as he grabbed his computer bag and coffee before leaving his office.  Walking down the hall to the ASAC’s office, he knocked on her door.  

            “Hey, Genny.  Thanks again for doing this.  Was it a pain to have your mother take Danny to school?”

            “No, she was off today.”, Genny said.  “As for asking me to come in early, Jessica’s suggestion that I join you is a good one.  This way your visitor can’t twist your words to use them against you or to lie about what happened later on...and you’re welcome.” 

            “I saw her in the conference room already.  Did she say anything to you when she came in?”, Aubrey asked.

           “Nope, but I saw her with a large bakery box and two coffees.  It seems that she brought you breakfast.”

           “Great.”, Aubrey said with sarcasm.  “She’s probably going to want to do something different with that breakfast shortly.  Ready?”

            The petite woman stood up.  “Yep.”

           “Let’s go.  The sooner we get this over with, the faster we can get back to more important matters than a profiler who can’t take a hint.”

           Aubrey and Genny walked to the conference room, where Karen Delfs was waiting with a stack of files, the box in question, and two coffees.  Walking in, they caught the look of surprise in the profiler’s face when she saw the second agent.

          “Morning, Aubrey…Agent Shaw.  I didn’t expect to see you this morning, Genevieve.”

           Genny smiled smugly as she poured herself a cup of coffee.  “I know.  Aubrey asked me to be here.”

           “Okay…”,  Karen said before turning on a smile for Aubrey, who took the carafe from his assistant.  “Aubrey, you don’t need that coffee.  Look...I’ve brought you a quad shot cappuccino with cinnamon in it, just the way you like it.” 

           The agent wouldn’t deny he was tempted, but there was too much at stake to avoid hurt feelings again.

            “Thanks, but I already have coffee.”, Aubrey said as he topped off the coffee Jessica poured into his Star Wars mug before he left her apartment.         

            Karen was thrown by Aubrey’s refusal of his favorite caffeinated beverage.  When she saw him pull a small bottle of cinnamon out of his pocket and add it to his coffee, she collected herself before she stood up and walked over to him.

           “But I brought you a quad shot cappuccino with cinnamon...this is your favorite.”, the profiler said in a more direct tone as she held it out toward him.  “Now, it’s polite to accept when someone goes out of their way to bring you a surprise, so...take it.”

            Aubrey fought his first instinct to take the drink and keep the peace.  “I appreciate that Karen, but no thank you.  I already have coffee with me, so I don’t need the cappuccino.”

            ‘I see…”, Karen said, slightly miffed as the two agents sat down.  Walking back to her seat, she put the hot drink down and slid it in front of the agent.  “I’m sure you’ll change your mind.”

            Aubrey’s response was to slide it back to the woman in front of him.  “Karen, you can have it.  I don’t want it this morning.”

            Not used to the agent turning down coffee, she took a deep breath before setting it aside.  “So no coffee...all right.  However, I bet you didn’t have anything to eat yet at this ungodly hour, so I brought you some bear claws from your favorite bakery.”        

             “No thanks, Karen.  I had a big breakfast before I came in this morning.”, Aubrey said before taking a sip of his coffee.

            “I’ll take one, Karen.”, Genny said before opening the box and snagging one, catching the irritated look on the profiler.  Taking a bite, she groaned.  “Boss, these are amazing.”

            “They are, but I’ve already had the pleasure to consume a delicious five egg omelet with ham, spinach, and kick ass habanero jack cheese, cinnamon pancakes, sausage, and rye toast.”

            Annoyed that the food she brought for the agent was pushed aside, Karen couldn’t keep the bite out of her voice.  “First Little Miss Mensa Girl gives you a party behind my back and now she gets all domesticated with cooking your breakfast.  She doesn’t miss a opportunity, does she?”  

           Aubrey faced the profiler with a steely glare.  “I don’t appreciate the tone of that remark or your comments about Jessica.  Also, whomever I had breakfast with or how I got it is none of your business, Dr. Delfs.”

           Karen saw that she’d overstepped.  Attempting to keep things light, she smiled as Aubrey opened his bag and searched through it.  “Dr. Delfs?  Aubrey, you don't have to get so huffy.  After all, we’re friends, right?“

           Aubrey responded to her teasing by pulling an object out of his computer bag and sliding it across the table.  Immediately, she recognized it.

          “James, traditionally you don’t have to give back the bag your birthday present was in.”

          “I’m not giving back you the bag…I’m returning the gift.  I would’ve returned the tissue paper, too, but Skinner had a field day with it yesterday.”  His expression was grim as he pointed at the bag.  “I don’t want this tasteless item, and it was inappropriate for you to have given me something this personal.”

          Karen felt nausea build up as she saw his anger.  Turning to the female agent, she clenched her fist.  “Agent Shaw, I’m sure you have better things to do than eavesdrop on a private conversation.”

         “Agent Shaw is here per my request, Karen.  I felt that having another party present for this conversation would be appropriate, so that we can avoid any misunderstandings.  Since she attended my party Saturday, things will be more discreet.”, Aubrey said in a professional tone.  “Now, as I was saying, this gift is inappropriate and this sort of thing cannot happen again, Karen.”

         “But you love the Chicago Cubs—“

         “Yes, I love the team, but underwear is not something you give a professional colleague for their birthday.”

        “We’re more than just colleagues, James—“

         “Inside the FBI, I’m Agent Aubrey.  My friends, at work and outside, call me Aubrey.  Only a select few call me James.  Those few are not in this room.”

         Karen felt like she’d been slapped in the face.  “Aubrey...you’re usually not this rude or hurtful.  What has gotten into you?”

         Aubrey hated to be an asshole, but he had no choice.  “What’s gotten into me is I’m fed up with making excuses for your out of line actions.”

         “Excuse me?”, the profiler asked, a look of bewilderment over her face.

         “Okay, I’ll spell it out for you.  Your behavior towards me has become bothersome and uncomfortable for the last few months.  However, over the last few weeks, you’ve crossed a line as your actions have now begun disrupting my colleagues’ lives as well.  That is inexcusable.”

         “I don’t know what you mean.”, Karen said, her spine straight.

         Aubrey shook his head at Karen’s obtuseness.  “Does calling Agent Shaw repeatedly, as well as Agent Booth, to track me down while I was off the weekend before last ring a bell?”

          "I was trying to get in touch with you--”

          “I know.  I got your messages but I was busy packing my things for my impending move and under a time crunch.  I wasn't able to stop everything to take a phone call from you.”

         “It would have taken you a minute to answer me.  I was worried about you--”

         “If it was that important, you should have said so on the message or to Agent Shaw.”

         “Well, I’m sorry if I was worried about a colleague.”,  Karen said snarkily before turning to the ASAC.  “My apologies if my concern about Aubrey bothered you and took you away from your job at Acting SAC, Agent Shaw.  As Aubrey’s ASAC, you may want to remember that diplomacy towards co-workers and proper time management serves you well at the FBI, not power trips.”

         “Thank you for taking me to my next point, Karen because you’re right that power trips don’t work here.  So explain about the one you had when you refused to give Genny those profiles to review while I was gone?  She was Acting SAC when I was off October 14th and the 17th.  In case you forgot, that meant she had full authority over the division while I was gone, including the right to review your cases.  Refusing to provide them is obstruction.”

         “Good grief, Genny, what didn’t you whine to Aubrey about?  I apologized to you for that incident, but you were rude and dismissed me.”, Karen admonished before turning to Aubrey.  “Agent Shaw needs to quit being so sensitive instead of always running to you when someone makes a boo boo that hurts her feelings.”

          Genny merely shook her head as Aubrey pressed forward.  “How about harassing Jessica at the lab more than once, including causing a disturbance during your last visit on the 6th that was witnessed by several people?”                     

          Karen took another deep breath.  “Everyone is blowing that out of proportion.  I had a discussion with Jessica that got a little heated, that’s all.  She was the one who cried to her boss after they misinterpreted what had happened between us.  She may be almost thirty, but she definitely needs a lesson in maturity.”

          “I’m not even going to comment on your standards of maturity in an adult, Karen.”, Aubrey replied before sitting straighter.  “As for the other thing, what you’re saying is that a renowned entomologist, the foremost forensic anthropologist in the country, and an extremely trustworthy forensic artist, as well as several other employees at the lab all got the wrong impression of you grabbing Jessica’s arm?  All those people misheard all the indecorous comments you said to Jessica, particularly about your lingerie and the crude and vulgar lies you told about the two of us engaging in sexual intercourse?”  

          “Frankly, it was a private conversation that they eavesdropped on--”

          “...that you chose to hold in a public setting.  You’re lucky that Hodgins only banned you from the lab.  If you would have pulled that stunt with one of my agents, Agent Tanner would have received a call from me personally, and I would’ve recommended terminating your employment.”, Aubrey retorted angrily before continuing.  “There is also the issue of you convincing my former landlady to let you into my apartment without my consent--” 

            Karen rolled her eyes.  “I’ve already explained that to you--”

            “Then you visited Mrs. Hall after I moved out of my apartment to pump her for personal information, including my new address.”

            Steeling her spine, Karen tightened her jaw.  “You moved without telling me and wouldn’t take my calls.  How else was I supposed to find you on your birthday?  Then she messed up and gave me the wrong place, where I was greeted by some ZZ Top wannabe.  What kind of people do Angela and Dr. Hodgins hang out with anyway?”

            Aubrey felt a chuckle come on at Angela’s father being described as _‘some ZZ Top wannabe.’_  However, his anger about the situation as well as his irritation at having to conduct this early morning meeting instead of having an early morning tumble with Jessica pushed his easy going nature aside.  

            “That man who greeted you is Angela’s father, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, who had some interesting things to say about your visit there.”, the agent retorted.  “As for why you were sent there, I gave Mrs. Hall Angela and Hodgins’ address on purpose.”

            “Why would you do something like that, Aubrey?”,  Karen replied, genuinely confused.

            Aubrey’s eyebrows lifted but he kept his patience.  “Your little stunt with breaking into my apartment convinced me to move somewhere more secure.  I couldn’t risk anyone taking advantage of Mrs. Hall’s sweet nature again to gain entry into my residence, especially if the next time I had Christine, Hank, or Michael Vincent with me.”

            “I don’t think it’s very nice for Booth, Dr. B, or even that Angela and Dr. Hodgins to dump their children on you, Aubrey.  You have a life--”

            “They don’t dump their kids on me, Karen.  I genuinely enjoy spending time with them and anyway, don’t change the subject.  Because you entered my apartment without my consent, I had to move into a place with better security.  Luckily, Booth’s old house became available that day and has all the security I required.  Since he and Dr. B aren’t as vulnerable as Mrs. Hall, I don’t have to worry about any more unexpected guests.”

            “Aubrey, I was worried about your safety.”, Karen said in a singsong voice, as if she was speaking to a child.  “I was afraid you were injured and were in danger.”

            Glancing at Genny, the SAC could tell that she was thinking the same thing.  Using the instincts that helped his Mock Trial team rank third in the Classics division of the 2008 Yale Invitational, he moved in.

            “Then why, after Mrs. Hall let you in and you saw I was gone, didn’t you write me a note and leave my apartment?”, Aubrey asked.  “Once your fear that I had fallen in the shower and cracked my head open or I was unconscious somewhere was proven wrong, there was no need for you to stay.  That fact that you did still upsets me, Karen, because you crossed a boundary I’m not comfortable with.  Do you even care that it upset me?”

            Karen was speechless for a moment before crossing her arms.  “Jessica put you up to moving without telling me, didn’t she?  She is so jealous of my relationship with you.  You need to talk to her about that before things get out of hand.”

            “No, it wasn’t Jessica’s idea to move.” Aubrey held his anger at her continued disregard for his concerns.  “I still needed to give Mrs Hall a forwarding address, but I was afraid of someone conning her into giving that information out to just anyone.  When I discussed this with my friends, Hodgins and Angela offered up their address since Booth and Dr. B are very private about theirs for security reasons.”

            “Conning an address from an elderly woman, Aubrey?  So not the case.”

            Aubrey interrupted her.  “It seems that my concerns were justified because her daughter called me last Sunday night to inform me that a tall woman with black glasses and auburn hair came by and nagged her elderly mother for my new address just as they sat down to dinner.”

            Karen continued to play dumb.  “I just wanted to bring you dinner…” 

            “And I got another call last night from Agent Hall.  It seems that her mother mentioned that you paid her a visit last Monday while they were having Sunday dinner.”, Aubrey replied.

            “Yes, we had tea while we discussed her grandchildren.  I wanted to check on her because she seemed to adore you.  I did inquire about your new home--”

            Aubrey interrupted the profiler’s answer.  “You told her that I was up for a new security clearance and the FBI needed to evaluate my new house when I wasn’t home.”

            “That’s ridiculous, Aubrey.  Mrs. Hall I think is going a bit senile.”

            The agent was finding it harder to hold back his anger.  “From what Agent Hall told me, you also asked her mother asked about my likes and dislikes for a possible birthday gift.”

            “What’s so wrong with that, Aubrey?”, Karen asked.  “I wanted to get you a present that you would enjoy.”

            He shook his head in amazement.  “So from that conversation, you got the idea that I would want a damn G-string?  That is insane, Karen.”

             “I thought you would like something from the Chicago Cubs...”  

            “And of all the sports memorabilia out there, that’s the only thing you could find?”,  Shaw chimed in, amazed at the profiler’s audacity.  

            Karen narrowed her eyes at the other woman.  “Excuse me Agent Shaw, but this conversation does not include you.”

            “Actually it does, because as Aubrey’s ASAC, I need to support my boss in his effort to keep this division running smoothly.  Having to deal with someone’s inability to be professional distracts from our goal of making the Major Crimes Division the best it can be.”

            The profiler gave a mirthless chuckle.  “Aubrey, better watch out for your job.  I think your ASAC may be gunning for your spot.”

            “Karen, that’s enough.”, Aubrey said forcefully.  “Don’t turn this around on Shaw.  She’s not the one who picks on people’s vulnerabilities for their own gain.”

            Karen did not like where the line of questioning was going.  Deciding on a counterattack, she dived in.  

            “When it comes to taking advantage of someone, you should have a conversation with Jessica.  I’ll remind you that she rudely excluded me from your party, even though she knows we’re close friends.  She’s taking advantage of your generosity and she’s obviously feeling threatened by our friendship.  That’s kind of selfish, if you ask me.”

            The SAC merely rolled his eyes at the woman’s melodramatics.  “I should have thanked Jessica for that instead of allowing you to stay when you crashed my party.  She put a lot of hard work and time into planning and setting that up for me so that I would enjoy my birthday.”

            “Well, she could have called me to help.”,  Karen pouted.  “But, of course, she needs to make me look bad so you’ll sniff after her.”

            “We’re not dogs in heat, Karen.  As for you looking bad, you did that at my birthday party all on your own, starting with showing up uninvited.”

            “Jessica told Booth that she was leaving you alone to go to a stupid dance recital for her niece.  I didn’t want you by yourself on your birthday…”

            “Ah, so that’s how you knew about my birthday...you eavesdropped.  Why am I not surprised?”, the agent said sarcastically.  

            “No, I happened to hear those two talking as I walked by the elevator.  When I realized what was going on, yes, I called on Mrs. Hall for ideas for a gift.  Yes, I made up a story to get your address, but I didn’t want to give away the fact that I was going to surprise you on Saturday.”

            “For what...a birthday booty call?, Aubrey retorted.  “Obviously it wasn’t a planned visit as a friend, because you were dressed up for a fancy date and you looked very surprised when you saw my guests.  As my alleged friend, I would think you would be happy I wasn’t alone.”

            “You weren’t going to be alone, Aubrey.”, Karen said patiently.  “After that...man turned me away at Angela and Dr. Hodgins’ house, I called Agent Burns and he gave me your real address.  Frankly, it was quite hurtful to see everyone there, especially since not one person gave me a heads up.  Jessica should have invited me since we’re friends, but at the risk of repeating a broken record, she feels threatened by me being around you.  Hell, she could have at least come to me for assistance with the plans, because it was obvious that she was in over her head with everything at the party.”

            “Actually, I thought it was well planned and my son had a great time because he made friends with Dr. Saroyan’s youngest son, Jordan.  Not one person complained about the party while I was there, but Aubrey’s opinion is the one that counts.”, Genny said before turning to her supervisor.  “Boss?”

            “Thanks, Genny.”,  Aubrey said before turning to the profiler.  “Contrary to what you think, she gave me the best birthday I have had in years.  Jessica had Dr. B helping her that day.  When we were with our friends at the Redskins’ team suite yesterday, everyone told her what a great party it was, so she didn’t need your assistance.”

            Upset that she was excluded from another activity, Karen pushed it aside.  “Aubrey, you’re thinking emotionally and your judgement is clouded.”, she said patiently.  “Let’s put this into perspective.”

            “Wow…”,  Genny muttered. “Can she be more insulting?”

            “Okay, let’s put things into perspective.”, Aubrey said.  “According to you, Jessica made you look bad by having you show up uninvited with the obvious goal of feeding me before seducing me.  Of course, the fact that she didn’t object when I let you stay at my party forced you to make nasty comments about the gifts I received, insult my guests and her…”

            Aubrey pointed to the blue bag.  “...and then humiliate me by letting me open that...thing without any warning in front of my friends.  Jessica did all that?”

            “Oh my God, are you still grousing about that?  So your present embarrassed you a little bit and Jessica got bitchy jealous.  Chill out, will you?”

            “No, I will not chill out, and Jessica was very gracious to you the entire evening.”, the agent said sharply.

            “She was.  If it was my boyfriend you gave a G-string to under those circumstances, I wouldn’t have been as nice, Dr. Delfs.”, Genny said.

            “Who cares, Agent Shaw.”,  Karen snarked back, her calm and sweet veneer fading.  “This isn’t about you.”

            “No, it’s about you, Karen and your apparent disregard for others.”, Aubrey retorted before bringing back the subject at hand.  “You know what pissed me off most of all?  Not only was I embarrassed, but my friends were as well, because they had to explain to their children what your gift was.”

            “Good grief, it’s not like those kids are ignorant.  My god, that Angela Montenegro alone is the biggest flirt--”

            “That doesn’t matter, Karen.”, Aubrey began.  “I—“

            Sniffling a little bit, Karen shook her head as she interrupted him. “I just want to be your friend, Aubrey.  You’ve had so much happen lately and you weren’t asking me for help like you used to.”

            Aubrey looked past the sad face.  He was taught to always be respectful of women, but the time for respect was gone.  “Because, Karen, I’ve had enough of your help.  You’ve helped spread around a rumor about us hooking up in my office, shown up at my apartment without calling first, and then rearranged my living room without my permission.  Then after Daisy’s wedding, after I asked you to not kiss me again, you tried groping me in the genitals when I was taking you home, which under Washington DC law can be considered sexual battery.  Then, you convinced my landlady to help you break into my apartment without my consent.  With that, you forced my hand and I had to move in secret and not give out my new address because I didn’t want another surprise visit from you.”

            Karen was determined to get her way and changed tactics.  “Sounds like you’re listening to Jessica more than your real feelings--”  

            Aubrey continued to speak.  “However, I gave all those things a pass because I was an ass who treated you disrespectfully.  I should have considered your feelings before having lunch and all those dinners with you after Ms. Warren ended our relationship.  It was wrong and I’m sorry for all that.” 

            “Quit downplaying our time together, because we didn’t just share meals, Aubrey.  We grew closer.  You know deep down that I’m much better for you than that graduate student, but you’re scared.”,  Karen said with a tone one might use when talking to a child.  “It’s normal to gravitate to the familiar when someone new gives you feelings--”

            “Cut the psychobabble, Karen.  I’m not a little kid.”, Aubrey said forcefully.  “As I was saying, your harassment could have an effect how Jessica...and everyone else at the lab does his or her job.  That, in turn can affect our cases, including any prosecutions from the evidence she’s handled.”,  Aubrey said before taking a breath.  “Why did you feel the need to hurt Jessica by lying to her about us?”

            “I wasn’t…I mean…”, Karen said, realizing for the first time that the tide was turning against her.  “I just wanted her to understand that she couldn’t just waltz back into your life whenever she felt like it.  I didn’t want to lie, but I was desperate because you were falling into her trap again.  Don’t you understand?  I was the one who was there for you after she dumped you in the interrogation room while you were working a case!  You were engaged in a firefight that night and your emotional reaction could have gotten you killed!  I brought you chicken and comfort food!”

             Aubrey shook his head.  “Nope, that’s not going to cut it this time, Karen.  I’m an FBI agent trained to put my emotions aside when I’m confronted with a dangerous situation.  You’re right…I was devastated when she broke up with me.  You were there for me and for that, I’ll always be grateful, as well as for your friendship that night you brought me a chicken dinner to my office.  You see, I think that night you were trying to honestly be my friend.”

            “Of course...I was trying to help you.”,  Karen said with restrained irritation.  “I’m the one who told you to talk to her so you could get closure.”

            “Well, we did talk.  It didn’t go completely the way I wanted, but we were...in an okay place.  I should have considered what Jessica was trying to tell me, but instead of coming to terms with my part of our break up, I got impatient waiting for her to come around.  Then, I got stupid by asking your advice and insight to help me get her back.  Tell me, Karen, when did you decide that what you wanted was more important than what I truly needed?”

            Karen sat ramrod straight trying to control her anger.  “I waited two weeks for her to take you back.  When she still wasn’t speaking to you, I knew it was time to help you both move on.”

           “Help us both move on...what a joke.”, Aubrey said snidely.  “Jessica was vulnerable and so was I, but you didn’t care about that.  You didn’t care that I was still in love with her...and that she was still in love with me.  My feelings don’t matter to you, Karen...just what you want.”

          “Yes, Aubrey, they do.”, Karen said as she slammed her hand down on the table.  “I’m the only one who will always put you first.”

         “Like you have already?”,  Aubrey said with a sarcastic laugh.          

         “Yes...I listened to you as you whined about not understanding what happened, when we couldn’t eat at certain places because they reminded you of her...I’ve even put up with your asshole cat!”  

         “Hey!  Leave Skinner out of this.”, the agent retorted.

          Karen’s response was to slam her hand down again to emphasize her thoughts.  “I’m not going to let her take away what’s mine.  It’s my time now!”

         “Wow...Jess was right.”,  Aubrey said before crossing his arms.  “You really do see me as some prize to be won, don’t you?”

         “You are a prize, Aubrey...one that Jessica threw away…”

         “No, Karen.  She did the right thing.”,  Aubrey said.  “We had problems and it took her dumping me as well as Booth and Dr. B giving Jess and I both a kick in the ass for me to see that.  We both messed up, but we’re learning from our mistakes and moving forward.”

         “Did you rehearse that speech all on your own or did that college bitch use her flirtatious nature to force feed it to you while seducing you--”

         “That’s enough, Karen.  Not another word about Jessica.  You don’t have to like her but you will treat her with respect.”, Aubrey replied in a low, chilly voice.  “Now get this through your head…”

          The agent bent forward and pushed his finger onto the table.  “Jessica Warren is my best friend and I’m in love with her.   I’m her best friend and she’s in love with me.  Nobody will ever change that.  None of your head games or scheming will change that, either.  Now, do I need to get a translator in here to tell you that in another language, or is English acceptable?”

          The profiler saw Genny smile and almost lost her temper.  Determined to make Aubrey see he was wrong, she pressed forward, certain that he would understand once she gave him a strong dose of tough love.  

         “Open your fucking eyes, Aubrey and see what I can offer you.  I will always put you first, even when you won’t see reason.  I also won’t let my emotional maturity level dictate how I conduct myself with you.  Jessica, on the other hand, has done crazy shit and is a hot mess—“

         “For the last time, Karen, watch what you say about Jessica.”,  Aubrey said.  “She’s not perfect but her past is none of your business.  I’m not going to warn you again.”

         “You need me more than you need her, Aubrey.”, Karen said desperately.  “With your father and abandonment issues—“

         The Special Agent in Charge finally lost his cool.  “Enough, Karen!  I let it go the first time you went into my personal file after I turned you down for a date months ago.  My past is none of your business, either.”

          Seeing two of their agents walk into the bullpen and look across the room at them, Genny quickly got up and shut the door before returning to her seat.

          Karen turned to the other agent in fury.  “Agent Shaw, leave now.  This conversation is none of your business.”

          “Dr. Delfs, my agents take their orders from me, not you.  If you continue to attempt to circumvent my instruction for her to remain, this conversation will cease until we can continue it in Jake Tanner’s office.  I won’t tell you again.”

           Not wanting to continue a conversation going in circles, Aubrey pointed to the blue bag on the table.  “Now, I’m giving this item back to you.  There will be no more gifts of an intimate or sexual nature either at work or in social situations.  No more meals, no more unannounced visits to my house, and no more visits with colleagues or people in my personal life.  There will also be no more derogatory comments about Ms. Warren.  If this behavior of yours doesn’t cease, I will be filing a sexual harassment complaint against you.  Do I make myself clear?”

          “I thought we were friends, Aubrey.”, Karen said with sadness.

         “I thought we were, too.”, the agent responded.  “Now, I know you have a meeting with Booth in twenty minutes about the Weeks case.  I have payroll that I have to complete, so if you’ll excuse me…”

         Aubrey got up to leave but was stopped by Karen.  “We will still be friends, right?  I don’t want to lose your friendship, Aubrey.  You mean too much to me.”

         The agent felt like kicking her while she was down was wrong.  “I don’t know, Karen.”

        _‘He didn’t say no…”_ Karen thought as she grabbed her blue gift bag and the files she had.  “Okay, well, I’m sure I’ll find another agent to appreciate me.  Enjoy your bear claws.  Good day Agent Shaw.”

         Aubrey sighed in relief when she was gone.  “Finally, I’m going to get some peace back.”

         Genny didn’t want to burst Aubrey’s bubble, but he had become too good of a friend to not say something.  “Boss…May I speak freely?”

        “Yeah, Genny.”

        “She’s not done.  She’s going to lie low for a while, but no way is this over for you and Jessica.  Just…stay on your guard, all right?”

        “I appreciate your concern and I promise to be careful.  However, I just threatened to tank her career.  The FBI does not take sexual harassment lightly.”

         The ASAC had a bad feeling that Aubrey’s optimism would not serve him well in this case.  “I’m aware.  Nonetheless, don’t dismiss her so easily and let me know if there’s anything I can do for you, all right?”

         Aubrey acknowledged the woman’s concern, but he felt sure it wasn’t necessary.  “I will.  Thanks for coming in early.  I know it’s not in the job description of an Assistant Special Agent in Charge.”

        “No problem.”  Genny said. “I’ll see you in your office in an hour for us to go over the division's cases.”

         Aubrey nodded before grabbing the bakery items and walking out of the conference room.  Leaving the bear claws in the break room, he grabbed another cup of coffee.  After adding the cinnamon, he headed back into his office.  Getting his phone, he sent a message to his favorite squint.

         ** _Done.  Awkward af.  K got pissy but accepted.  She wants 2 b friends.  Told her I didn’t know._**

When sent, he grabbed the other bag and took out Christine’s pencil cup.  Putting a small rock he found in it as a weight, he grabbed the pens in his drawer and put them in it before placing it near his nameplate with pride.  Next, he got Michael-Vincent’s frame out.  Opening his computer bag, he grabbed the picture of him and Jessica with Mark Hamill and put it in.  Setting it behind him next to the picture of him and his mother, he admired it for a moment before sitting down and getting to work.

            ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

At her apartment, Jessica was working on her laptop when she heard her phone buzz.  When she read the message, she groaned.  “Damn it, Aubrey…she’s going to mess with you again.”

         If her boyfriend had a fault, while he had a firm sense of justice, he also took any negative action he’d done toward someone to heart.  In turn, that guilt sometimes blinded him.  Unfortunately, those two qualities were something that a few could and would take advantage of.

         Jessica knew of someone who was doing it right now.  If he wanted to believe Karen was going to be honest with him now, he could.  She also knew Aubrey enough that he would ask her to be polite and respectful to the profiler.  That she would do.

         However, she didn’t trust the profiler as far as she could throw her.  She failed her Superman once and was determined to not do it again.  She would do what she had to do to protect her best friend.

         Getting her phone, she sent a text to her boyfriend.

    ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***          

            Aubrey was going through his support staff’s hours when his phone buzzed.  Reading the message he exhaled slowly.

            **_Plz b careful w Karen.  U r 2 nice Superman.  Don’t want her 2 take advantage of u._**

Not wanting Jessica to worry, Aubrey smiled as he responded to lighten the mood.

              ** _Promise.  Now get 2 work on dissertation.  Want 2 fuck hot PhD gf someday._**

Jessica then responded with, **_U smooth talker u.  Do girls always drop panties w your romantic words?_**

Smiling, Aubrey texted back.   ** _Only w hot redhead grad student gf do I speak words of love._**

A minute later, the agent read her reply:

              ** _Guess what hot redhead grad student gf is NOT wearing…_**

             Aubrey felt his pants get uncomfortable and knew he had to stop.  With sadness, he sent a final text.

              ** _U r a tease.  Must work now.  I love u._**

Jessica responded back and he smiled.   ** _Love u 2 Superman.  Will pick up costumes l8r 4 Gala.  BCT (Be careful today)._**

The SAC grinned to himself before going back to work.  Things were going well.  Karen understood her boundaries finally and he could flirt with Jessica again.  Plus his Cubbies were back in the World Series, which started tomorrow, and he couldn’t wait.  Nothing could bring him down.

            Then he remembered the date for the Jeffersonian’s Halloween Gala.  “Shit…”


	23. A Gala of Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What sort of evening awaits our favorite characters as they get ready to attend the Jeffersonian's annual Halloween Gala? Read on to find out.
> 
> Spicy Chapter folks. Find a nice quiet closet at work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: Love & Carbonite extras coming soon. Watch for the tweets (@mphs95) or follow me (mphs95) on Tumblr.

            It was 8 AM on Wednesday morning, and Special Agent in Charge Aubrey wore a smile as he came into work that day.  Things in his life were good again.  The agents in his division were beginning to adapt to his higher standards, and they’d seen a dramatic increase in the number of cases they’d closed successfully.  He had a great place to live, and he had the most beautiful girlfriend in the world.  

 _The most beautiful girlfriend in the world_...Aubrey sighed with contentment as he thought about the previous evening.  

            Jessica had gone to Winkleman’s Chili House on the way home from the lab and had picked up a couple of large containers of their special _Fifth Circle of Hell Habanero Heat_.  After eating their fill of chili dogs loaded with relish, extra onions, and shredded cheddar, and polishing off several bottles of Yuengling, they’d adjourned to his bedroom for several rounds of _Hide the Chili Dog_ , which Jessica managed to win several times, much to Aubrey’s satisfaction.  

            Once again, it had been hard to leave her all soft and warm in the middle of his bed that morning, but he needed to get to work early today.  She’d rolled over and given him a sleepy grin as he sat on the edge of the bed pulling on his socks.  “What time is it?” she mumbled.

            Aubrey looked at the clock.  “6:29.  I need to go in early because I’ve got a ton to do before my meeting with Stark at 10:00 to discuss how things are going since I took over Major Crimes.  Kind of a performance review, I guess.”

            “Want me to make you some breakfast?”, Jessica asked in a sleepy voice.  “I don’t have to be in until 9:00.”

            “No, I already ate.  Get some sleep.  I love you…”  He leaned over to give her a kiss.

            “I love you, too.”, she replied before reciprocating with a sultry kiss and chuckle.  “Good luck.  Try not to think about me lying naked in your bed waiting with open arms for you to come home…”

            “Yeah.  Thanks a lot, Jess.  Bye...”  

            Naturally he could think of nothing else as he made his way to work, but he willed himself to concentrate.  He had too many things to do today to be that distracted, even by his girlfriend, and he definitely wanted to leave the office on time tonight.

            Working through the stacks of folders on his desk, Aubrey was pleased.  His division had made a lot of progress on almost everything they’d worked on, with one notable exception…the Vacchio case.  It had gone stone cold, with every lead turning into a dead end, and nothing new had come up recently.  

            Frustrated, Aubrey looked through the case folder again, hoping something different would jump out at him.  Vacchio knew his killer...Jessica and Hodgins had proven that with the tests they’d run in the lab.  He sat back in his chair and gazed out the office window.  

            “Could it be...someone he worked with at the SEC?”, he mumbled to himself.  

            The thought that one of Vacchio’s coworkers had shot the man in cold blood made sense, but it also left Aubrey feeling slightly nauseated.  “Looks like he turned his back on the wrong guy…”

            Shaking off his disgust, he turned to the next page.  “SEC...Securities fraud...sounds like stuff my dad was involved in...I wonder…”

            Aubrey closed the folder and drummed his fingers on the cover, trying to decide if he should go interview his dad.  He was currently housed at the Hazelton Federal Penitentiary in West Virginia, which was just shy of three hours by car.     

            It was a crazy idea, but Aubrey was feeling desperate.  His dad might know something.

 _Maybe I should run that by Booth. or maybe even Shaw...see what they think about that..,_ he mused.

            He grabbed his jacket and walked over to Shaw’s office, but was surprised to find that she already had a visitor.  The tall, blonde man stood with his hands planted palms down on her desk, leaning over her as he smiled broadly.  She was leaning forward in her desk chair, giggling at what he’d said, batting her eyelashes as she flirted with the man.  

 _Shaw is giggling?_  Clearing his throat, Aubrey quietly knocked on the door.  “Agent Shaw?”

            “Oh...hey, Boss.”  Genny jumped up from her chair quickly, almost hitting her visitor in the head.  “This is Hunter Geren.  He’s a forensic accountant with the SEC.  We were...uh...discussing...a case...the Vacchio case.  That’s it.  Right, Hunter?  The Vacchio case?

            “That’s right, Agent Shaw.  The Vacchio case...” Geren smoothed his tie before offering to shake hands with the SAC.  “Nice to meet you, Agent Aubrey.  I’ve got to be going.  I’ll talk to you later, Agent Shaw.”

            “Oh, don’t leave on my account. I may need your input.” Aubrey blocked the door so Shaw’s visitor couldn’t leave so quickly.  “So…”, the SAC said with a smirk,  “...are you two an item?”  

            He chuckled as he saw Genny blush, knowing the answer to that question.  “I see.  C’mon, Shaw, it’s no big deal as long as you keep things professional in the office.”  He turned to the accountant.  “Well, Mr. Geren, I hope we see you at the Jeffersonian’s Halloween Gala.  Since the FBI and the Jeffersonian work so closely together, they provide tickets to us at a reduced rate.  It’s a lot of fun, even if you do have to go in costume.”

            “Genny and I were just talking about that, Agent Aubrey.”  Hunter flashed a flirty smile at his girlfriend.  “I think it sounds like fun, especially with a cute date.”

            Aubrey’s shoulders slumped a bit.  “The only problem is that the Gala is on the same night as Game 3 of the World Series, which really sucks big time.  I’m still trying to figure out how I can watch the game and go to the Gala at the same time.  There may not be many more chances to watch the Cubs play in a World Series, and I really don’t want to miss any of it.” 

            “Ear buds.  Plug them in your phone and sneak away from time to time to find out what’s happening with the game.”  Hunter said, grinning slyly.  “That’s what I plan on doing.”

            “Hunter!”, Shaw scolded before she realized where she was.  “Behave yourself!”  Slightly embarrassed, she continued.  “We were trying to decide what to wear when you came in, Aubrey.  You’d think with the theme being ‘ _At the Movies_ ’, it’d be easy…”

            “I know.  Jessica said she was going to pick out our costumes since she has more time to search the ‘net.  We talked about going as characters from the _Wizard of Oz_ , or something easy like that, but I’m not sure what she decided on.  She picked them up Monday, but she wouldn’t show them to me. She said it’s going to be a surprise, so we’ll see.  I just hope it’s not something beneath my dignity.”  Aubrey grimaced slightly.  “I’m not real fond of costume parties.”  He laughed to himself. _Unless they’re in conjunction with Star Wars Conventions…_

            “I’m sure we’ll be able to come up with something by Saturday.”  Genny rose from behind her desk and winked at her boyfriend.  “Come on, Hunter.  I’ll walk you to the elevator.”   

            The couple walked across the bullpen, talking softly as they waited for the elevator.  The doors opened and as Geren entered, Shaw was surprised to see Karen exit the car.

            “Good morning, Agent Shaw.”, the profiler said with a pleasant smile.

            “Hello, Dr. Delfs.”  Genny quickly turned towards to her office.  “Excuse me, but I have some reports to edit.”

            “Oh, I completely understand.”, Karen said cheerfully, startling Genny with what seemed to be sincerity in her efforts to be polite and professional. “Have you seen Agent Bower this morning?”

            “He’s over there in the bullpen…”  Surprised at the question, Shaw gave Karen a sideways glance.  “How do you know Steve?”

            “Oh...didn’t you know?  I’ve known him for quite a while, but we’re officially a couple now.”   Karen pushed her glasses up on her nose as she smiled.  “Are you planning on attending the Jeffersonian Halloween Gala with your new friend?  He’s very attractive.”

            Genny exhaled slowly.  It wasn’t really Karen’s business, but she realized the profiler was making an attempt to be cordial.  “Yes, I believe so, although we haven’t decided on our costumes.  Are you going?”

            “Oh, yes!  I love costume parties.  I think Steve and I are going as characters from _The Wizard of Oz.”_

            “Really?”  Genny pursed her lips as she nodded.  Surely that was a coincidence.  There was no way Karen would know about Aubrey’s costume plans for the gala.  “Sounds like fun.  I’ll see you Saturday evening.”

            As she walked to her office, Genny wondered if she should give her boss the heads up about Karen and Steve, but she was fairly sure he’d tell her not to worry.  Anyway, if the profiler was going to the party with that sorry excuse for an agent, she’d probably leave Aubrey and Jessica alone, so maybe it didn’t matter.  

            Genny chuckled as she sat down at her desk.  The Halloween Gala was definitely going to be interesting this year.

**Oooooooooo**

            The day of the Halloween Gala had arrived, and Aubrey was not a happy man.  

            Normally, he happily went to all of the Jeffersonian’s events, knowing that there’d be a whole host of delectable treats available on the extensive buffet tables.  For a man who loved food as much as James Aubrey, other than an unexpected case, there were only two things that could keep him away from such a sumptuous banquet.  

            One of those things involved spending some quality time with his favorite redheaded squint.  Thanks to a recent turn of events, that time now also included spending most nights naked with Jessica while making up for the two months they were apart, much to his delight.

            The other thing only happened every 108 years or so.  His beloved Cubs had finally managed to make it back to the World Series.  Tonight was Game 3, and it was going to be televised this evening.

            Of course, while his beloved Cubs were playing for some long awaited glory, he would be wearing some stupid costume as he stood around with a bunch of other people wearing stupid costumes at some stupid gala.  

            That was bad enough, but the Cubs were down two games to one and playing in Cleveland tonight.  Aubrey was sure that the only way to guarantee that his Cubbies would win was to be wearing his lucky blue and red striped socks as he had his ass planted on the sofa in front of his television and drinking a beer while he watched the game.  

`           Unfortunately, his girlfriend vehemently disagreed.

            “Come on, Aubrey...even if they lose, there’ll still be one more game…”  Jessica stood impatiently with her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes at him as he pouted.  

            “Shhhhhhh!”, Aubrey exclaimed in an exaggerated voice.  “If they lose?  Don’t even put that out there, Jess.  They’re backed into a corner and they need a win tonight.”

            “Fine.  Stay here if you want.  However, I need to make an appearance, so I’m going to go change.”  She made a show of walking across the family room to the stairs.  “I wonder if Gerald Maxwell will be there tonight.  I hear he’s a great dancer.”

            “Okay, now that was a low blow.  Totally unfair, Jessica.”, Aubrey whined.  

            “I know.”, she giggled.  “Did it work?” 

            Heaving a very loud sigh, Aubrey turned off the pregame show as he managed to pry himself from the sofa.  “Alright.  Let’s get ready to go to the Gala.”, he grumbled as he followed her up the stairs.

            As the two entered the master bedroom, Jessica went to the back of the large walk in closet.  A few seconds later, she came out with two garment bags and a small pink bag with ribbon handles.  After a sly wink, Jessica handed one to Aubrey.  “This one is yours.  36 long, right?”

            “Yeah.”  Aubrey said suspiciously as she turned away from him.  “Hey, where are you going?”

            “I’m going to get dressed in the bathroom so you’ll be surprised when you see my costume.  You go ahead and get changed out here.” Jessica smirked as she picked up her bags.  “Trust me.  It’s going to take a little time, but it’ll be worth it.”   

            “Okay...I’ll be waiting…”  Aubrey watched as she slipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.  Unzipping the bag, he laughed at the pleasant surprise inside.  It was a two piece suit, made of dark blue fabric with a white chalk stripe, cut in the style popular during the Roaring Twenties.   

            He stripped off his Cubs t-shirt, jeans, and reluctantly, his lucky socks.  He quickly buttoned up his white dress shirt and poked his shirt tail into the striped pants before tying the wide blue silk tie.  Then he slipped into the slim double breasted jacket, buttoning it as he admired his reflection in the dresser mirror.  

            “Nice…too bad I can’t talk like Edward G. Robinson or Jimmy Cagney...”

            “Turn around and let me see.”  Jessica stood in the bathroom doorway for a few seconds before handing him his accessories.  “You do look very nice.  Now, here’s your blue silk pocket square, and your spats...what’s wrong?”

            Aubrey shook his head, wide eyed as he looked at his girlfriend.  “Nothing...except...you look incredible.  Wow…”  

            Jessica blushed as she smoothed her sleeveless peacock blue silk dress.  As she moved, the silver and crystal beading running from the low neckline down the front of the dress shimmered in the light, showing off her slim figure to perfection. “I’m glad you like it.”  After patting the low twist at the nape of her neck to make sure her hair was in place, she turned her back to him and looked over her shoulder.  “Hey, are the seams of my stockings straight?”

            Aubrey’s eyes followed the silky seams from her slender ankles upward until they disappeared under the hem of her short dress, and he immediately forgot her question.  “Those are not pantyhose.  You’re wearing a garter belt, aren’t you?”  

            Suddenly his suit felt much too warm. His gaze moved further up, and he noticed that the beading on the back of the dress ended right above her cute little ass.  And then there was the fringe around the bottom third of the dress...the fringe that swayed back and forth in a tantalizing fashion whenever she moved her hips, catching his eye as it made him wonder what was underneath that dress.   

            Realizing that she was still watching him, he attempted to control his lustful thoughts.  “Um...did you ask me something, Jess?”

            “Yes, I did ask you something...about the seams in my stockings.  Why did you ask me about a garter belt?”, Jessica asked, obviously confused until she realized what her boyfriend was thinking about.  “Oh, I get it...you want to know about the lingerie under my dress. I think someone has a lingerie fetish, right?”  

            Aubrey could only stammer incoherently in response to Jessica’s giggles as she pulled on her blue elbow length gloves.  “Well, you’ll have to wait until later to find out the details, but I’ll give you a hint...silver lace.”  She licked her lips as she arched an eyebrow at him.  “And you’re right.  These aren’t pantyhose.”

            “Jesus, Jess...do you really expect me to make it through a whole party thinking about you wearing a silver lace garter belt under that dress?”  Aubrey stuck out his bottom lip in a playful pout.  “I wanna see it now…”

            She grinned as she shook her head. “No way.  If I let you peek now, we’ll never make it to the party. You can wait a few more hours.”

            She walked over to the bed, picked up Aubrey’s white felt hat, and ran her fingers across the blue hat band.  “Here...try this on.”  Standing back to admire her boyfriend, she smiled.  “Very rakish. So do you recognize the outfit?”

            Aubrey turned back to his mirror, pulling on the brim of the hat so it was cocked over one eye.  “Maybe.  It does look familiar…Star Trek, right?   _A Piece of the Action_?”

            “Yeah, it’s like the one that William Shatner wore in that episode where the population of the planet lives like gangs from the Roaring Twenties.  Those costumes were historically accurate.”  

            She paused as she saw his confusion over her choice.  “I know I told you I thought I’d look for something from _The Wizard of Oz_ , but when I found these on line,  I realized that they’d be perfect for the gala’s theme, so I rented them for us.  It’s like we’re from _The Great Gatsby_.  You do look really hot, James...even better than DiCaprio.  Oh, before I forget…”  

            Jessica handed Aubrey a plastic Tommy gun as she picked up her long silver cigarette holder.  “I couldn’t get a real gun.  Sorry.”

            “I probably shouldn’t carry a real gun to the Gala anyway.”  He took her hand and pulled her over so she was standing next to him as he admired their reflection in the mirror.  “Look at us.  We look great! I especially like that white feather in your headband.  I bet we’re going to be the best looking couple there.”

            “If we don’t get a move on, we’ll be the last couple there.  Do you have our tickets?”  

            Aubrey patted the left side of his jacket.  “Right here...and here’s my ear buds.”  He jammed them into his pants pocket.  “If the Gala gets boring maybe I can listen to the game…”

            Jessica was not amused.  “So are you planning on being bored while you spend time with me at the party?  Maybe I’ll have to dance with Gerald after all.”

            Pulling her close, Aubrey kissed her.  “I’ll never be bored with you, Jess.  Let’s go…” 

            “Nice save, Aubrey.”, the redhead giggled as they were walking out of the bedroom.  “Did you feed Skinner before the pre-game show?”.

            “I did.” Aubrey replied while they walked down the stairs.  “He should be set until tomorrow...we hope.”

**Oooooooooo**

            The party was in full swing as Aubrey and Jessica walked up to the newly renovated Jeffersonian wing.  In keeping with the theme, red carpets had been rolled out in front of the entrances, and large, old fashioned spotlights shone brightly around the entrance.  The atmosphere echoed movie stars attending a Hollywood premiere.

            Inside, the decor paid homage to the golden age of film.  Large murals of black and white movie stills filled the walls of the ballroom.  Tables were set around a large dance floor, each covered with a white tablecloth trimmed with black and gold.  The centerpieces were made up of gold vases filled with red carnations, with miniature Oscar statuettes at each place setting.  Music was playing loudly in the background, courtesy of a DJ spinning a mixture of old music and new songs.

            Taking Aubrey’s arm, Jessica pointed to a table in a corner of the room.  “There’s Dr. B.  Do you want to sit with them?  It looks like there are two or three tables together for everybody.”

            “Sure, Doll, whatevah youse wants.”  Aubrey chuckled at Jessica’s confusion.  “I thought I’d try a bit of the twenties mobster speak.”

            “Oh, well...boop boop de doop.”  Shimmying slightly in her flapper dress, Jessica winked at her boyfriend.  “Maybe we should just speak normally, huh?”

            “Yeah, I guess so, although I may have to say _‘you dirty rat’_ a couple of times before the evening’s over.”  They walked over and greeted their friends, anxious to see everyone’s costumes.

            “Aubrey’s here!  Now the party can begin!  Man, look at you.”  Booth grinned from ear to ear as he saw his friend’s suit.  “Nice threads, man.  You look like you and your girlfriend just stepped out of a speakeasy.”

            “Thanks...I think.”  Looking at his friend’s ragged outfit, Aubrey was confused.  “Who are you supposed to be?”

            “I’m The Mummy and Bones is the archaeologist who found me.”  He grinned as he pointed to his wife, who was wearing a white cotton shirt and khaki shorts.   “We decided to take a break from being superheroes for a while.”  Booth pulled at some of his loose bandages.  “I wasn’t in the mood to wear tights tonight, anyway.  Hey, now here’s some superheroes…”

            Hodgins was dressed as Professor X, the leader of the X Men, complete with a bald skull cap.  Angela was dressed as Storm, with a black spandex one piece costume and a long white wig.  “Correction.”, Hodgins said.  “We’re not superheroes...just misunderstood mutants.”

            “You look great, Angela.”  Jessica stopped to admire her costume.  “Maybe you should consider going blonde.”

            “I don’t think so. I don’t want to mess with my roots all the time.” Angela giggled as she patted her baby bump.  “Anyway, I’m not really in shape to be a super mutant.”  Casting an appraising eye at Jessica, Angela smiled.  “That dress is really cute on you.  I guess the classics never go out of style.  Oh, there’s Daisy…”

            Daisy, dressed as Belle from _Beauty and the Beast_ , came over to sit with them.  “I wish Beau could’ve been here, but duty calls in London this weekend.  Anyway, I love playing dress up like this.  Oh, here, Angela...take my picture so I can send it to Beau.  He loves showing off his cute wife to all his friends on the team.”

            As Angela was photographing Daisy, Aubrey held out his hand to his favorite redhead.  “Let’s dance…”

            They walked out to the dance floor as _‘All of Me’_ started to play.  Aubrey tried to pull his girlfriend close, only to find that his wide hat brim kept bumping into the large white feather attached to her headband.  Frustrated, he saw Wendell, who was dressed as a paratrooper, enter with Andie, who came as a hockey player.   

            “Hey, Wendell...catch!”  He tossed his hat to the intern, who caught it one handed. “Thanks, man.  Just put it on the table.” 

            Aubrey turned back to his smiling girlfriend.  “That’s better, isn’t it?”, he whispered softly as his hand found its way to the small of Jessica’s back.  “I know you think I’ve forgotten about your garter belt, but…”

            “Oh, wow, Superman…”  Jessica pulled away from him and nodded toward one of the entrances.  “Look…”

            Steve Bower, dressed as the Scarecrow from _The Wizard of Oz_ , stood uncomfortably in the doorway with his date, Karen Delfs, who was dressed as the Cowardly Lion.  

            “Crap…just the person I didn’t want to see.”, Aubrey muttered.  When they saw Karen smile and wave as she and Steve quickly made their way across the dance floor in their direction, he groaned.  “…and they’re coming this way.”

            “Oh great…”  Jessica felt her boyfriend’s pain but she knew they had to be polite.  “I understand how you feel, but Steve is one of your agents.  Just smile and we’ll make an excuse to leave quickly, okay?”

            “Hi...or should I say ROAR!”  Pretending to flash her claws as she giggled at her joke, Karen wore a giddy grin as she pushed her mane away from her face and fidgeted with the costume’s long tail.  “You two look nice.  What movie are you supposed to be from?” 

            “ _The Great Gatsby._  How’ya doin’, Steve?  Having fun?”  Aubrey smirked at the other agent, who was well known for his sour disposition.  “I gotta say, I never thought of you as a costume party type, let alone as a scarecrow.” 

            “It was either this guy or the Tin Man, and this costume is a lot easier to move in.  Karen says _The Wizard of Oz_ is her favorite movie, so here we are.”  

            Karen turned to the younger woman.  “Jessica, that costume is super cute.   _The Great Gatsby_ , huh?”

            “Yes.”, the redhead said with a smile pasted on her face as she remembered her initial choice of costumes.  “ _The Wizard of Oz_ …interesting choice.”

            “Yeah.  Originally I was going to be Dorothy, but I decided I didn’t want to tape my boobs down to be a convincing teenager.”

            Jessica smiled while visions of butcher knives danced in her head.  “The Cowardly Lion…good call.  Definitely different.”

            As the women chatted, Agent Bower leaned over to whisper to his boss, winking as he glanced back at his date.  “Yeah, I wanna keep Karen happy. I’m hoping to get a big payoff later this evening, if you know what I mean…”

            “Whoa...way too much information, Steve…”  Exhaling softly, Aubrey almost told Bower to back off, but he decided it was none of his business how the two adults spent their time together.  However, if Karen was occupied, then he and Jessica could relax and enjoy the Gala.  “Anyway, have fun this evening…”  

            Flashing a wolfish grin, Bower nodded, licking his lips as he grinned at Karen.  “Oh, we will.  Count on it.” Taking her by the hand, he tugged at her arm slightly.  “C’mon, Sugar.  They’re playing _Want to Want Me_ by Jason Derulo.  Let’s dance.”  

            Giggling at her date, Karen winked at Jessica.  “Steve’s so assertive.  I just love that in a man.” 

            “I'm glad.  I hope you both have a good time this evening.”  Jessica forced a strained smile, thankful Agent Steve Bower wasn’t her date.  She’d heard rumors that he was a player, but it wasn’t her business.  If Karen was happy with him, it would definitely make things easier for everyone. 

            Just then, Aubrey saw Genny and Hunter come in.  “Hey Jess, there’s Shaw.”

            “Cool.  Nice talking to you, Karen.”.  Relieved to be finished with that awkward conversation, Jessica waved to get Shaw’s attention.  “Genny...why don’t you come sit with us?”  She nodded to the group of tables.  “We’re over there.”

            As Steve and Karen began to dance to the next song, Jessica and Aubrey met up with the other couple at the table.  Hunter was dressed as Austin Powers, and Genny was dressed in sixties mod.  “You look great, Boss.” Genny said, as she admired his costume.  “Very stylish.”

            Aubrey preened a little bit as he ran his hand down the front of his jacket.  “Yeah, Jessica did a good job picking out our costumes.  I mean, this is kind of like wearing a regular suit except for the cut, so it’s actually pretty comfortable.”  He snickered as he raised an eyebrow at the ASAC’s bright green polyester mini dress and her white vinyl go-go boots.  “Walking on the wild side there, aren’t you, Shaw?”

            She cringed slightly under his friendly scrutiny.  “Maybe.  I don’t know how women wore dresses this short in the sixties. I feel like I’m flashing my butt at everybody.”

            “Yeah, baby!” Hunter commented in his best Austin Powers voice. “Trust me...the view from here is magnificent.”

            Blushing furiously, Genny reached up to brush away the strands of her long bouffant wig from her face.  “Hunter...not in front of my boss!”, she hissed.  Pulling on the hem of her dress, she winked at her date.  “Save it for later when it’s just the two of us.”

            “Are we having fun yet?”  Cam and Arastoo, dressed as Cleopatra and Marc Antony, came over to join the group at their tables.  “It looks like a good crowd tonight.”

            “Hmm...Nice outfit, Arastoo.”, Angela teased.  “You definitely have the legs for that mini skirt…”

            “Um, thanks.”  He tugged at the hem of his costume before pulling his cape over his shoulders.  “Cam picked it out…”

            Brennan chuckled as she gave an approving nod.  “We’re all glad she did so, Dr. Vaziri.  Won’t you join us?”

            For the next few hours, the group socialized and enjoyed themselves in between Aubrey’s frequent visits to the buffet room.   

            “Any particular recommendations tonight, Aubrey?”,  Booth asked as he laughed at his friend’s full plate.

           “Everything.  You know the Gala buffets are always great.”, Aubrey replied with a shrug.  “I will say the crab puffs are exceptional this year.”  He grinned broadly before going back to his plate.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            All of the couples, including Jessica and Aubrey, sneaked in a few dances.  During REO Speedwagon’s _Can’t Fight This Feeling_ , the agent leaned close and whispered into his girlfriend’s ear.  “I still haven’t forgotten about your garter belt.”

            “Soon, Superman.”  Jessica whispered back in his ear.  “You have to be patient.”

             When they’d finished dancing, they sat down at their table.  After fidgeting nervously a few minutes, Aubrey smiled as he leaned over to his girlfriend.  “I’m going to go check out the buffet tables again.”

            “That sounds good. I’ll go with you.”  Jessica rose from her seat, but paused when she realized Aubrey had remained seated.  “Aren’t you coming?”

            “Um, yeah.  Actually…” Aubrey sighed, knowing he’d been caught.  “I was really going to check the score of the ball game on my phone….but, never mind.  Let’s go get something to eat.”

            They went through the buffet line in the dining hall, filling their plates with boiled shrimp, crab legs, and fruit skewers, blissfully unaware of the people behind them until they heard an obnoxious comment.

            “Well, what do you know?  It’s the little thief.”   

            Aubrey and Jessica turned to see Gerald Maxwell wearing an unpleasant sneer as he glared at the intern.   

            “Oh, hello, Gerald.  I didn’t notice you there.”  Jessica smiled at him politely as she moved through the buffet line, hoping to avoid a confrontation with the man.  ”Hey, Aubrey, hand me some of those ham rolls, okay?” 

            “I don’t believe it.  You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here tonight.  You really ought to be wearing an orange prison jumpsuit as a costume, Ms. Warren.”, the antiquities intern replied, obviously spoiling for a fight.

            “Thanks for the costume suggestion, but orange isn’t really a good color for me with my hair. ”  Ignoring Aubrey’s snickers, she glanced at the antiquities intern, dressed in his red Star Trek uniform and turned back to the buffet.  “I guess you finally found the correct occasion for wearing that outfit, didn’t you?  I hope you two enjoy the Gala this evening.”  She pointed at a large platter heaped with food.  “Look, Aubrey, they’ve put out more of those crab puffs you like so much.” 

            “Awesome.”, Aubrey replied, eagerly heaping several of the delicacies on his plate as he ignored the obnoxious intern.  “Come on...let’s go back to our table.  It’s getting really crowded in here.”

            “Oh, no.  You’re not getting away that easily.”  Turning to his date, who was scantily clad as a green Orion slave girl, Gerald pointed at Jessica.  “She’s the one who stole my car keys at that geeky Star Wars convention, Sheila.  Remember me telling you about that?  I had to call a tow truck and the jackass scraped my fender.  It’s all her fault.  That’s why I wanted your dad to take her to court...so she’d have to pay to fix my car.  Have you mentioned that to him yet?  I want to sue her for damages to my car, and for pain and suffering, too.  I was really upset about my car, and I ended up with a terrible migraine over it, remember?”

            Sheila turned to her date with a questioning look.  “Is that why you asked me to come with you tonight?  So I’d get my father to take your case?  He’s a high powered corporate attorney, Gerald!  He doesn’t have time for petty shit like a civil case over a few hundred dollars in car repairs.”

            “She was going to steal my car, Sheila!  That’s why she wanted me to meet her there at that stupid convention, so she would have access to my keys!”

            “Come on, Gerald.  Cool your jets, okay?” , Aubrey began calmly, shaking his head at the intern’s histrionics as he grabbed another crab puff.  “If she was really going to steal your car keys, why would she return them to you?  You’d left them on a table, and she picked them up so she could give them back to you later.  No big deal.  In fact, she was trying to be nice.  She could’ve just left them there, and then you’d really be out of luck.”

            “It is a big deal!  She played stupid but I know what she was really up to.”, Gerald yelled loudly, attracting attention from others in the buffet line. 

            Staring at the intern, Aubrey pursed his lips and laughed sardonically.  “So let me get this straight, Gerald...you’re saying that Jessica decided to risk thirteen years of hard work in obtaining her three college degrees, plus the time she’s already spent working toward her doctorate, her prestigious internship here at the Jeffersonian, and her future career in forensic anthropology, not to mention the possibility of going to prison...she decided to risk all of that by inviting you to accompany her to a convention she’d previously planned to attend just so she could steal that overpriced hunk of tin you drive?  Seriously?”   

            “I can’t even drive a manual, Gerald.  Kind of stupid of me to steal a car I can’t drive.”,   Jessica chimed in. 

            “Says you.”, the intern said.  “You’re just saying that, but I know the truth.” 

            “Whatever.”  Aubrey shook his head in disgust before turning back to the buffet.  He loaded cheese and crackers onto his plate before facing the idiot in front of him.  “I know...she came up with her evil car theft plan after you came to her in the lab and begged for a second chance after your less than acceptable behavior towards her at Daisy Wick and Beau Pixler’s wedding the weekend before.  Remember how you groped her on the dance floor and she almost broke your fingers?  How about afterwards when you got drunk off your butt?  I mean, what kind of guy gets so intoxicated that he can’t even drive his own date home?  Not very gentleman-like if you ask me.” 

            Gerald heard the laughter of the people behind him and was determined to get the upper hand with the scrawny FBI agent in front of him.  No one humiliated him in public like that and got away with it.  

            “I happen to believe that she picked my keys up on purpose because she knew I was getting ready to ditch her at that fucking convention.  Besides, do you have any idea how much it costs to replace those keys?  They’ve got a special chip in them…”   The intern paused as he smirked at Aubrey.  “Never mind.  Of course you don’t know about those keys.  You can’t afford an expensive car like an Alfa Romeo.  You’re just a glorified cop, driving a beat up used car, and hanging out with a slutty used girlfriend.”

            Aubrey’s heart broke a little bit as he heard Jessica’s horrified gasp behind him.  A hush fell over the gala patrons at the buffet table as the agent slowly put his plate down and crossed his arms over his chest, pinning Gerald in place with an angry glare.  

            “If we were any place else, I’d beat the shit out of you for talking about Ms. Warren that way.  However, we’re at a fundraising Gala for the Jeffersonian, so I’m going to control myself, because I know how to act like a gentleman in public.  That being said, Mr. Maxwell, I will be by to speak with your supervisor on Monday morning about that foul mouth of yours.  When we finish talking about that, the three of us will then discuss how you treat women in general, and Ms. Warren in particular.  I promise you, the results will not be pleasant for you or your career...”

            “Bull shit!”  Gerald spat out his words as he shook his finger at Aubrey, angry that the slender man in front of him had actually made him afraid.  “You think you’re such a goddamn big shot because you work for the FBI, don’t you?  You think you’re the man because you’re a Special Agent in Charge.”  

            Gerald’s voice was dripping with sarcasm as he made air quotes for Aubrey’s job title.  “But the truth is, you’re just a fucking little jackass, Agent Aubrey.  You’re all talk...just like some yappy little dog, waiting to hump Uncle Sam’s leg, and the fact that you have a cheap whore for a girlfriend just proves how worthless you really are.  She’s the best you can get, right?  She was an easy lay around here before she got all high and mighty with her big shot FBI boyfriend...better make sure that nasty little bitch has been tested for STD’s before you get in too deep…”

            “That’s enough out of you.  Just shut the fuck up right now!”  Wearing a fierce scowl, Aubrey took two steps toward Gerald, forcing the younger man to step backwards towards the door.  Jabbing his finger in the intern’s chest, the SAC’s voice was a low, threatening growl.  “I _am_ the man, Gerald, and it’s my job to take down filthy little mother fuckers just like you.  You’ve got about thirty seconds to apologize to my date here if you want to be able to drive yourself and your date home tonight in one piece.  Otherwise, you’ll be in an ambulance, on the way to the emergency room.  Do I make myself clear?”

            Surprised and frightened by Aubrey’s ferocity, Gerald wet himself as the older man angrily invaded his personal space.  Thoroughly embarrassed, he kept himself perfectly still as he nodded in response to the agent’s barrage, hoping he’d be able slink away without anyone noticing, but Aubrey wasn’t finished with his dressing down of the young man.

            “Now...what do you need to say to Ms. Warren?”, Aubrey said as he stood with his hands on his hips, silently noting the large wet spot on the front of Gerald’s dark pants.  

            “Sorry, Jessica…”  Gerald shifted nervously from one foot to the other, praying his black pants covered up his humiliation.

            Aubrey kept his scowl as he lowered his voice to a dangerous whisper.  “Now, turn around and walk away.  Be warned, Gerald...if you bother us at all for the rest of the evening, things will be much worse for you than they already are.  Trust me...next time you’ll do a lot more than wet yourself.”

            Nodding, Gerald quickly turned to make a hasty retreat and collided with Steve Bower, who was waiting in the buffet line with Karen.  Embarrassed, and anxious to get away from Aubrey, the intern tried to move around the agent, but tripped over the long tail attached to Karen’s lion costume.  He fell flat on his face, pulling a squealing Sheila down on top of him as their plates went flying.

            “Shit, Gerald!”  Sheila tried to push herself up from the floor, but she slipped on some fruit.  “That does it.  I’m calling a cab.  We’re done!  Never call me again!”  

            Trying to gather her dignity and what was left of her costume, Sheila stormed out of the room, leaving a squirming Gerald on the floor as he tried to untangle himself from the Cowardly Lion’s tail.

            After a few seconds of stunned silence, there was a smattering of applause from the patrons as they turned back to the buffet.  Aubrey took Jessica’s hand in his as he tried to soothe her injured feelings.  “What a jerk.  Forget about him.  The guy’s not worth worrying about, okay?  You don’t care what he thinks, do you?”

            “No, I don’t care about him.”  Wiping a tear from her cheek, Jessica smiled as she put her plate down.  “I need you to come with me.” 

            “But what about the crab puffs?”, Aubrey asked.  “I’m still hungry…” 

            “Forget the damn crab puffs.”, Jessica said before yanking on his arm.  “You’re coming with me now.” 

            “I--whoa….”, Aubrey stammered before his girlfriend dragged him out of the buffet room. 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Angela and Cam, who were standing near the dining hall, watched as the redhead took the agent by the hand and led him across the dining room and out of the Gala at a brisk pace.

            “Just friends, my ass…”, Angela commented with a smile before sipping her ginger ale.

            “Agreed, Angela.”, Cam laughed as she enjoyed her champagne.  “They’re not fooling anyone, are they?”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Walking quickly across the darkened museum, Jessica led Aubrey toward the lab.  Stepping around a saw horse and nearby lumber, she stopped at the interns’ locker room and arched an eyebrow at her boyfriend.  “Come on.  There’s something I need to show you…”

            Wearing a goofy grin, Aubrey chuckled.  “Is it a silver lace garter belt?”

            “Maybe.”, she giggled as she dragged him into the room.  Quickly closing the door and locking it, the redhead pulled him into a passionate kiss.  “Oh my God, James...hearing you stand up for me like that...it makes me so hot for you, knowing how much you love me.”

            “Yeah, well...”  He smiled as she gazed up at him intently.  “If you’re feeling hot, that makes me hot, too.  You make me want you so much I can’t stand it sometimes...”  He ran his hands down her slender arms, taking her hands in his as he looked into her eyes.  “You’re so beautiful.  I love your skin. It’s so smooth…”  He bent down to kiss her again.  “...and you smell so good…”

            “I don’t want waste a lot of time on foreplay, okay? I want you to make love to me right now, Superman…”, she purred as she began to unbutton his jacket.  “I want to feel you in me now…”  When she was done, she stood with her hands on her hips as she eyed him hungrily.  “Come on, Agent Aubrey.  Time’s a wastin…”

            “Jess, we can’t do it here...now...can we?”  He caressed her gently as he pulled her close for another kiss.  “Everybody’s going to wonder where we are.  I’m sure Karen couldn’t wait to tell everyone what happened with Gerald…they’re going to expect us back at the table soon...”

            “Well, then, I guess you’d better stop talking and get to work.”  Pushing his jacket aside, she pulled his shirttail free and began to work on his pants.  “I can’t wait much longer…”  She lowered his zipper and began to stroke him frantically through his boxers.  “I want you so bad, Superman…”

            Aubrey’s breathing was ragged as he became more and more aroused.  Past the point of no return, he pushed her into the wall before gently cupping her breasts through her silky dress.  Realizing she wasn’t wearing a bra, he dragged his thumbnails across her tight nipples while he nibbled at her earlobes and the soft skin of her neck.  “God, Jess...I can’t take much more of that…I feel like I’m going to explode.”

            “C’mere.”  She grabbed his tie and pulled him toward a low bench in front of the lockers.  “Drop your pants and sit here.”

            Enjoying the idea that Jessica was going to be in charge of their lovemaking, Aubrey did as he was told.  Soon the redhead was kneeling between his legs, taking him into her mouth, teasing him with her teeth as she licked the underside of his penis.  Gripping the bench with one hand, he held the back of her head with the other, bucking his hips toward her as her efforts became more insistent, moaning softly when she pulled away from him.  

           “Jess…why’d you stop…come on, woman...”

            “Open your eyes, James.  Look…”  After throwing her now crooked headband aside, Jessica lifted the hem of her short dress to reveal a silvery lace garter belt riding low on her hips with a sheer silver lace thong underneath it.  “Do you like it?”

            “Oh yeah.”  He groaned with pleasure, pulling her onto his lap so she was straddling him with her core pressed up against his erection. He dragged his fingernails across the front of her thong.  “This has got to go…”

            She reached between them, stroking him firmly once again until he was straining against her hand.  “Are you going to tear up another pair of my panties, James?” she teased in a sultry voice in between kisses.  “I swear, you must owe me several pairs by now…”

            “Shhh...I’m busy.”  He dipped a finger under the little bit of lace that lay between him and Heaven, loving the moan that came from his lover’s lips.  After adding another finger, he felt the dampness at her entrance as she trembled with his touch.  “Yeah, you’re so ready for me…” he whispered.

            He tore the lacy thong from her body and threw it aside, massaging her most sensitive spot with his talented fingers as she mewled with pleasure.  Reaching under her thighs, he guided Jessica onto his rigid member, gasping at the sheer pleasure of feeling her envelope him with her body.  

            She soon set a frantic pace for them, wrapping her arms around his neck as she swirled her hips against his.  He held her in place with his strong hands, thrusting up to meet her as she crashed down around him over and over again.  It wasn’t long before she threw her head back, gripping his shoulders tightly as she clenched around him.  

            “Oh, James…”, she breathed in ecstasy.  “I love you so much…”

            He thrust hard once more before achieving his release, slumping against the lockers as she leaned against his chest.  “God, Jess...that was great.”  He kissed her temple as she hummed with pleasure.  “Remind me to yell at Gerald more often.”

            “Hmmm...that was more than great. That was spectacular.  Imagine how much better it’ll be when we get home and we aren’t in a hurry to get the job done…”

            “Yeah...maybe we ought to get ready to go home…”  Aubrey wore a crooked grin as he winked at his girlfriend.  “I’ll be ready for rounds two and three by then.”   

            “Sounds like fun.”, she giggled as she pushed her hair off her face.  “Where’s my headband?”  She giggled as she found it under the bench. “Oh, here it is.”

            As Jessica picked the bedraggled object up and pulled in onto her messy hair, Aubrey glanced at a scrap of lace on the floor.  Picking it up, he handed it to her.  “Sorry about your panties.  They always seem to get in the way, don’t they?”

            Standing up, Jessica smoothed her dress as she took what was left of the thong from him with a naughty grin and tossed it into her nearby locker.  “That’s alright.  I’ll just go commando until we’re ready to go home.”

            “Really?” Aubrey nodded as he thought about her standing next to him at the party, knowing she was practically naked under her dress.  That distraction might be too much to handle, even for a well-trained agent who was used to controlling his emotions.   

            “Yeah, let’s go home…”

**Oooooooooo**

            It was getting late, and the crowd had started to thin as people left for the evening.  After dancing to a few of their favorite songs, Booth and Brennan took some champagne from a waiter’s tray and went back to their table to enjoy the rest of their evening.  

            “Hmmm…”,  Booth began, wearing a smug smile.  “I wonder where Aubrey and Jessica have disappeared to…”

            “I assume they’re still around here somewhere.”  Brennan pointed at the table next to theirs.  “There’s his hat and her cigarette holder.  They’re probably getting dessert from the buffet.”

            “Oh, I think they’re having dessert, but it’s not the same kind that’s served on a buffet plate.”  Booth chuckled as he spied the slightly disheveled couple walking toward the table, trying to look casual.  The feather on Jessica’s headband was crooked as it sat on her disheveled hair, and Aubrey’s jacket was buttoned wrong, revealing a very wrinkled shirt that was only partially tucked into the waistband of his pants.

            “Hey, Aubrey...you might want to check your fly.”  Laughing at his friend’s embarrassment, Booth sat back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest.  “So did you two had a good time this evening?”

            “Yeah.  It was great...one of the best Galas I’ve ever been to.  What about you, Jessica?”  Aubrey nudged his girlfriend as she tried to straighten her head dress.  “You had fun, right?”

            “Oh, definitely.  It was lots of fun.”  She giggled shyly as she looked up at her boyfriend.  “Aubrey made sure we enjoyed ourselves.”

            “I see.”  Booth nodded as he looked at his wife, who winked back at him.  

            “Aubrey”, Brennan began, “Dr. Delfs and Agent Bower informed us of the confrontation between Mr. Maxwell and yourself in the buffet line.  Hodgins was most interested in the story, especially since it appears that Mr. Maxwell initiated the argument with his uncouth remarks about Ms. Warren.  I believe he plans on speaking to Gerald’s supervisor on Monday.” 

            “Karen also made sure to let us know that you made the little prick piss himself.  Nice job, Aubrey.”  Booth winked at his friend.  “Were you being a big meanie to the poor guy?”

            “Nah...I just put him in his place.  It didn’t take much to make him wet his pants.  He’s just a coward who hides behind his daddy’s money.  He thinks he’s all tough until someone stands up to him.  As for what happened, Dr. B, it really wasn’t a big deal.  I just had to remind Gerald that he needed to mind his manners.”  Aubrey shrugged as he picked up his hat.  “That’s all.  I think he knows he made a mistake.” 

            “Actually, Aubrey, it is a _‘big deal’,_ as you put it.”, Brennan said.  “All interns have to follow the same guidelines in employee conduct as everyone else who works at the Jeffersonian as a condition of their doctoral program.  His demonstration of such poor behavior in the presence of Gala guests could show the Institution in a negative light.  Such actions could result in several disciplinary actions, including the termination of his internship.  If it was one of my interns, I would recommend termination on the basis of his harassment of Ms. Warren.” 

            “We’ll see what happens on Monday, Dr. B.”, Aubrey said with a small smile.  “Anyway, I think we’re going to call it a night.”

            “Sounds like a good idea.  I think we’ll do the same.  See you on Monday, okay?”  Placing his hand in the small of Brennan’s back as they rose from the table, Booth guided his wife towards the door.  “Night…”

            “Yeah, good night.”  Watching the couple walk away, Aubrey grimaced slightly as he turned to his girlfriend.  “Do you think they know about us...that we’re together again?”

            “Of course they know, Superman. They probably knew after the football game.  Booth is an excellent investigator, and Dr. B is extremely observant.”  Jessica laughed as she brushed the feather away from her face.  “I’m sure everyone else knows, too.  It’s not like we can keep it a secret forever, but I don’t think anyone cares, and they won’t make a big deal about it.”  She smirked at him as she looped her arm in his.  “Now, we need to go home.  Don’t forget...you promised me rounds two and three…”

            “Trust me, Jess.  There’s no way I’m going to forget that.”  He laughed as he put his arm around her.  “Best two out of three wins, right?”

            “I don’t know.”  She smiled as she leaned against his wiry frame.  “We may have to try for three out of five…”

            Aubrey nodded happily.  “I hope so, Jess...I sincerely hope so.”


	24. Rise and Shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the morning after the Jeffersonian Halloween Gala. What's next for our favorite couple? And where do Aubrey's socks fit into the grand scheme of things? Read on to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watch for a L & C extra on my Twitter (@mphs95) or Laura's (@lauraopper), or on my Tumblr (MIBonesFan)

           The next morning, Aubrey’s bedroom was a mess.   Half of the bed’s pillows were lying haphazardly in front of the bathroom door.  His comforter and the blanket he’d left on the foot of his bed were heaped on the floor.  Leading from that pile were his socks, her heels, and other odds and ends that went out past the bedroom entryway.

           On the bed, the agent was snoring softly when he was disturbed by a weight on his abdomen.  Opening his eyes, he was momentarily startled to see an orange tabby with large green ones staring back at him.

            “Quit staring at me like that, Skinner.  You know I hate that.”, he muttered grumpily.  “Let me guess...you’re hungry, right?  What time is it?”

            Looking at the clock, he was shocked it see it was 9:52.  However, he and Jessica didn’t go to sleep until after 3:00.  At least, that was the time he saw on the clock before the redhead’s legs wrapped around his neck so they could make love once more.

            He sighed in contentment as he stretched lazily in the bed.  The Halloween Gala was definitely the best party he had ever attended at the Jeffersonian...and the after party in his bedroom had been even better.            

            His only regret from the evening, besides having to deal with that asshole Gerald Maxwell, was that they didn’t get to Rounds Four and Five, but after their third go round, they fell asleep in exhaustion.  He didn’t know who to thank more for their stamina...the FBI’s stringent physical standards for their Special Agents or Yoga for Jessica’s flexibility, strong thighs, and her very open hips.

            Turning over, he saw his girlfriend with half tousled, half pinned hair sleeping in the middle of the bed.  God, she was sexy as hell last night.  First, the retro stockings with the seam going up the back.  Then the silver lace garter belt.  Their quickie in the intern locker room had been the icing on the cake.  

            The agent watched Jessica for a minute and chuckled when she snorted in her sleep.  As she turned onto her side, Aubrey grimaced as his bed creaked loudly like it had after their rather energetic final romp a few hours earlier.  Quickly, he realized that the shopping trip he’d planned on after the New Year for two new mattresses sets for his spare bedrooms would have to be moved up, and he’d also need include a new set for his bedroom.

            While spending an extra several hundred dollars on bedding wasn’t planned, under the circumstances, he didn’t care.  Six out of the last eight nights, he and Jessica had put his bed through the wringer as they made up for the last two months and it was worth every single tumble with his girlfriend.

            His brass headboard had taken a beating as well Friday night from Jessica accidentally hitting the wall with it while his tongue had engaged her in some rather enjoyable foreplay.

            _‘Definitely need a wooden headboard and a king sized bed.  Jess and I need room to engage...especially when she does her awesome Yoga stuff.’_            

            Their activities of late gave him another reason to be grateful to be living in Booth’s house now instead of his former apartment with its thin walls and floors.

            It was devastating to hear the score of Game 4 on the radio as they were driving home last night.  Thankfully his Jessica had given him a very enjoyable distraction...more like multiple distractions...from the sad news.  

           His Cubbies were now down 3 – 1 and tonight, Game 5 would decide their fate.  He’d prayed daily that his beloved team would make it all the way.  They hadn’t been to a World Series since 1945 and he had a hunch that 2016 would be the year to break curses.

            Still, he didn’t want to tempt fate, which is why he wore the same socks for each game day since they’d won the National League Central.  Jessica was not thrilled with it, but she was accepting of his quirk.  While he knew the main reason why was because she loved him, he was also privy to her secret of wearing green bras and panties for all of MSU’s games during March Madness.

            The NCAA tournament next year would be very interesting for the two of them.

            His ponderings were interrupted by a paw swatting at his face.  Looking at the culprit, he gave him a dirty look.  “All right, all right, I’m getting up, Skinner.  Chill out.”

            Pushing his annoyed cat off him, he got out from under the covers and felt a chill against his bare skin.  Finding a pair of flannel plaid pajama pants in a drawer, he put them on, making a note that he would soon have to turn on the furnace in his new house.  

            As he walked around his bed, he chuckled at Jessica’s stockings and garter belt lying haphazardly at the end of it.  He remembered how hot she looked after he stripped her down to only those two items and her surprise when he’d asked her to keep them on for the second time.   For Round Three, he’d had the personal pleasure of removing them slowly.

            Then there was the lingerie.  He appreciated her choices, particularly her preferences in underwear.  His favorite panties were what she called her _‘cheekies’._  He didn't care what they were called.  He just liked the look of her lovely ass in them and the access they gave him to her soft skin.

            However, over the last eight days they had been an impediment.  As a government employee and a SAC, it was his duty to solve problems quickly and efficiently. Much like he did last night at the Gala, he simply approached the situation like he always did when he was working a case.

            Problem:  Blocked by an obstacle from mind blowing pleasure from his girlfriend.

            Solution:  Remove said obstacle quickly, by force if necessary, and engage.

            As they rested between lovemaking sessions, she revealed that she purchased the stockings, garter belt, and her now destroyed panties separate from her costume.  Then to his further delight, she also hinted that she may have indulged in similar items for his enjoyment in the future.  

            Just another reason to be in love with his beautiful, nerdy squintern. 

            Following the trail of clothes, he found his boxer shorts lying outside the Star Wars room.  A few feet away, Jessica’s dress led another trail of items down the long hallway.  His costume pants, followed by his shoes, and then his spats at the top of the stairs.

           As he came downstairs, he saw his tie hanging on the bannister, followed by his shirt.  Reaching the main level, he observed his jacket on the entryway floor.  At the front door, he spotted the headband that had fallen off when he pushed her against it after arriving home around 1:00 AM.  He took a breath to control himself as he recalled kneeling down before throwing her left leg over his shoulder and exploring her private treasure with his lips and tongue until she screamed his name.

            Jessica Warren would be the death of him...and he loved it.

           Walking to the kitchen, he grabbed Skinner’s bag of food from where he kept it hidden after he’d come home to find the feline face first in the bag three days earlier.  He poured some kibbles and put fresh water in his water fountain.  Standing at the kitchen, his thoughts drifted.

           Last Saturday morning, his birthday started with a day on the job as he and Jessica were friends working towards a mutual goal of more.  Eight days later, they were hot lovers who couldn’t keep their hands off each other.  The sex was great the first time around, but this time it wasn’t just better...it was amazing.  

           Although he had no regrets about his times with previous lovers, Jessica brought out a passion inside him that he’d never felt with anyone else.  Only the redhead had inspired him to rip her panties off because he was so emotionally desperate to be with her or to use his tongue to drive her senseless against his front door.  Feeling a slight sting across his lower back, he smiled at the scratches Jessica had left on his skin this morning because she couldn’t control herself as they made passionate love.  She had definitely marked him as her own, and that made him deliriously happy.

           He knew they would slow down eventually, but he was in no hurry.

           Their time apart had been agonizing, empty, sad…so many adjectives that he didn’t want to contemplate again.  In many ways he was grateful that he didn’t take the promotion to LA.  He’d considered it when she’d broken up with him that awful day, but he just couldn’t do it.  Even if he hadn’t gotten the offer to take Halko’s former position, he would have stayed in DC.

            Maybe he’d had one of those _‘vibes’_ his girlfriend always had.  He wasn’t one to just jump into gut feelings like Booth, but intuition was something he tried to listen to.  Maybe that’s why Jessica was good for him.  He sometimes got too involved in the practical, in being careful…most likely a result of his father taking off, abandoning his wife and son almost twenty years before. 

            His father.  Jessica said she felt shut out when it came to that jackass.  However, it was so hard to articulate the feelings he had for the man, much less discuss with someone else what it had been like growing up with Philip Aubrey.  When he found out that his father had hired Frank to keep tabs on him, all the emotions that he thought were dealt with years earlier rushed back to the surface.  Of course, it had happened only a few weeks after he and Jessica finally decided to go for being together.  

            Until they talked that night at the Mall, he never knew how much his silence had hurt her, but her silence had hurt him as well.   He knew that her mother was mentally ill and that her parents’ marriage was bad.  However, it wasn’t until that night that he truly understood why Jessica had always seemed to be guarded when it came to her heart.

            It also explained her reaction that night out by the subway, when he’d told her that he was serious about her.  At the time, though, he was too scared to ask why she seemed nervous, so he pulled back.  Simultaneously, she was too scared to push him.  However, they were working on learning to communicate better with each other.  Jessica was opening up to him and they were working together to feel safe enough to be honest to the other.  They weren’t perfect yet, but they were getting there.

            He’d told her the truth that night at the Mall about how he couldn’t love anyone like he loved her.  Sometimes, he wondered if he had always been in love with her, but wasn’t ready to acknowledge it.

            But he was ready now.  Things weren’t always perfect, though.  It bugged him when Jessica left lights on when she left a room.  She was also like a dog with a bone when she wanted to talk, sometimes to his detriment.  She didn’t always say the right thing, they shared some philosophical differences, and yes, he knew that if he entered politics someday she may not be the perfect political spouse.

            But she was perfect for him.  All Aubrey knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the quirky redhead.  

            Tired of contemplation, he pulled some coffee beans out of the cupboard as he planned the breakfast he was going to make.  It was time for his redhead to wake up.   Perhaps they could sneak in a shower or some private time before heading to Angela and Hodgins’ later that day. 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***  

            Jessica moved over to the other side of the bed but woke up when she felt the empty spot next to her.  Opening her eyes, she saw that Aubrey was gone and realized he probably had gotten up to feed Skinner.

            The redhead smiled as she recalled the passionate lovemaking that was bestowed onto her when they came home from the party last night.  James Aubrey was wiry, but underneath those suits he was all muscle, and she was the lucky girl who got to feel every sinew and layer as they made love.  One day, she would thank the FBI for their stringent physical standards.

            Looking back on the conversation she had with Dr. Saroyan during the Lola Marshall case, she cringed as she recalled the frustration at Aubrey’s slow pace in moving toward their relationship.

            Now, she could say with pride that it had been worth the wait.

            He was the best lover she’d ever had in the ten years she had been sexually active.  Her boyfriend could alternate between tender, ruthless, gentle, and methodical all at the same time.  Aubrey always knew just where his touch would make her see stars.  More than once while making love, she had unintentionally gouged his back as he drove into her, turning her inhibitions loose.  While not shy, only with her boyfriend did she feel truly safe to let go completely.  

However, James Aubrey wasn’t just her lover, but also her best friend.  Someday, she would get the courage to make the step towards them living together.  After that, perhaps she could be ready for the ultimate leap together...to a permanent commitment.  Of course, Aubrey wasn’t ready for those steps, either.  She sighed in contentment.  It was wonderful to realize that unlike the first time they were together, she wasn’t terrified if he happened to get there first.

            Because he promised to wait for her.

            Nobody had ever done that for her before.  His patience, his acceptance of who she was, his respect of her intelligence, and yes, his unconditional love, made Jessica fall for him a little more each day.  She was in love with the goofy, science fiction loving, devoted cat daddy, and courageous FBI agent.   

            Aubrey wasn’t perfect.  He was stubborn as a mule.  Sometimes he still had a black and white sense of right and wrong with no gray area.  He left his socks on the floor in his bedroom...and on hers.  He would try to protect her even though she could take care of herself and his love of junk food knew no end.  With his diet, it was a miracle he still had all of his teeth.

            A life with him would be scary, unpredictable, fearful every day he worked, and at times sad and painful, but it would also have times of fun, love, friendship, and the feeling of being content,  knowing she was in the right place with the right person.

            In the end, life without her best friend would be empty and unhappy...and she couldn’t go back there again.  

            It was those thoughts that helped her drift back to sleep.  She wasn’t sure how long she was out, but an irresistible aroma wafted through her nostrils.  Opening her eyes, she saw a Princess Leia coffee cup near her nose.  Looking up, she saw a handsome, shirtless man with killer blue eyes flashing a dimpled smile at her.

            “Good morning, Sunshine.”

            The redhead wiped her eyes and held out her hand.  “Give me plasma…”

            Aubrey held the mug just out of her reach.  “Wow, so my presence is not stimulating enough for you, Ms. Warren?”

            Jessica narrowed her eyes at him.  “You were the one who kept me up until almost four in the morning, Mr. Aubrey.”

           “How could I refuse a woman who wrapped her long and attractive legs around my neck?”, Aubrey replied with a smirk before handing her the coffee, waiting until after she took a drink to continue.  “It’s only right that I get to wear you like a scarf.”

            Jessica’s jaw dropped in shock as Aubrey looked at the clock.  “Wow...I was going to make you breakfast, but it looks like it will be brunch now.”

           “I would appreciate that.”, the redhead said while sitting up, holding the blanket against her naked body, and taking another drink.   “Wow...bringing me coffee in bed...such a wonderful boyfriend...”

            “But of course, Jessica.”

            Then, realization hit Jessica.  “Wait a minute.  Coffee in bed...you’re going to be wearing those Cubs socks again, aren’t you?  Superman, you’ve worn them since Game 1 of the NLCS.  They are getting super ripe!  Please don’t...”

            “I have to, Jess.”, Aubrey said as he sat next to her.  “They’re down 3 – 1.  I can’t let my Cubbies down.”

            Jessica saw his earnest face.  Giving up, she laughed.  “Everyone may kick you out if they smell you, Aubrey.”

            “Nah.”, the agent said.  “A man has to do what a man has to do for his team.  Booth does the same thing when his Flyers are in the playoffs.”

            “So what time are we meeting them tonight?”

            Aubrey stood up and took a drink of his own coffee.  “Angela said come over about 4:00.  I picked up the beer yesterday while I was grocery shopping.”

            “And I’m going to make my garlic dip.”, Jessica said.

            “Sweet.”, the agent said before bending down to kiss his girlfriend.  “Now, get your lazy ass up.  I’m going to cook breakfast...lunch...brunch...whatever.”

            “What are you making?”

           The agent turned around in the doorway and smirked.  “You’ll see.”            

            “Aubrey…”, Jessica said but he had already disappeared.  “Aubrey…you’re ignoring me on purpose…”

            Getting up, she found his bathrobe hanging on the door of the closet.  She put it on before seeing Skinner on the bed.  Calling him, he got up and stood next to the redhead.

            “Come on, buddy.  Let’s make sure Daddy doesn’t make any weird food.” 

          ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***            

            Aubrey surprised his girlfriend with a late breakfast of scrambled eggs with ham, spinach, and an amazing chipotle espresso cheddar cheese.  He accompanied the meal with marble rye toast and thick cut bacon.  To his pleasure, she thanked him with her tongue as she knelt on the kitchen floor.

           An hour later, Aubrey was in the shower when he heard the door open.  Turning around, he was greeted by a nude Jessica.  

          “Care to share?”

           The agent flashed back to his birthday dream.  “Always with my favorite squintern.”

           Jessica got under the water of the main head and got her hair wet.  Grabbing the bottle of shampoo she brought there, she lathered it.  “So am I just bringing dip and you’re bringing beer tonight?”

            “I have the stuff for deviled eggs also, if you want to make yours.”

            The redhead smiled as she rinsed her hair.  “For you, Superman, I will, but you have to share them with everyone else.  You can’t eat almost all of them like you did last week.  Booth and Wendell weren’t very happy.”

            Aubrey grabbed his girlfriend’s cherry body wash and put some in his hand.  “I was hungry, Jess…and yours are the best.”

            Jessica got out from under the water and felt her boyfriend massage body wash onto her shoulders.  “Of course.  So are we still handing out candy tomorrow night while watching the sci fi horror movie marathon on Comet?”

            “Uh, yeah.  We started a tradition last year, Jessica.  It must continue.”, Aubrey said before he stopped rubbing her shoulders and with his arm pulled her close.  “It would have been sad if you weren’t here for that.”

            The anthropologist put her arm on his.  “I know.”

            They remained that way for a moment, enjoying each other’s closeness.  However, Aubrey’s more basic instinct took over as his hand moved down slowly until he found the juncture between her creamy thighs.  Feeling her shiver, he continued exploring.

            “Are we…yes…ever going to…don’t stop, James…slow down…ohhhhh.”, Jessica moaned as her boyfriend’s fingers manipulated her to perfection.

            “Eventually…but you drive me fucking insane, Jessica.”, Aubrey responded in a low timbre as his other hand caressed her wet breast.  “I want you all the time.”

            “I...want you all...the time too, James...oh yes…”, the redhead moaned as she leaned against the glass with her boyfriend right behind her.

            Skinner made his way into the steamy bathroom.  He got closer to the shower but stopped when he heard a loud female moan.

            “Yes…James…yes…”

            The ferocity of the voice scared the tabby out of the bathroom.

* * *

             At 6:30 PM, everyone was sitting around the large study at Hodgins and Angela’s house either watching the pregame show or socializing.

            Jessica, Andie, and Angela sat with Daisy talking while Brennan and Cam were getting drinks.  The artist looked at Wendell’s girlfriend with a smile before turning to the redhead.            

            “So Jessica...we saw the way you dragged Aubrey from the party after he put that piece of shit in his place last night.”, Angela asked in a mischievous tone.  “Where did you go?”

            Jessica took a deep breath.  “Oh...I took him aside and thanked him.”

            At that moment Cam and Brennan returned to the group.  “That must have been some thank you, Jessica.  You were gone for quite a while.”, the pathologist said.

            Jessica looked nervously at Brennan, who remained silent while enjoying a slice of vegetable pizza.  “Aubrey was a gentleman and I wanted to give him a proper thank you without embarrassing him.  You know how private he is.”

            “Beau would have kicked Gerald’s ass if that jerk had talked to me like that.”, Daisy said before drinking her beer.  “That POS would’ve been missing several teeth from that perfect smile.”

            Jessica looked around and saw the expressions on the other women’s faces.  It seemed she wasn’t the only one who noticed that the normally bubbly forensic anthropologist seemed to be on edge.

            “I'm glad Aubrey didn't stoop to that loser’s level, Daisy.”, the redhead said diplomatically.  “I don't want his career to be in jeopardy because he lost his temper with some ignorant asshole like Gerald.”

           “Sorry that the Redskins tied Cincinnati this morning, Daisy.”, Angela said as she sipped her ginger ale, trying to diffuse the situation.  “When is the team coming home from London?”

            “When I talked to Beau before coming here, he said the plane would land in Dulles tomorrow morning at 10:30 our time.”, Daisy said quietly.  “He’s pissed that he was only in during the 2nd quarter today.”

            “Sorry, Daisy.”, Andie said quietly.

            “Beau has been studying the plays and practicing so hard, but he is upset he isn’t getting more playing time.  I’ve tried telling him that they’re always going to use their starter and second string first, but that just made him more upset.  Now, he’s talking about joining another team that will appreciate him more.  That’s not going to work…at all.”

            In shock, the ladies looked at their friend and realized now why she was irritated this evening.  After a moment, Jessica spoke up.  “Can you transfer to one of the other NFL laboratories, Dais, if Beau signs with another team?”

            “Yes, Daisy, there are satellite facilities in Denver, New York City, Houston, Los Angeles, and Chicago.”, Cam replied.

            “I could transfer if there is another lead forensic anthropologist position available, but that’s doubtful.  I’d probably have to take a demotion or find another job.  However, it doesn’t matter because he’s not going to uproot me and Lance just because he’s unhappy.  I’ve worked too hard to get where I am now, and I don’t want to give it all up.”  Daisy took a sip of her beer before noticing her friends all looking at her and smiled. “Don’t worry girls...Beau and I will work it out.  We always do.”

            Sensing a change in subject was in order, Andie spoke up.  “So girls, what did you think of my costume last night?”

            “I thought a female hockey player was very impressive, Ms. Roberts.”,  Brennan said after she chewed her pizza.  

            “Wendell kept checking you out all night, Andie.”,  Angela said.  “It seems he was appreciative of your choice.”

            “Oh, he was, Angela.”,  Andie said before taking a sip of her beer.  “And my paratrooper let me know how much after we got back to my apartment...all night…”

            “You always did like a man in uniform…”,  Jessica quipped to everyone’s chuckles before getting up.  “Excuse me girls...gotta pee.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***            

            Aubrey was talking to the guys on the other side of the study.  The agent propped up his leg onto his knee but was immediately chastised by Booth.

            “Aubrey, either put your shoes on or keep your foot down.  That downwind odor is killing me.”            

            The agent shrugged as he put his foot down.  “Booth, you did the same thing when the Flyers were a Wild Card for the Stanley Cup playoffs.”

            “Yeah…and see how far it got me?”, Booth said.

            Hodgins put his beer down and leaned toward them.  “Aubrey, I called Dr. Miller from the Antiquities department before everyone got here.  He couldn’t attend last night, but Gerald and his father called him at like 9:00 this morning telling him their version of the events.  I guess you supposedly got in Gerald’s face, telling him stay away from Jessica, and then you told his date to get tested for any sexually transmitted infections.”

            “That’s bullshit—“

            “I know, Aubrey.”, Hodgins said as he held his hand up to interrupt Aubrey’s angry response.  “David thought the same thing, and several of our colleagues at the Jeffersonian also called him to back you up.  I’m meeting with him and Gerald at 10:00 tomorrow morning and he requested you come if you’re able.”

            “I’ll be there.  It will save me a phone call.  What he said to Jessica is sexual harassment.  She can’t be the only woman he’s treated like that.”

            “He’s always been like that Aubrey.”, Wendell said.  “The prick thinks he’s God’s gift to women and hates it when he’s made to look like the slime he really is.  I know a couple of ladies that rejected him and they said after that, he was a douchebag to them.”

            “I went to school with a couple of the Maxwells and they’re all snobs who think their shit doesn't stink.”, Hodgins said.  “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with that family.  They have a huge sense of entitlement.”

            “Hate pricks like that.”,  Aubrey said.

            “Dr. Miller sounded excited to nail the little jackass.  He took over Antiquities just last April after Doctor Vanderbrook was caught having sex with his barely eighteen year old intern one night.  Since then, he’s been trying to clean house by weeding out half ass staff members and all of Batuhan’s groupies that stayed after Dr. B’s shooting.” 

            “Moving on.”, Booth said, not wanting to think about that time again.

            “Sorry, Booth.”  Hodgins grimaced slightly before he continued.  “My colleague said Maxwell knows his stuff and is a competent intern, but he has a history of constantly being late or of getting caught as he leaves his area to go flirt with other women at the museum.  However, Batuhan and Vanderbrook let him get away with it, probably because of his father.”

            “Yeah, those pesky fathers…”,  Aubrey muttered before sipping his beer, only heard by Booth.

            Hodgins munched on some nuts.  “I guess when Dr. Miller took over, Gerald was a brown noser who tried to schmooze him.  When the fall semester started back up and he pulled all his shit, Miller put the little prick on notice that he wouldn’t get away with half assing his job there anymore simply because of his father’s position on the Governor’s Board.  When Harold Maxwell confronted him the next day, he repeated the same thing, which probably shocked the hell out of the old bastard.”

            “Gerald Maxwell is also a racist prick.”,  Arastoo said before sipping his tea.  “At one of the intern social gatherings a couple of years back, he made it a point to discuss how Muslims were making this country unsafe when I was nearby, as well as telling some stupid towelhead jokes.  When I called him out on his bigotry in front of his fellow interns, he joked that I should watch what I say or he would have his father use his connections to pull my Green Card.  Joke was on him when I told him I was a US Citizen and my father probably had more money than his.”

            “Dude, I remember that.  His mouth dropped to the floor.”,  Wendell said after he sipped his beer.  “Wait, wasn’t that right after Jessica started at the lab?”

            “One and the same.”, Arastoo said.  “Remember how he wouldn’t leave her alone the entire night, Wendell?”

            “Yeah, either you, Clark, or me had to stick with her so he wouldn’t bother her again after he was a pig while she was getting a beer from the bar.”

            “He chased her even then?”,  Aubrey asked.  “That nasty son of a bitch…”           

            “Yes, he did.”, Arastoo said.  “I guess he introduced himself after she placed her order.  First he tried to pay for her, but she refused.”

            “Jess is never stupid.”, Aubrey muttered.

            “Then while she was waiting for her stuff, he bragged to her about all his _‘connections in DC’_ before telling her that he knew a secluded place where…crap, what did he tell her, Wendell?”,  Clark chimed in.

            The blonde man shook his head.  “He knew a secluded place where he could introduce her to the delights of the museum and make her scream.  He was pretty handsy with her, too, but she shut him down pretty quickly, took her beer, and walked away.”

            Aubrey kept himself calm.  “That’s disgusting.  I’m glad she didn’t put up with his shit.”

            “After that, he toned himself down considerably to just flirting and boring her with stories of his country club membership and other stupid shit.  Jessica’s reputation...didn’t help matters, but she was a single female and didn’t owe anyone an explanation about anything.”, Clark said quietly.  “Although once she started hanging out with you, Aubrey, she didn’t date anyone else.”

            “Really?”  The agent was shocked.  “We were just friends, though.”

            “Really.  Several guys asked her out, including that douchebag, but she turned them all down cold.”, Wendell said before taking a drink.  “She was waiting for you to make your move, Dude.”

            “I heard it really pissed him off when you two finally got together, Aubrey.”, Arastoo said.  “I think he figured she was playing hard to get but the fact she rejected him for a Federal Agent really got him.”

            “It’s not like he didn’t have women who would jump for him in a heartbeat.”, Hodgins said.  “What upsets David more is that he’s also heard rumors of him intimidating several female interns, so he’s been keeping a close eye on Maxwell.  However, no one has been coming forward to point a finger at the twerp.”

            “Because they’re probably too scared or bought off?”, Aubrey asked in frustration.  “How the hell does he get away with all this shit?  Where the hell was his advisor from GWU?”

            “I guess the kid’s old advisor was a Dr. Jennings.  I’m sure it was a total coincidence that Harold Maxwell gave generously to the Antiquities program and funded more than one of his digs around the world.”,  Hodgins said.  “He died last summer and Gerald got a new advisor.  From what David said, this new advisor is younger and not impressed with the Maxwell name, so our intern friend may have screwed himself completely with his stunt last night.”

            Aubrey chugged his beer to hold his temper down.  “I would have kicked his ass last night, Hodgins, if we hadn’t been at the Gala.  I barely held back after he called Jessica a cheap whore and made those other disgusting comments about her.  He keeps threatening not only to sue her for damage to his car from the tow truck at the convention four weeks ago, but he also says that he will press charges against her because she was secretly trying to steal his car as revenge for him leaving her at the convention.”

            “Sounds like he’s trying to intimidate her.”,  Booth said before turning to his friend.  “Good for Jessica for standing her ground.  It helps when she has someone in her corner.” 

            “He must still really have the hots for her to go to a Star Wars convention as her date.  I figured he would have given up on her by now.”, Arastoo said to the agent before looking back at the others.  “Still can’t believe the idiot was too proud to just call for a second set of keys or to call Jessica when he saw they were missing.”

             “I can.”, Aubrey said.  “You didn’t see how pissed he was after Jess caught onto his phony act and she called him on it to his face.  When he threatened her in the parking lot after we gave back his keys, she just blew him off.  It’s obvious that he doesn't seem fond of women he can’t blind with money and gifts or bully into submission.”             

            “That asshole’s time is coming, though.  He can’t use his father to put a spin on what he did last night.”, Hodgins said before he laughed.  “Is it true that he wet himself after you got in his face and threatened him, Aubrey?”

            The agent shrugged and downplayed what happened.  “He isn’t used to someone standing up to him, that’s all.”

            “Yeah, Dude...Karen ran over to the table with that Agent Bower behind her, marveling about how you put Gerald in his place.  Then she showed everyone the soaking wet spot on her costume’s tail from when he tripped.  Of course, Dr. B noticed the smell before any of us.”, Wendell chuckled before drinking his beer.

            _“Oh, Aubrey was sooooo magnificent putting that bully in his place…”,_ Arastoo mimicked in Karen’s voice.   _“Oh, you should have seen him…I was actually worried that he might hurt Gerald.”_

            Everyone else cracked up as they remembered the profiler’s retelling of the fight.  “I think Agent Bower was too caught up in traveling down Karen’s Yellow Brick Road to realize that she was drooling over Aubrey.”, Booth added.

            “Agent Bower said there was a puddle of yellow liquid by where he was standing on that white marble floor.”,  Hodgins chuckled.  “You can’t hide anything on that floor.”  

            Everyone laughed before Arastoo picked up his tea.  “Aubrey...that’s awesome.  He’s got at least fifty pounds on you and you scared him that much.  You’re the man.”

            “Thanks.”,  Aubrey replied, feeling slightly guilty for the pride he had for his handling of Gerald’s bad behavior.  “Yeah, he’s bigger than me, but I’m also trained to inflict some major damage on someone if I’m confronted...or even worse, if it’s self-defense.  I would have taken him on if it was just us, but I wasn’t going to stoop down to his level with everyone around unless I had to.  Jessica didn’t need any more embarrassment.”

            “I’m sure she appreciated it.”, Wendell said with a chuckle.  

            Arastoo chuckled.  “Yeah, I bet she showed you her appreciation. Cam said she and Angela saw Jessica practically drag you away from the buffet room after it happened.  What did you guys do, make out in one of the storage rooms?”

            Aubrey’s eyes got big before peeking at Booth furtively, who merely drank his beer.  As much as he wanted to brag about their tryst in the locker room, he respected Jessica too much to do that.  However, it also seemed that his girlfriend was right that everyone probably figured things out.  Making a quick decision, he answered his friends.

            “No…she just wanted to tell me how much she appreciated me sticking up for her.  Not many guys have done that.  She’s my best friend, guys.  It doesn’t matter what happens to me because no one is going to treat my girlfriend like that and get away with it.  I did what most decent men, including you all, would do.”

            The men all nodded in agreement before they tipped their drinks back in solidarity, not realizing that Jessica overheard everything as she was returning from the restroom.  Quietly, the anthropologist turned around and re-entered the study from the other entryway.     

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            During the bottom of the ninth inning, everyone watched as Aroldis Chapman pitched again for Chicago.  When the Indians got their third out, the game was over and Aubrey standing up and hooting.

            “Yes!  Yes!  My Cubbies rock!  Yes!”

            “Aubrey!  Our son and their children are sleeping upstairs.”, Angela gently admonished as she pointed between her, Booth, and Brennan.

            The agent looked rightfully rebuked.  “Sorry.”

            “It’s okay, Dude.  It was pretty exciting.”, Hodgins said before turning to everyone.  “Okay, folks, hate to break up the party, but tomorrow is Monday.”

            “We’ll help you clean up, Curly.”, Jessica said before picking up beer bottles and cups.            

            With everyone helping, clean up was quick and afterwards, everyone said their goodbyes before getting into their vehicles and heading home.

            In Aubrey’s SUV, the agent saw his girlfriend looking out the window in a pensive manner.  Practically seeing the wheels turning in her head, he grabbed her hand and kissed it.  “A credit for your thoughts.”

            Chuckling at the Star Wars reference, Jessica perked up.  “I don’t know if one will cut it, Superman.”

            “Try me.”,  Aubrey said as they crossed back into Washington DC.

            Jessica was hesitant to speak her thoughts aloud, but realized that her boyfriend wouldn’t let it rest until she spoke.  “I used to sleep around, Aubrey.  Gerald wasn’t that far off when he said that last night.”

            Aubrey took a deep breath as gathered his thoughts.  Jessica’s previous reputation gave him thought more than once when they were together the first time.  He’d held a secret fear that he wouldn’t be enough for her and it shamed him because his past wasn’t much better.  Now, he had faith in their friendship and love for each other to push away those old insecurities because Jessica didn’t deserve that.

            “I know.  I wasn’t a saint either, Jess, before we got together.”, the agent replied.  “My past...your past...it doesn’t matter.  What matters now is us...working as partners to move forward from before and trusting each other.”

            The redhead took a breath.  “I want you to know I’m faithful.  I’ve never been unfaithful to you, Aubrey...or anyone.”

            His girlfriend’s words struck a nerve with Aubrey as he remembered his father.  “I know that, Jessica.  I’m faithful to you, too.  I’ve never cheated on you or anyone…and I never will.”

            Jessica stared out the window.  “I don’t want you to ever wonder if I’m settling.  I also don’t want you to have to put your reputation on the line for me because of mistakes I made when I was stupid enough to believe in bullshit gossip.”

            Concerned, Aubrey pulled into the playground by his house and put the vehicle in PARK.  “Jessica, what’s this about?”

            “I’m the one who was stupid enough to go on two dates with Gerald Maxwell, Aubrey.  I’m the one who got in his face and told him off.”,  Jessica said before taking a deep breath.  “I’m the one he’s angry at, not you.”

            “I beg to differ, Jess.”,  Aubrey retorted.  “After last night, I’m probably on his hit list, too.”

Jessica’s lip quivered and she couldn’t look her boyfriend in the eye.  “His father is on the Governing Board, and from what I hear, he has a lot of powerful friends, including at the DOJ.  I don’t want him or his family to do something to torpedo your career because you stood up for me.”

            Aubrey realized she overheard him talking to the guys earlier.  He could also feel her retreating and he needed to make it stop…now.

            “Jessica.  Look at me.”  When she did, he continued to speak.  “I’m not worried about me.  One, there were many witnesses to what happened Saturday and also with what happened in the parking lot at Dulles, so any lies he tells will be refuted.  Two, sexual harassment is against the law and Dr. B told me earlier that there’s a zero tolerance policy at the Jeffersonian.  Even as a non-practicing lawyer, I can tell you that you have a case to sue his ass for mega bucks in civil court.  However, you’re not like that.  Three, he’s running scared.  If he’s still grousing about his car, it’s because you had his number, so he’s trying to intimidate you as payback.  Four…he badly underestimated me, and that was a big mistake on his part.”

            When she looked down, he gently tilted her head up with his finger.  “No one is going to hurt you, Jessica, as long as I’m around.  If he tries to go after me, I have enough friends of my own that I can use against him, and I will win.  So do you.  Now, quit worrying about me…please.  Worry about what’s important right now.”

            “Putting Gerald in his place?”            

            Aubrey put the SUV into gear and drove out before making a left onto Janus Street.  “No, Skinner.  I fed him an early dinner and he probably ate it all.  You know how pissed off he gets when he’s hungry.”

            Jessica laughed her ass off as Aubrey slowed down and turned into his driveway.  “Only you can make me laugh at a moment like this, Superman.”

            Aubrey pulled into his garage, turned off the ignition, and he twitched an eyebrow at his girlfriend. “Yeah?  Well, watch out, because when we get upstairs, I’m gonna make you scream my name…”

            “Really?”, the redhead remarked saucily.  “Well, what are we waiting for then?”

            The couple got out of the vehicle and walked out of the garage.  After Aubrey pressed the fob to close the door, they ran up to the front door giggling.  He quickly unlocked the door and they ran inside the house before slamming the door shut. 


	25. Tricks, Treats, and a Billy Goat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what does Halloween, killer worms, and a billy goat have in common? Read and find out :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> L & C extras coming soon. Watch for them on Twitter (@mphs95) or Tumblr (MIBonesFan)
> 
> Also...NSFW. Find your favorite closet and read...:)

            Halloween was a busy day for Aubrey.  He arrived at the Hoover just shy of 7:00 to work on payroll.  Nothing sucked more than leaving the warmth of his lovely Jessica to go to work while it was still dark out.

            Especially since they didn’t get to sleep until after midnight, when he kept his promise to make her scream...more than once.

            After getting his administrative work done, he helped Genny with her cases so she could leave early to take her son out for Trick or Treating.  When her mother dropped Danny off after school for a head start through all the different divisions, he was impressed with the young boy’s choice of costume, Chewbacca.  

            He had another bit of luck when Jessica surprised him at 5:00 in his office.  Clark let everyone go early that afternoon due to parents taking their children out for the evening’s festivities.  Quickly, he finished up and she followed him back to his house.

            By 6:15, they were comfortably ensconced in his kitchen getting things ready for trick or treaters as well as putting the final touches on the munchies for their movie marathon at 7:00.  Near the stove was a large cookie sheet filled with chips already laced with copious amounts of shredded cheddar and habanero jack cheeses and a bowl of peppers Jessica had chopped before work this morning.  As the agent added Mexican seasoning to white meat chicken cooking on the stove, the redhead pulled several bags of candy from one of the kitchen cupboards.

            “Aubrey...did you really need to get six mega large bags of candy?”  Glaring at her boyfriend, Jessica pointed to one of them.   “Seriously?  This bag here must be at least ten pounds...”

            “I didn't want to disappoint the kids…plus it was on sale at Kroger’s.  It’s called being prepared, Jess.”

            She narrowed her eyes at him.  “How much of this candy did you buy for yourself?”

_‘Busted!’_ Aubrey thought, but he smiled innocently at his girlfriend.  “Jessica Warren...your lack of faith in me is breaking my heart.”

            The couple laughed and Jessica handed Aubrey a beer.  “So Douchebag Maxwell really got suspended?”

            “Yep, until November 20th...thanks.”, the agent responded.  “I was pissed when he wasn’t fired from his internship, but Hodgins explained that this way, that little asshole will sweat a bit.”

            “He’s right, Superman.”, Jessica said.  “This is the worst time to be suspended because most interns are working overtime to get their hours in before the end of the semester.”

            “Are you talking about the hours you have to work every semester for practical experience?”

            Jessica stole a handful of remaining cheese from a bowl and popped it into her mouth.  “Yep.  One of my friends who is in the AmU Antiquities doctorate program says he has to do 320 hours per semester.  However, GWU requires doctoral candidates complete 350 hours of internship time per semester along with their fellowship research.”

            “Don’t you have to do 350 hours per semester?”  Aubrey asked.

            “Yeah, but after completing 150 hours supervised by Dr. B or Clark, you can start working independent shifts in Limbo and on the weekends, which count towards your time.  Those are nice for picking up extra hours and can help with your dissertation, depending on the topic.  Since I have a Forensic Science degree, I can use my time with Curly on Thursdays as long as it is a case related to Dr. B or Clark if he requires Hodgins’ help.”

            “Doesn’t Gerald’s department do something like that?”  Aubrey asked.  “I would think with they would have students working independently like you all do.”

            “Actually, Danny said that in Antiquities, starting this semester, each intern is scheduled 24 hours a week and it has to be Monday through Friday so it can be supervised unless one of the PhDs are working on a weekend project, which is rare.  They alternate between three 8 hours shifts one week and four 6 hour shifts the next week.  He said the interns like the new hours because the days are shorter, their schedule is more regular,  they get more one on one time with the Antiquity experts, and they have some wiggle room in case they need to take a day off.  He also said while not official, the new schedule started because Dr. Miller caught a few interns, mostly Gerald, just sitting around doing nothing on their weekend shifts and claiming the time.”

            “So when Gerald gets back, he’ll have to make up that time he is missing plus whatever he still has to complete before the end of the semester?”, Aubrey said as he added more seasoning to the meat  “So he’s royally screwed…”

            “Yep.  He’ll have to take whatever time is available, if there is any, unless he makes special arrangements with Dr. Miller.  It’s not impossible to make up 72 hours, but this time of year is tough because interns are working to complete their hours, but the holidays cut into the available shifts.  Their internships are paid like ours are, so people aren’t just going to give them up.  Dr. B and Clark require us to have our time done by December 15th this semester so I would think Antiquities has the same requirement.  If he doesn’t complete those missing hours, along with what he has to work to reach 350 hours for the semester, he fails and can’t return to the Jeffersonian for Spring.”

            “Ah, gee...that’s too bad.”,  Aubrey said sarcastically before turning around to stir the chicken on the stove.  “Very apropos for that little pissant….no pun intended.”

            “Yeah.  He’ll have to put his academic career on hold until he can apply for an open internship slot either next fall at the Jeffersonian, or another facility approved by GWU.”, Jessica replied as she ripped open a bag of candy and dumped it into a bowl. “Worst case, he’ll be kicked out of his doctorate program and he will have to try to find another university that can work with his dissertation topic and research, if he can.”

            “I’m assuming that will mess up his career big time...of course, having complaints of sexual harassment made against him isn’t going to be a big selling point to a potential employer, either.”  

            “Gerald may be able to get by in his career with an MA, but most antiquity bigwigs are PhDs.  Chances are, wherever he applies to, he’ll have to explain the reason for the failure to obtain his degree and losing his internship at the Jeffersonian when he looks for a job, although I’m sure his daddy will try to buy him one.”, Jessica replied as she dumped another bag of candy into the bowl.

            “Oh well.  I’m glad the Jeffersonian doesn’t take kindly to sexual harassment.”,  Aubrey said before he started chuckling.  “You should have been there.  The little prick first threatened to have his father get Dr. Miller fired.  When the good doctor blew him off, he promised that his father would pull his donations in retaliation.  So Hodgins replied that he and Dr. B had more than enough to make up their loss and could even get more donations for Antiquities and other parts of the Jeffersonian.  Gerald’s mouth dropped and it was beautiful.”

            “Don’t think I’ve ever seen the prickburger speechless.”, Jessica said with a smile.  “Well, except Saturday night after he was put in his place by my cute and sexy boyfriend.”

             Aubrey’s ears turned red before continuing.  “Then he tried threatening to get the lab closed with his father’s influence, but we all laughed before Miller made him leave immediately with a security guard.  He has been instructed to not come back until November 21st at 7:30 AM, when he will have a personal briefing with him.”

            Jessica kissed her boyfriend on the lips.  “Thank you for coming to my rescue with that chode, Superman...and for making the famous Aubrey nachos for tonight.”

            “Anytime, Jessica.”, Aubrey said as there was a knock at the door.  “Oh, our first trick or treater.”

            Aubrey took the finished chicken off the burner before the couple walked to the door and opened it, greeted by Daisy and Lance, dressed up as Little Bo Peep and a sheep.  “OMG, Daisy! You two are so adorable!”, Jessica said before looking over her friend’s shoulder.  “Where’s Beau?” 

           The anthropologist’s cheerful disposition disappeared.  “Back at the condo studying the plays for the next game in between naps.  He was supposed to go trick or treating with us as a family, but he’s too busy.”

            “It took me a few days and several cups of coffee when I got back from Scotland to keep from crashing at 7:00 at night.”, Jessica said, hoping to defuse her friend’s anger.  “He’ll be back to a normal schedule in no time.”

            “I’m sure he feels bad, Daisy.”, Aubrey said, trying to be polite but also feeling the woman in front of him was being a bit unreasonable.  “Before we know it, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here and there will be plenty of family time for the three of you.”

            Daisy’s scowl lessened.  “You’re right, Aubrey.  I’m making too much out of this.”  Turning to her son, she pointed to the bowl Jessica held.  “Okay Lance, pick up one of the bags…good boy…night.”

            “Night, Daisy.”, the couple said together before shutting the door.

            “Nice save, Superman.”, Jessica said.

            “I try.”, Aubrey replied before the doorbell rang again.  Looking at his phone, he saw it was another group of children.  “Duty calls, Ms. Warren.” 

* * *

            At 10:30, Aubrey and Jessica were watching the last minutes of _Squirm,_ a movie about electrocuted worms that infected victims in Fly Creek, Georgia by burrowing into their skin and killing them.  The movie had a love triangle featuring Roger,  a dim witted local man, Geri, a redheaded local girl, and Mick, a college boy from New York.

           The agent was sitting on the couch with Jessica’s head in his lap with a pillow underneath it.  She played with his knee with her hand as he absently played with her hair.  On the table was the last of the nachos, two empty plates with crumbs, several empty Yuengling bottles, and a large bowl with a small layer of Halloween candy and lots of empty wrappers.  Skinner was sleeping on the back of the couch, obviously relieved that there no more intrusions upon his domain.

            “I liked all the trick or treaters, but our friends’ kids were the best.”  Jessica said.  “I thought Michael Vincent was adorable.”

            “Yeah...the costume suited him.”  Aubrey shuddered as he ate a candy bar.  “Like father, like son.”

            “Superman, he wasn’t a real tarantula.”, Jessica said with a snicker.

            Aubrey looked down at his girlfriend.  “Jess, a spider is a spider.  I’m telling you...that costume gave me the creeps!”

            The redhead rolled her eyes.  “It’s a good thing I was here to protect you then, James Robert Aubrey.  So what are your thoughts on Christine and Hank?”

            “I’m sure Booth was proud of his little hockey player.  Christine could so play for the Flyers.”,  Aubrey replied.

            “And Hank was the coolest dinosaur ever.”, Jessica said before stealing the last bite of her boyfriend’s Almond Joy.

            “Hey!”

            Jessica chewed the treat.  “Sharing is caring, Aubrey.”

            “Smart ass.  I liked Jordan’s costume most of all.”

            The anthropologist chuckled.  “Arastoo’s mother did a great job on the uniform.  Of course, you would like anything with the Cubs on it, Superman.”

            “Damn straight.  However, it just shows that Cam and Arastoo are doing a great job with those boys.  It’s important to know the right teams to root for, although Arastoo does have that weird love of the San Francisco Giants.”

            They went back to watching the movie before Aubrey made an observation.  “Jess, doesn’t Roger remind you of Gerald?”, he said before stealing another Tootsie Roll and eating it.

            Jessica pondered for a moment.  “Yes.  He tried to intimidate Geri when they were alone on the boat.  However, the dumbass was attacked by the worms before he could hurt her.  It’s just too bad the Potomac doesn’t have any killer worms to eat Gerald’s face.”

            “She also had red hair just like you, Jess.  However, you are smarter and cuter.”,  Aubrey said before bending down to peck his girlfriend on the lips.

            “Thank you, Superman.  Of course, the cherry on her sundae was that she had Mick, who was cute and smart like you, Aubrey.”

            Blushing, Aubrey grabbed his beer.  “I’m not as smart as you.”

            Jessica sat up and looked at her boyfriend in exasperation.  “James Aubrey, you skipped the third grade and did dual enrollment at City College of New York during your senior year of high school and graduated with a 3.9 GPA.  You then went on to Syracuse where you finished in the ten percent of your class for your bachelor’s and got summa cum laude for your law degree, all while working part time on and off campus.  You got into the FBI soon after passing the New York Bar Exam on your first try and graduated third in your class at their training place--”

            “Quantico.”

            “Sorry, Quantico.”, Jessica said patiently before continuing.  “Now, you’re a Special Agent in Charge of an important division at the FBI at age 33.  You’re smart, okay?  Deal with it.”

            Aubrey felt the redness hit his ears.  “Okay…but only if you listen to me when I say how beautiful you are…and watch Game 6 with me tomorrow night.”

            Jessica chuckled before laying her head back down as the film climaxed.  “Okay.  Now hush, the movie’s almost over.”

            “You’re going to fall asleep again, Jess.  You always do when you snuggle with me because I’m so hot.”

            Jessica playfully smacked Aubrey, causing both of them to giggle as they finished watching their movie.

* * *

             Tuesday night was a good night for Aubrey as Chicago dominated Game 6 in the first inning at Progressive Field.  Jessica held his hand as Aubrey got twitchy throughout as they watched from his living room.  He was afraid that Cleveland would pull a last minute rabbit out of their hat.  When the game ended with Chicago winning 9 - 3, he whooped it up for a moment.  To celebrate, he kissed his girlfriend before they began making out on the couch.

            “It’s getting...late...Jessica…”,  Aubrey muttered in between kisses on her neck before lowering them down on the couch.

            “I...know…”, the redhead said as her legs wrapped around her boyfriend.  “Oohhh…you have to behave tonight, sir.”  

            “Not happening.”, Aubrey muttered onto Jessica’s tasty collarbone as he cupped her breasts.  “Any chance of behaving ended when you hugged me with your thighs of steel.  You know how horny that makes me...so say goodbye to your underwear.”

            Jessica laughed before he kissed her again.  As the lanky man’s hand went under her sweater and bra, Skinner jumped up on the back of the couch and stared at the couple groping each other.

            “Go away Skinner, she’s Daddy’s girl.”,  Aubrey panted as his girlfriend’s hand went down into his pants and grabbed his butt.

            “Jealous of a pussy…”, the redhead chuckled before he began tickling her.  “No Aubrey...stop…stop tickling me...”

            “Okay.”,  Aubrey replied before ducking his head under her sweater and peeking back out.  “You’re wearing that green bra I like.  You had a plan when you came over tonight, Miss Jessica.”

            “Maybe I did...maybe I didn’t.”,  Jessica replied with a smirk.

            “As a top notch federal cop, I’ve used my second to none deduction skills to conclude that you wanted some FBI nookie tonight.”,  Aubrey stated.  “Being the excellent government servant that I am, I think something can be arranged.  Besides, this couch hasn’t seen much action in a while and we need to rectify that.”

            “That’s true.”  Jessica laughed as Aubrey went back to what he was doing.  “It has held up well, even after that dirty weekend after I got home from Scotland…”

* * *

           Aubrey’s phone alarm woke them up as they were sleeping on the agent’s couch.  With reluctance, the couple got up.  Stealing their afghan, Jessica wrapped it around her as she walked to the kitchen to start coffee.  Putting on his boxer shorts, the agent fed his cat and retrieved his lucky socks from the bench outside his mud room.  They’d had a heated discussion before the game because while she was understanding about his need to wear them, the redhead was too overcome by the odor to be around him much.  After much debate about washing them or not wearing them, they compromised by Aubrey hanging them outside overnight to air out.

           Coming together, they rushed upstairs to get in the shower as both had to be at work around 7:30.  He needed to prep for a 8:00 meeting with Deputy Director Stark, and she was going to cover for Brennan as she had to be in court with Booth this morning.

            A while later, as Jessica put on makeup in his bathroom, Aubrey sat on the bed putting on his lucky socks.  Glancing at his floor, he spotted Jessica’s travel bag that seemed to be here all the time.  In the closet, he had one similar he took to his girlfriend’s apartment for when he stayed there.

            Getting up, he found his special Cubs tie.  Moving in front of the mirror, the agent debated asking Jessica if she wanted to keep things here as he tied his tie.  It seemed to be such a pain to pack things ahead of time or when they stayed at one another’s at the last minute, they had to rush to get the other home to get ready for work.  

            But that was a big step...and today was not the day to approach the issue.  He was nervous enough as it was.

            Looking at the clock, his eyes got large.  “Shit!  Jess, hurry up or we’ll be late!”

* * *

            Eleven hours later, Aubrey was running late to pick up Jessica from the lab.  Gathering his stuff, he sent her a text letting her know he was running behind and when done, he put his laptop in his computer bag.  Grabbing his jacket and Star Wars travel cup, he walked briskly out the door.  As he was about to lock it, he heard a shrill voice.

            “Aubrey, I’m so glad I caught you.”

            His stomach sank at this new delay.  Turning around, he faced the person with a polite smile.  “Karen, what can I do for you?”

            “I have an update to my profile for the Vacchio case.”

            He looked at his watch and saw it was 5:51 PM.  In the past, he figured this would be a ploy to spend time with him.  However, since their sit down the week before she’d kept their meetings strictly professional.  Shaking off his lingering worries, he relaxed and shrugged his agreement..

            “Five minutes, Karen.  I have to pick up Jessica from the lab and we have to get dinner made before the game tonight.”

            “Oh yeah, that World Series thing.”  Karen flipped her hand at him.  “It’ll be quick, I promise.”

            Karen explained her findings and when she was done, Aubrey nodded.  “That confirms Hodgins and Jessica’s findings.  So we’re looking for someone that knew our vic?”

            “Yes, definitely.”, Karen said.  “It could someone he was close to, like his spouse, a friend…even a coworker.  Just listening to the recording, his speech cadence is not hesitant.  He knew his killer, Aubrey.”

            Aubrey nodded.  The idea that he was possibly killed by someone in law enforcement or a confidante put a chill in his spine.  It nauseated him because it confirmed his hunch that he may have to make a visit to West Virginia.  It was a longshot, but it was something he had to consider.

            “Well, thanks, Karen.  Listen, please email a copy of that to me and Booth.  He’ll want to see that ASAP.”, Aubrey said as he grabbed his stuff.  “Now, I’ve got to go.  See you tomorrow.”

            Before Karen could reply, the agent ran towards the elevator.  Seeing the group waiting to leave, he yanked open the door to the stairs and raced down.       

* * *

            After they got home, Jessica made homemade pizza and deviled eggs while Aubrey made up a batch of his nachos.  Everything was finished under the wire and the couple sat in front of the television at 7:57 for the 8:00 game at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

            It was a nail biter that kept Aubrey and Jessica on the edge of their seats all evening.  Once 11:00 hit they gave up the idea of getting any sleep.  Both knew that this game would go down in history and to miss it...not possible.

            The redhead comforted her boyfriend later when a rain delay was called in the 9th inning and the game tied 6 - 6.  For the next thirty seconds, she held his hand as he fretted.

            “Jess, my Cubbies can’t lose...they just can’t.  They can’t go another 108 years...no fucking way does my team not win a World Series in my lifetime.”

            Jessica took a leap of faith.  “They won’t, Superman, because they have fans like you...and me...rooting for them.  I’ve got a vibe this will be good.”

            “I don’t know, Jess…”

            The redhead smiled as she got an idea.  “Maybe what you need is a rain delay distraction.”

            Jessica pushed Aubrey back slightly before she climbed on his lap. They came together in a kiss before the couple began a full fledged make out session.

* * *

            It was almost 1:00 in the morning and Aubrey watched with bated breath as Michael Martinez was at plate.  Grabbing Jessica’s hand, he held on tight as he watched Mike Montgomery on the pitcher’s mound.

            For Aubrey, it went into slow motion at Martinez hit a ground ball.  Kris Bryant got it and threw it to Anthony Rizzo at first base.  With that catch, it was three outs and time stopped.

            “Holy shit, Superman…the Cubs won.  They won!”, Jessica shouted with glee.

            Aubrey could only stare at the screen.  As he saw the players converge onto the field, it slowly began to register.

            “The Cubbies won…they won…my Cubbies are World Series Champions…”

            The forensic anthropologist saw her boyfriend and understood he was in shock.  “Let me get you a beer and some munchies.”

            It wasn’t until the redhead left his side that Aubrey snapped back.  Turning to his right, he saw Jessica bending down in his subzero fridge.  Deciding he was in the mood to celebrate with his girlfriend, he walked quietly up behind her.

            The redhead took the plate of deviled eggs she made and two beers out of the refrigerator.  As she turned around, she almost dropped the items as she saw her boyfriend in close proximity.  She was mesmerized by Aubrey’s eyes with the pupils almost totally engorged and immediately felt herself getting wet.

            She could only watch as the agent took the items out of her hands and set them on the counter before grabbing her in a passionate embrace.  After he backed her into the counter, his hands moved under her skirt and he almost came when he felt no underwear.  Quickly, he moved his hand between her legs and teased her.

            “Oh fuck...James…”, the redhead moaned as she wrapped her leg around his.

            “Jessica, where are your panties?”, he moaned into her neck while he continued to play with her.

            She moaned as Aubrey’s teeth gently grazed her skin and his fingers went inside her.  With shaking hands, she undid his pants and pushed them down.  “In…my purse.  Took...them off...after...rain delay...oh God...”

            The agent responded by quickly driving her to an orgasm before turning the redhead around.  Lifting up the obstruction to his girlfriend, he bared her incredible ass to him before efficiently entering her from behind.  As he moved his hand under her sweater, Jessica reached behind and pulled him closer.  Immediately, Aubrey pushed harder into his girlfriend and her loud moans scared a curious Skinner away from the kitchen.

            Their coupling was quick and lustful as it didn’t take long for them to reach their climaxes.  When it was over, they stayed where they were for a minute, catching their breath.  When their heartbeats went back to normal, Aubrey pulled away from Jessica.  

            “Wow…”,  the agent breathed.  “Been awhile since we’ve done that.”

            “The night I got home from Scotland and we went back to my apartment.”, Jessica said as she finally caught her breath.  Grabbing her nearby laptop case, she turned to her boyfriend.      “I’ll be right back.”  

            “Sure.”, Aubrey said.

             He continued to lean on the counter for a few seconds before pulling his pants up.  Grabbing a glass from the cupboard, he filled it with water from the tap and chugged.  Putting the glass in the sink, he rubbed his face.

            “Superman?”, Jessica said in a happy voice.

            “Yeah.”, Aubrey said as his hands moved to his fly.

            “You may want not want to zip up your pants just yet.”

            The agent looked up and about had a heart attack when he saw Jessica dressed in a pair of white lace booty shorts complemented with a white mesh cami top with the Chicago Cubs on the bra cups.  The panties seemed made for her subtle curves and the Cubs logo was rounded quite nicely around her breasts.

            Aubrey thought of all the reasons to say no.  He had to be at work early to review case files before his division’s weekly meeting...she had to be at Dr. B’s 8:00 class before working with Hodgins in the afternoon.

            Both were going to be exhausted in the morning, making their days long and difficult.  He also had to work late because he had several performance reviews to prepare that had to be done by December 15th.  He wondered if it would be better for them to get some sleep.

            Then his girlfriend gave him a seductive smile.  His mind made up, he walked over, grabbed Jessica, and pushed her backwards while he enjoyed feeling her awesome ass.  When he got to the chair,  he smiled as she pushed him in it.  As she mounted him on his lap, only one thing came to mind.

            Fuck sleep...he could do it when he was dead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curse of the Billy Goat is the legend of why Chicago Cubs didn't win the pennant until 2016. Look it up...very interesting.


	26. The Other Side of Oz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So Aubrey and Jessica are happy and in love. Today, the couple recover from their World Series celebration and experience a trauma. Will they recover?

            Real life and the responsibility that went with it came too soon for the lovers, who didn’t make it upstairs until after 2:00 in the morning.  When the alarm went off at 6:00, they both crawled out of bed and stumbled to the shower.  Sharing the bathroom afterwards, Jessica did her hair and makeup while Aubrey shaved at the other basin, both moving half a step behind as their late night caught up with them.  

            When done, Jessica threw homemade breakfast burritos in the microwave before pouring coffee for both of them in their travel mugs.  Aubrey fed Skinner before they rushed out of his house.  Their usual morning banter wasn’t as lively as normal as the agent rushed them to work while resisting the urge to use the siren, but neither was offended.

            After sharing a quick kiss, Jessica grabbed her stuff and ran into American University’s Hamilton building.  Thankful for a few minutes to spare, she ducked into the nearby restroom.  Dr. B’s first class break wouldn’t be until around 9:00 and it didn’t look right for the TA to leave in the middle of the lecture.

            Washing her hands, she looked down at her phone and smiled at the picture of her and Aubrey from the Star Wars convention.  She was lucky to have such a cute and fun boyfriend.  

            As she dried her hands, she glanced at the time and her eyes got large as she saw it was 7:49.  Grabbing her phone, laptop bag, and purse, she rushed out the door towards the lecture hall.  She still needed to set up the Power Point projection for the lecture and being late for Dr. B was not an option.

 ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***            

            After dropping Jessica off, Aubrey got to the Hoover just shy of 8:00 and rushed upstairs to his division.  He was heartened to see a sluggish Booth and Charlie in the break room, both obviously tired from watching Game 7 as well.  After sharing greetings and agreeing on a 2:00 meeting time for creating an orientation proposal to present to Deputy Director Stark the following week, Aubrey refilled his coffee and stole more donuts before retreating to his office.            

            Copious amounts of caffeine, several donuts, and a mid-morning egg sandwich later, Aubrey felt almost normal again.  

            He spent his morning reading through his agents’ cases.  On his computer was the job performance review program the FBI used for their agents.  While he’d helped Booth in the past as he did these reports for the other agents in Homicide, this was the first time he would be doing these on his own.  Much like Booth did with him, he got Genny’s input regarding their agents’ performance.  After a couple of hours, he put the files aside to do his other administrative work.

            After finishing his review of Agent Baker's expense report from his last case, he got hungry again.  As he reached into his drawer for the emergency peppered beef jerky he kept handy, his phone buzzed, signaling a text message.  Checking it, he saw it was from Jessica.

            **_Class getting out now.  Lunch at RD?_**

Looking at the clock, he was surprised to see it was 11:05 AM.  Smiling, he answered back.

**_Always.  Meet u there._ **

The SAC got up and locked his computer.  When done, he grabbed his overcoat, keys, and phone before locking his office door.  Walking down to Shaw’s office, he peeked in.  “Meeting Jess at the diner for lunch.  Want me to bring you back anything?”

            “Actually, yeah.”,  Shaw wrote down what she wanted and gave the Post it Note to Aubrey.  “Thanks, Boss.”

            “No problem.” Aubrey headed out past Agent Bower’s desk without a glance at Karen, who was sitting on the corner talking and flirting with the agent.  He calculated he had just enough time to get there before Dr. B dropped off Jessica on her way to the lab.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

              When Aubrey got to the diner ten minutes later, it was packed.  Luckily, he was able to snag the last table just as Jessica arrived.  Greeting each other with a kiss, they sat down.  Knowing the menu by heart, they were able to quickly place their order with Hilda as well as Genny’s.  Five minutes later, she came back with two Cokes and a large chocolate shake for the SAC.

             “So you’re working Saturday and Sunday, correct?”, Aubrey asked Jessica.

            “I am.  Wendell needed this weekend off for his new program, so I traded my December weekend, which was the 9th and 10th.”

            “Anything interesting to do at the lab this time, or are you just going to identify unknown remains like the last few times?”, Aubrey asked before sipping his shake.      

            “The Jeffersonian is expecting some remains from Turkey to arrive Friday, so barring a case, that is what I get to work on.  However, I’m out at 3:00 both days.”

            “That’s good.  Want to grab dinner Saturday night when you get done?”, the agent asked.

            “Sure, Superman.”, Jessica replied with a hopeful smile.  “Any special occasion?”

            “No…no…just wanted to spend some time with my girl is all.  Maybe we can see a movie afterwards.”, Aubrey said.  “Doctor Strange is showing…”

             Before he could go further, they were interrupted by the familiar nails on the chalkboard voice.  “Wow, this place is hopping today.  Can we join you?”

            Aubrey and Jessica looked up and saw Agent Bower and Karen.  They would’ve preferred to be alone, but each knew it would be rude to make them have lunch elsewhere.

            “Sure.”, Aubrey said blandly.  When he saw Bower sit by Jessica, he suddenly stood up.  “Wait, Steve, I’ll trade you seats.”

            “I—“, Steve protested.  “I don’t wanna cause you any trouble, Boss…”

            “No, I insist.”, Aubrey said, getting up hastily before Karen could take the chair next to him.  In quick time, the agent made his way around to the outside chair by Jessica.  When situated, he grabbed his Coke and chocolate shake.  “There…now you two can sit together.”

            “All right.”, Steve said, smiling as he got situated next to Karen.  “This is great, ain’t it, Sugar?”

            “Definitely.”  Karen gave Steve a flirty wink.  “I just love sitting next to my big, buff, FBI boyfriend.”

            “Um...okay.”  Aubrey glanced at Jessica in surprise before he continued.  “So...you two...are together now?  As a couple?  When did that happen?”

            “It’s been a couple of weeks, right, Honey?”  Steve put his arm on the back of Karen’s chair as she nodded in agreement.  “It was the Monday before the Gala thing.  I was walking by the conference room where she was having that 7:00 meeting with you and Shaw when she came out in a hurry and ran smack into me.  It musta been fate…best accident I ever had.”

            Exhaling softly as he realized which meeting Steve meant, Aubrey nodded.  “I see…”

            “It was a real stroke of luck, wasn’t it, Steve?  You just happened to be outside there when I came walking out of that room, and I just happened to have two tickets to the Jeffersonian Gala...and some Wizard of Oz costumes picked out...and you just happened to be available to go with me.  I’m glad you chose the Scarecrow.” Karen shrugged at Jessica as she laughed.  “Steve’s really smart like the Scarecrow in the movie, and he looked so good in the costume, too...better than Aubrey would’ve, you know...if I’d wanted Aubrey to go with me to the Gala, that is.”  

            “I bet.”  Jessica said blandly, keeping her dissenting opinion to herself.

            The profiler giggled as she pushed her glasses up on her nose. “I just love that furry Cowardly Lion costume. It’s so soft and cuddly, and it’s great for role play.   I especially like it when Steve tries to tame me...he loves to use that naughty whip to show his pussycat who’s in charge.”

            “Wow….a little TMI, Karen.”, Jessica gasped as that picture flooded her brain.  “So you like furry things like that?”

            “Explains that pink stuffed...thing in her guest room that I woke up to after Cam and Arastoo’s wedding.”, Aubrey muttered quietly.

            “Oh, you know it.  That’s why I like Steve.  He’s got enough body hair to make Sean Connery jealous.”  Karen made a show of patting her boyfriend’s hand, hoping Aubrey would notice and be full of regret.   _James is gonna be sorry he let me go for that little redheaded twit...but I have Steve now._

“Wow…”  Jessica said again, unable to come up with a coherent response as Karen continued. 

 _“_ I think all that thick hair is so...manly.  It definitely shows off the testosterone levels, doesn’t it?  How about you, Jessica?”, Karen asked with a smirk.  “Does Aubrey rate high up there on the manliness scale for you?”

           The redhead put her hand on her boyfriend’s, considering her answer for a minute since she knew he would be uncomfortable with the topic.  “For me, a male’s manliness and attractiveness is not so much the quantity of body hair or even the amount of muscle behind it as much as confidence in himself, security in his manhood, and personal integrity.  Luckily for me, Karen, Aubrey has all three of those in spades, as well as more than enough hair and muscle to keep me interested.  However, every woman has her own opinion.”

            Karen was annoyed at Jessica’s easy and clever response and pushed further.  “Well, with this hunky FBI agent, we have all sorts of fun together, don’t we, my big, strong, Stevie Weevie…”

            “You know it, Sugar Booger.”  Bower wore a cheesy grin as he gave Karen’s arm a squeeze.  “We have fun all night long…just the two of us...”

            Aubrey cringed with disgust, watching the couple sitting across the table from him as they fawned over each other while indulging in some overly sweet baby talk.

_‘Stevie Weevie and Sugar Booger?  God, I may be sick.  It must’ve years since Steve’s been laid if he’s willing to put up with that shit from Karen.’_

            “Well, I’m glad you’re both happy.” the agent managed to say.  ‘ …. _and relieved….’_

             “Oh, we are!”, Karen gushed.  “We’re just as happy as two people can be…and we had so much fun at the Gala, and then afterward, we went back to my place for a nightcap or two.  We sat and talked for hours...right, Steve?  We have so much in common…”                    

            “You’re right, Babe...and the talking was just part of it, but I guess we oughta keep the rest of the evening’s festivities to ourselves, right?  I don’t wanna embarrass Aubrey’s girlfriend, seeing how she’s so young and all.  She might not know about all that stuff.”  

            “Yeah...thanks for thinking of Jessica like that, Steve.  That’s very considerate of you.”  Aubrey replied, not wanting to subject him and his girlfriend to a foreplay by foreplay description of Steve and Karen’s sexual adventures.

            The agent couldn’t help but smile as he thought about all the stuff Jessica _did_ know about, like how ten hours earlier she took him for the ride of his life in his living room chair.  Oh, the stories his furniture...and hers...could tell about them.  However, that was between him and Jessica.

            "No problem, Boss. I always try to be considerate of others, particularly young women." Bower said as he winked at Jessica and licked his lips. "We should probably leave that sort of thing to your imagination, Sweetheart."

            The redhead didn’t like how the other agent was looking at her and decided to lay down the law.  “My name is Jessica...not Sweetheart, Agent Bower.”

            “I’ll remember that.”, Bower replied, somewhat chastised.  “No offense, okay?”

            “Sure.”, the forensic anthropologist replied before sipping her Coke.  “None taken.”

            The table was quiet for a few minutes before the anthropologist decided to break the tension, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.

            “So…um...why did you choose costumes from the Wizard of Oz for the Gala, Karen?”   _I really had her pegged as more of the Psycho sort._ “I mean, don’t get me wrong.  You looked great…”

            “I did, didn’t I?”, Karen giggled.  “Even after that small spill on my tail by that goon Aubrey put in his place.”

            “Sugar, you looked hot in and out of it, and I know why you wore that costume.”  Steve grinned at his new girlfriend.  “It’s her favorite movie…”

            “Yes, it is.  I just love it.  It has so many psychosexual overtones…”

            “Really?”  Aubrey was obviously surprised.  “I thought it was just munchkins, wicked witches, and flying monkeys…you know, kid stuff...”

            “Oh, it’s so much more than that.  I learned all about it when I was in Kansas City.  One of the other profilers explained it to me.”  Karen gestured for them to get closer, leaning across the table as if she was going to divulge an important secret.  “The Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion all represent parts of Dorothy’s psyche...kind of like a version of Freud’s id, ego, and superego theory.”

            "We really don’t need to know any more…”, Jessica stammered, but Karen plowed ahead with her explanation.

            “The Scarecrow represents her brain...her intelligence.  The Tin Man is her emotional component, and the Cowardly Lion represents her fears.  Dorothy was trying to use those parts of her personality to overcome the sexual repression of society in her day, as represented by the Wicked Witch of the West.  After the Wizard fails to help her, Dorothy is terribly frustrated, but eventually the Good Witch sets Dorothy free from her bondage, so that she becomes a fully realized sexual being.”  Karen smiled proudly.  “By choosing the Lion for my costume, I was demonstrating that I’ve overcome all of my childish sexual fears, and I’m now completely at peace with myself as a sexually mature woman.”

            Stunned by Karen’s explanation, Aubrey blushed slightly as he stared at the tabletop.  “That’s...a very unique theory, Karen.  I’ve definitely never heard anything like that.”  He fidgeted with his silverware, wondering if he’d ever be able to enjoy that movie again.  “Well, it sounds like you have things all worked out…”

            “I really do, and I have my Stevie Weevie to thank for that.  He’s such a satisfying lover…”  Karen grinned broadly at the agent, who smiled back.

            “Sugar, you are definitely my kind of woman...in and out of my bed...especially with what you wore last night...I mean, you should’ve seen it, Aubrey...black satin bra and these amazing panties...”  

            “Um...okay…”  Trying hard not to gag, Jessica looked out through the diner’s picture window.  “Nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?”

            “I heard it will be sunny all weekend...great weather.”, Aubrey replied, hoping the uncomfortable conversation with the other couple would cease.  “Oh, look you two, here comes Hilda to take your order.”

             After the older woman took the other couple’s order and left, Aubrey and Jessica were at the mercy of Karen and Steve’s PDA, which currently consisted of them touching each other under the table while exchanging baby talk.  As the redhead stole a drink from her boyfriend’s shake, he showed her something on his phone to help them tune out the other couple.  

            Hilda efficiently came back with two coffees for Karen and Steve and the peaceful silence was broken.

            “So, Jessica, how are things at the lab?”, Karen asked, obviously pretending to be interested.

            “Good.  Thanks for asking.”, the redhead responded in a polite tone, still in recovery mode from the sickly sweet display of the couple in front of her.

           Karen reached over Agent Bower for a Splenda packet, making sure to flash her cleavage at him.  Ripping it open with a flourish, she stirred her coffee noisily as looked over at the anthropologist.  “I heard that you will getting some remains that were found in Thrace near Bulgaria tomorrow.”, she said.  “That should be interesting.”

            “Yes, I think so.”, Jessica said.  “There were some artifacts found at the site that will also be examined by the Antiquities Department while the lab gets to examine the remains.  How did you know that they were found near Thrace?”

            “This is Washington DC, Jessica.  Nothing is secret here.  However, you get to work with that goon Gerald Maxwell again.  Can you handle that?”, Karen said with a smirk.  “I mean, Aubrey can’t always be there to run interference for you if you offend him again.”

            Before the agent could open his mouth, Jessica squeezed his knee under the table.  “I’m sure I’ll survive, Karen.”  

            The profiler took a drink of her coffee.  “I sure hope you didn’t burn your bridges in your dealings with him or else you’ll have to find a job outside of DC when you graduate.  After all, you know who his father is…”            

            The redhead was positive she saw a glint of challenge in the woman’s eye before it changed to fake interest.  “I appreciate your concern about my future, but I think my work at the lab speaks for itself.”

            “Jessica, really…”, Karen said before stirring her coffee once again.  “Harold Maxwell has friends all over the world.  You’re practically going to have to go to Timbuktu for your career after graduation if you can’t play nice with his son.  Remember, Aubrey has many prospects in the FBI, but he can’t follow you everywhere.”

            Jessica took a breath, ignoring the profiler’s implication.  “Let me reassure you, Karen, that even if Gerald Maxwell hadn’t been suspended for the shit he pulled with me at the Gala, I can still be professional. As for my future career, like I said, my work at the lab speaks for itself, and I will have several positive references, including Dr. B, Dr. Hodgins, Clark, and others.”

            “Oohhh, sensitive subject...my bad.”,  Karen said.  “Now, with those remains from Thrace, it sounds you will be busy for a while.  Are you still going to be able to work cases for the FBI?”

            Jessica took a deep breath before continuing calmly.  “If there’s a case this weekend I’ll be the intern working it.  Part of our internship at the lab is working whatever case comes up in our rotation.”

            “You must twiddle your thumbs in between cases, right?”  Karen asked.  “That must be so boring for a smarty pants like you.”

            “I do all right, Karen.”, Jessica said before taking a sip of her pop, keeping her annoyance tempered down.  “I can always identify remains in Limbo or read.”

            “Do all right?  Jessica...how do you learn all that nasty sciency stuff  in between cases?  Even more, how do you survive here in DC living off your internship? Heck, you have a Masters degree, don’t you?  You could find a better job now if you wanted anywhere in this country or in Europe that has an anthropology program, like that university in Scotland where you were this summer.  Those places want super smarty Americans like you working for them.”     

            Jessica got a sense the profiler had a purpose for her line of questioning, even though Aubrey was giving Karen the benefit of the doubt.  However, the woman’s nosiness and pushiness was giving her very bad vibes.

            It was time to nip the older woman’s pissing contest in the bud.

            “As far as the learning goes, I am lucky to learn from several talented scientists.  Most Mondays I work on my dissertation in the morning and then work as Dr. Edison’s intern in Cultural Anthropology, usually from 1:00 to 6:00 before I attend a yoga class either right afterwards, or sometimes on Wednesday night.  After that, I go home and either work on my dissertation or finish preparing the student materials for the Supplemental Instruction session that I do for Dr. B’s Human Origins class on Fridays.  

            Jessica ticked off two fingers.  “Tuesdays and Wednesdays I usually work with Dr. B at the lab, usually starting at 8 AM, 9 AM or something in that time frame, depending on whether she has to be in court or if I’m called to assist that day at a scene.  I may go home as early as 3:00, or on rare occasions, as late as midnight.”

            Not prepared for the younger woman’s response, Karen spoke.  “Maybe a change of subject is--”

            Jessica plowed ahead.  “Thursdays mornings I’m with Dr. B in her Human Origins class as her TA from 8:00 - 11:00 before working in the afternoon as Dr. Hodgins’ Thursday intern because I have an undergraduate degree in Forensic Science.  Friday mornings I’m working with Dr. B and have a standing appointment with her at 9:30 to go over my progress for my dissertation.  I leave the lab at 1:00 to go to AmU to conduct that SI session I mentioned from 1:30 to 3:00.  I used to do one on Tuesday afternoon, but the students liked Fridays better.”

           “But--”

           “Karen, I’m trying to answer your questions.  Please let me finish.”, Jessica said politely.  Aubrey bit his lip to keep his snicker back and even Steve wore a smirk.

           “Very well.”, Karen replied before taking a drink.  “Go right ahead.”

            “Thank you.  Now, when I get done with that, I go home and usually send an email to Dr. B with any observations or any student questions from the session.  After that, I get ready to go out for the evening, usually with Aubrey at Founding Fathers because they do half price appetizers on Friday nights before the two of us spend...time together.”

            Karen’s back stiffened.  “What--”

            Jessica decided to dig the knife in a little deeper.  “On Saturdays I use my mornings to pay bills, get groceries, and other chores.  Then my Saturday nights and Sundays are spent having a life with Aubrey or with our friends hanging out together.  Last Sunday, we went to Hodgins and Angela’s house to watch Game 5 of the World Series with Dr B., Booth, and everyone else.  It was a lot of fun.”

            The mention of the group hanging out without inviting her to join them once again hit a sore spot with Karen.  “Well--”

            The redhead interrupted Karen.  “However, each semester I work at least two weekends in a rotation with seven other interns at the lab, where I do independent work in Limbo or work a case if it comes up.   When that happens, I have the previous Friday and following Tuesday off.  Of course, we interns do trade days with each other from time to time, like when I needed to go to Richmond last month for a lecture as part of my dissertation research.”

            Karen put her coffee down.  “I see--but...”

            “In answer to your question on how I can afford to live in DC?”, Jessica said as she clasped her hands together on the table.  “My graduate program at American University includes, as previously mentioned, being employed as a TA this semester in one of Dr. B’s classes.  As a teaching grad assistant, I also get 50% off my tuition each semester through tuition remission, a stipend that helps pay for my living expenses, and decent dental and health insurance through the university.  I do have a sizable trust fund that I inherited from my paternal grandparents that is used for college along with emergencies and extra living expenses.  However, I’m also a careful budgeter, a skill learned from growing up in a family of six children...not that it’s actually any of your business.”

            “Wow.”, Agent Bower responded.  “I thought you just looked at bones and shit.”

            “But what about another job?  You can go to school anywhere, and I’m sure you’re going to want to go somewhere new once you graduate.”, Karen said, nonplussed at the intern’s attitude.  “I’m surprised you didn’t stay at Ann Arbor.”

            “Ann Arbor has University of Michigan, Karen.  I went to Michigan State in East Lansing, which is about an hour away from there.  As for why I didn’t stay at MSU? Honestly, I loved Michigan, but after eight years and traveling around a bit, I was ready to come home, and I wanted to learn from the best forensic anthropologist in the world.”  

            As the profiler’s mouth opened, Jessica continued.  “So I applied to and was accepted to the graduate program at American University for the Fall 2013 Semester.  I was accepted as an intern at the Jeffersonian over 100 other applicants six months later.  While I could get more Benjamins now utilizing my Masters degree, I would rather learn from the best now so that when I get my PhD, I can someday be half as good a forensic anthropologist as Dr. B.  Accomplishments and a high salary in the short term don’t mean much without hard work and a solid education, Karen.  As for after I graduate, I’m realistic, but I do know that there are many things I can do with my degrees.  Contrary to your opinion, I don’t think I’ll have to go to Timbuktu to start my career.”  

            The redhead sat back in her chair and propped her arm on the back of Aubrey’s chair.  He grinned appreciatively, leaning toward her as she rubbed his shoulders tenderly before she turned her attention back to Karen. “Now, is there anything else regarding my education, life in DC, or even my very enjoyable and active sex life with Aubrey that you have a pressing need to know?”

            Aubrey’s momentary embarrassment at their lovemaking being brought up in conversation ended when he saw the nosy profiler’s face turn bright red.  Wisely, he held back the laugh that formed at the subtle rebuke she’d gotten from his brilliant girlfriend.  

           “No.”, Karen replied with forced politeness.  “I think you’ve covered everything.”

            What followed was an awkward silence permeated only with the cacophony of the sounds of the diner.  This remained until Agent Bower spoke up.

            “I remember working on studying for my CPA exam.  Man, trying to do that while I was interning was hard work.  It was about that time that I had my Meet and Greet after my Phase One test to join the FBI.”

            Everyone nodded awkwardly before Jessica was surprised to feel a sensation moving up and down on her right leg.  Aubrey was on her left, so she looked across the table to the only other culprit.  She felt nauseated when she saw the lustful look on Agent Bower’s face while her boyfriend and Karen weren’t looking.  

            _‘What a f’ing pig.  Hits on me while sitting next to his girlfriend.  Asshole.’_

            Smiling back, Jessica moved her leg quickly and slammed the heel of her boot into the agent’s shin.  When he jolted the table and grimaced, she put on a look of fake apology.

            “Oh goodness, Agent Bower.  Did my big clown foot hit your leg?  I’m so sorry.  These new boots are so clunky and big, especially in the heel.  Are you okay?”

            “Yeah.”, Steve said, wincing at the pain.  “I’m fine…”                      

            “Would you excuse me for a moment?”, Jessica asked.  She was irritated that her time with her boyfriend was interrupted and she didn’t want to lose her appetite over his jerk subordinate. 

            Aubrey got up to let Jessica out.  He watched as she went up to the counter and talked to Hilda.  He had a thought about what the redhead was up to and hoped he was right. 

            “Jessica is a pretty...determined person, isn’t she, Aubrey?”

            The agent turned back to the profiler.  “Yes she is, Karen.  She’s smart and driven, but also has the biggest heart of anyone I know.”

            “She was a bit snippy with me when I asked her about why she doesn’t cash in on that masters degree and her future plans.”, Karen said before sipping her coffee.  “It's a legitimate question.  She needs to be realistic about life, especially now that she’s working with the FBI. Most people use their education instead of coasting along as a professional student.  While she has been able to live on her family's money and dally along on life, you, Steve, and I had to work hard and make sacrifices along the way to get to where we are at today.”

 _‘You don't know shit about the sacrifices Jess has made in life.’,_ Aubrey thought as he took a drink of his shake.  “You told me once that after earning your Master’s degree at Georgetown you chose to stay and earn your doctorate there.  To support yourself, you were a research assistant for your advisor and had on campus jobs.  If it’s so good to _‘cash in’,_ why didn’t you do that?”

            “I….”

            “Plus, Jessica began college at a school 600 miles away from home when she was fifteen years old, away from all her family and all that she knew.  She had some adventures, but her summers were spent working on a multi year dig on Fort Michilimackinac in Michigan for MSU, which helped her get hired at the Jeffersonian.  After graduation, she worked on other projects and made valuable contacts with people from several universities over the years.  She’s also assisted on cases not just with the FBI, but also the CIA, DEA, Secret Service, and other agencies within Homeland Security.  Yes, when she graduates, she may have to leave the area, but I am confident I will land on my own two feet when I go with her.”

            “You...will leave DC?”, Karen said, surprised.  “You would give up your position as SAC of Major Crimes?”

            “Yes, Karen.  There are 56 field offices, along with more satellite offices, and 64 FBI legats overseas, so I’m not worried about finding another job in the Bureau.  If not, I could probably get in somewhere at Homeland Security or another government position near where Jessica find a job after graduation.  However, as my girlfriend just indicated, her life or our future choices are none of your damn business, are they?”

            “I….um...”, a stumped Karen blurted out.  “I guess not…”

 _‘That should shut her up for a bit.’,_ Aubrey thought.  Glancing back to where his girlfriend was, he smiled when he saw her take a large bag from the counter and a drink carrier holding three Styrofoam cups.  As he watched her head back to the table, he began fidgeting, as he was anxious to leave.  

            Jessica held back a snicker as she saw her boyfriend ready to book it out of there.  Arriving at the table, she put her game face on.  

            “Aubrey, I got a text message from Booth asking me to remind you of that meeting at noon that you and Genny had scheduled with him regarding the Finney case.  It’s the one Dr. B asked me to sit in on before going to the lab because she had a doctor’s appointment.”

            Aubrey immediately caught on.  “Oh...shit. Can’t believe I forgot.”

            “I know...me, too, but we still have time.”, Jessica replied while setting the food and drinks on the table.  “I got Genny’s lunch and a Sprite for her.  Hilda also made our orders to go and put our Cokes in to go cups because I told her how much of a hurry we were in.”, Jessica said before turning to the other two.  “Sorry to run.  Now you two can have a nice quiet lunch together.”

            “Yeah, can’t keep Booth waiting.”, Aubrey said before handing Jessica her jacket.  “He hates that.”

            Quickly, the agent and anthropologist got their coats on.  When ready, they grabbed their drinks as Aubrey grabbed their food and his shake before briskly walking away and out the door.

            “Well...that was rude.”, Karen said quietly before having more coffee.  

            “Yeah, it was.”, Agent Bower said as he continued to rub his shin where he’d been kicked.

* * *

             “Oh...my...God, Superman…”, Jessica groaned as they left the diner,  “...that was...disgusting…”

            “I know...euuuuhhhhh…I thought I would go into a diabetic coma from all that...sweetness.”  Aubrey replied with a shiver.  

            “I don’t think she was that bad even around you.”, the redhead replied with a grimace.

            “And that shit about using her lion costume as a sex toy with Steve...”

            “Yeah, the same one that some of Gerald’s pee got on it, Aubrey, when he tripped on her.”,  Jessica said.  “It sounds like they used it for weird sex stuff that night.”

            “Ugh, I forgot about that...so gross…”, Aubrey retorted before taking a drink of his chocolate shake.  “I don’t even want to think about what kind of role playing they did…”

            “God...one of my favorite movies…corrupted by that skank...”,  Jessica trailed off before realizing something.  “Wait, she mentioned having a Scarecrow costume and made a production out of how much better Agent Bower looked in it instead of you.  Do you know what that means?”

            “You mean…”  Aubrey soon realized where his girlfriend was going.  “She got me a costume for the Gala?  What the fuck...”

            “I know...and they got together after you read her the riot act about her stalking you...literally.”,  Jessica said as the man lit up in the crosswalk sign.  “Doesn’t that give you creepy vibes?”

            “Yeah, but Jess….”,  Aubrey said as they crossed the street and walked the few blocks to the FBI building.  “She and Steve can whip each other, whisper disgusting baby talk, and have super sweet nicknames for each other to their hearts content.  I don’t care what they do...just as long as Karen is our of our hair.  Thank God we aren’t that...ugh...disgusting...”

            The redhead looked at her boyfriend and grinned.  “You don’t want to be my Aubrey Waubrey?”

            “As much as you want to be my Sugar Booger.”, the agent replied as they arrived at the J Edgar Hoover Building.

            The couple laughed.  “Hey, if we finish our lunch soon enough, maybe this young girl can make out with the Special Agent in Charge of the Major Crimes Division.  I have to build up my imagination, you know.”

            “Jessica Warren, you are absolutely brilliant...I love you.”, Aubrey said as he opened the door for his girlfriend.


	27. White Flags and Pigeon Heads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does Aubrey, Jessica, white flags, and pigeon heads have in common? Read this chapter and find out.
> 
> Warning. M Rated chapter. NSFW so find a nice quiet place to read.

            Jessica’s afternoon with Hodgins was routine as she helped pull trace out of a decedent’s clothes and belongings that were found underneath a former meth house.  Once she got used to the cat urine smell, it went smoothly.  Needing more Petri dishes, she walked to the entomologist's supply closet but stopped when she saw his white board calendar.  Saturday’s date popped out at her.

            November 5th...two days from now.

            Superman hadn’t brought the date up at all since they got back together.  Her hints the past several days hadn’t gotten any response out of him, but she knew he was distracted with the World Series.  

            Shaking her head, she grabbed what she needed and headed back to her table.  After putting on new gloves, she went back to her task.  As she worked methodically, she thought about her lunch with Aubrey.

            After their meal, they did get to enjoy almost twenty minutes alone in his office with the blinds drawn.  What began with kissing ended with her giving Aubrey a blow job behind his desk since he had to work late tonight.  She left her boyfriend with a contented smile and got to the lab right at 1:00.

            But she was disappointed with his idea of what to do Saturday night.  It was a big night...at least she thought so.  Aubrey usually had the memory of an elephant, so him not even acknowledging the day surprised her.  He was the super romantic out of the two of them.  Surely, he didn’t forget what November 5th was?

            She pondered her dilemma as she worked.  Should she remind him and risk his embarrassment or continue to hint hoping he gets them in time?

            As the intern continued to decide, Angela came into the Ookey Room.  Seeing her young friend quiet, she looked over at her husband, who was also watching her with concern.

            “All day?”, she mouthed.  At the nodding of her husband’s head, the artist made a decision.  “Jessica?”

            The redhead didn’t hear her, her focus on her thoughts and the pieces of pollen that were stuck to the victim’s jeans.

            “Earth to Jessica!”

            Startled, she looked up and saw her friends watching her.  “I’m sorry Angela, did you or Curly say something?”

            Their suspicions confirmed, Angela forged ahead.  “Is tonight the night Aubrey is working late?”

            “Yeah, he’s reviewing all the cases of his agents for their job performance reviews so he can start them next week.  He said he wanted to have it done so he’s free this weekend and so he can spend time working with Booth and Agent Burns on their new orientation proposal.”

            “How about you come over for dinner tonight, Sweetie?”, Angela said.  “I’m making pasta for the boys.”

            “Well, Dr. B said she would take me home since Aubrey was working late…”

            Hodgins wheeled to his GCMS.  “We can drop you off at your apartment and then you can drive over to the house.  Come on, Jessica.  Aubrey would want you to have a home cooked meal...and we will have leftovers for him.”

            The redhead chuckled.  “Okay, I’m sold.  Thanks.”

            When the redhead bent back down to finish her work, the couple smiled at each other before Angela went back to her office.

* * *

              After their dinner of baked ziti, salad, homemade garlic bread, and parfaits for dessert, Angela signaled Hodgins.  Understanding, the entomologist took their son into the den to work on their experiment as Jessica and Angela began cleaning up the kitchen.  After a minute, the artist spoke up as her young friend was dishing up leftovers for Aubrey.

            “Sweetie, you’re so quiet.  What’s up?”            

            The redhead debated for a moment before telling her friend what was on her mind.  When she was done, Angela smiled.

            “I guess your dilemma confirms that you and Aubrey are back together, right?”  When the younger woman only blushed, the pregnant woman chuckled.  “Don't worry, Sweetie.  Everyone knows.”

            Jessica grimaced as she finished putting the food in the fridge. “Is everyone mad that we didn't tell them?”

            Angela put the dirty dishes in the hot soapy sink water and turned to the redhead.  “No.  Who cares if they are anyway?  I told you this would happen and I'm happy for you.”

            The two hugged before letting go. “Was it that obvious?”

            “Brennan figured it out first when she saw Aubrey leave the lab before Karen’s last visit and the way you stuck up for him when she spewed her bullshit.  Everyone else suspected it when you two were always together like before the break up.  Most of all, you and Aubrey…have that vibe.  It was obvious at Beau’s game the day after his birthday.”, Angela replied.  “You guys took the plunge on Aubrey’s birthday, didn’t you?”

            When Jessica blushed again, Angela smiled.  “I thought so.  Now, about your worry…”

 ** _“_** Am I making a big deal out of nothing?”

            The artist treaded carefully.  “No, but don't jump to conclusions.  Remember what happened last time, Jessica?”

            The redhead grimaced.   ** _“_** How can I forget?  I almost lost Aubrey for good.”

             “Now, in the scheme of things how important is it for him to remember this particular anniversary?  You know Aubrey will feel guilty if you remind him of it now.”

            The redhead considered Angela’s point for a minute.  He had so much on his plate at work between cases, running an important division at the FBI, and working with Booth and Charlie Burns to develop a different system for the orientation of new agents.  It was a big deal to her, but Angela was right about her boyfriend feeling extremely guilty that he’d forgotten the date.  

            “You’re right.  We’ll still be together Saturday.  That’s more important.  After all, it’s not like we have to have something to celebrate.  We’ll have fun, no matter what.”

            “Good girl.  Now help me dry these dishes.”, Angela said as she handed the younger woman the towel.

* * *

            Over 36 hours later, Jessica arrived at the lab for her weekend shift.  Greeting the security guard that watched over the facility, she put her stuff in her locker and went out on the floor.  Heading to one of the computers on the platform, she checked her work email.  After reading through items including one from Doctor B regarding the semester deadline for practical hours and one from Curly reminding employees of the lab to limit use of cellphones on the lab floor, she found her assignment and got to work.

            Two hours later, Jessica was in the Bone Room with one of the sets of remains that arrived yesterday from Turkey.  On her phone, Amazon Prime was playing her work mix on shuffle.  

            The theory was that the remains were Ottoman but it would take forensic identification to confirm that as Antiquities examined the artifacts found with the remains.  Remembering what Dr. B always taught her, she started her exam with no expectations, just listened to what the bones were telling her.  She worked methodically with attention to detail, but her thoughts wandered.

            Today was the first anniversary of her first date with James Aubrey.  Usually she wasn’t that sentimental, but her boyfriend seemed to bring it out in her.  All week, she tried giving hints in the hope that he remembered, but he was immersed in the World Series.  However, she tried dropping hints again when she brought him Angela’s leftovers for lunch yesterday morning, but his mind was focused on work.  

            Maybe she was being too sappy but that date was a big deal for her.  Sure she had gone on them with other guys in the past.  However, those guys weren’t James Robert Aubrey.  She and the agent had pussyfooted around each other for months before they even hung out together for the first time.

            The Rick O’Malley case was a turning point for them.  She remembered the background check Aubrey was ordered to run on her by Caroline Julian and his subsequent visit to the lab to discuss it with her favorite catnip tea.  She knew it had shocked him when he saw some of the stuff she’d done in the past.  His subtle disapproval cut more deeply that she ever thought possible.  To his credit, Superman knew he’d screwed up immediately, but his apologies were too late.  Unable to face him, she sent him back to the FBI and ignored his phone calls all that afternoon.

            Just when she thought she had lost someone who meant a great deal to her, an FBI courier delivered a gift bag to her with a white flag sticking out.  In it was a small stuffed bird and a note attached around its neck.  She smiled as she remembered the note:

**_I can’t eat crow but if you’re interested in trying pigeon, I will eat a whole one for you._ **

**_JA_ **

            She couldn’t stay mad at him after that.  Chuckling, Jessica remembered what she emailed to him after the delivery.

**_I can let you slide on the crow, but you’re eating the whole pigeon.  Maybe…just maybe, I will let you buy me dinner later._ **

**_JW_ **

Their date that night was a success as their deep friendship eliminated any awkwardness that most first dates had.  Of course, when he walked her to her door, he didn’t kiss her.  Most dates that would be strange, but she found it sweet coming from Aubrey.  They had more dates interspersed with movie nights and other fun stuff over the next few months.

             Then came their first attempt at a kiss.  It was funny now, but at the time it was a little discouraging that when they both finally got their courage up, it was an utter failure.  First Aubrey got his nose bloodied, then the call on a body dump, then the coup de grâce...being splashed by dirty rain water.

              But Aubrey made up for it when they finally got around to that first kiss.  Oh did he ever…

              While their first time together ended badly, there were good times.  It was those good times she would focus on as they learned from their mistakes.  They couldn’t fail this time...because she refused to let it happen.

              When her thoughts drifted back to the here and now, she decided that it was okay that Aubrey didn’t remember what November 5th was.  He loved her enough to wait for her...to weather through a difficult break up...to be more than just a boyfriend and a great lover.

             To be her best friend.

            Resolved in her decision, Jessica had just gone back to her exam when her phone buzzed.  Reading the message, she smiled.

**_Mom & I r going 2 RD.  Want some luncH?_ **

            She chuckled as she recognized the capitalized letter at the end as typical Michael Vincent.  She considered what she had before deciding the diner sounded great.  Texting back her order, she set the phone down before getting new gloves and going back to work.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Thirty minutes later, Angela and Michael Vincent came into the lab with two bags.  Giving one to Jessica, the young man turned to his mother.  “Mom, I have to pee.”

            “Crap...the bathrooms in the hall are still under construction, as is Brennan’s.”

            “The intern locker room ones are open.”, Jessica said before pointing down the hall past the Bone Room.  “When you get to the end of that long hall take a right and you’ll see it at the end of that hall.  It’s a bit of a hike though.”

            “Thanks, Jessica.”             

             The boy began to run but was stopped by his mother.  “Michael Vincent--walk, or I’m never feeding you again!”

            The two women laughed as he slowed down before disappearing around the corner.  Walking up the stairs, the two women talked.

            “I can’t wait for all this construction to be completed.”, Angela said.  “January can’t come fast enough.”

            “Me, too.  I would like to not walk half a mile to pee.”,  Jessica replied with a laugh.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            After Angela and her son left, Jessica went back to work.  A few minutes later, she realized that she could make tonight special for Aubrey by cooking him a surprise dinner at her apartment.  He had been requesting her lasagna for the last week, and she had plenty of homemade noodles prepped.  She also had picked up Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano cheeses when she went grocery shopping yesterday afternoon.  

            Afterwards, they could stay in and watch a movie on her Blu Ray before she showed him her last new set from Victoria’s Secret.  She knew her Superman well enough that if he had to choose between seeing the latest blockbuster and seeing her naked, she would win every time.   

            Her plans made, she ripped off her gloves and sent a message to Aubrey to let him know to come over around 6:00.  When done, she double checked the recipe she had saved to her Google Drive.  Knowing what she needed, she made a quick grocery list of what to pick up on the way home.  After completing her task, she put on new gloves and finished her exam with zeal.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            At 2:40, she put the binder in Dr. B’s office before emailing a copy of her report to her mentor.  When she put everything to rights, she went into the locker room.   Turning the corner towards where her assigned locker was, she was surprised to see a gift bag sitting on the bench she defiled with Aubrey last weekend.  As she got closer, she saw an object sticking out of it and immediately realized what it was.

            A white flag.

            Hurrying over, she looked inside and saw a small stuffed bird with a note around its neck.  Pulling it out, she saw its big blue eyes and melted.  Opening the note she read it and felt tears well up.

  **_I know burgers and Doctor Strange were on the agenda tonight, but is it okay to eat pigeon and discuss how a mace can beat a flamethrower instead?_ **

**_JA_ **

**_PS:  Still no crow available._ **

  _‘Superman remembered.’_  Jessica thought before realizing what he was up to and chuckled. _‘Payback for his birthday…’_

            Getting her phone out, she sent a text message to her favorite FBI agent.

**_Alt suggestion acceptable if u eat entire pigeon & wear shirt I like.  But still not trying pigeon head.  JW_ **

            As she put her lab coat away and got her stuff around, she heard a buzz.  Picking it up, she chuckled as she read.

**_Pick u up @ 6:30.  Wear purple dress please.  :)_ **

            Smiling, Jessica put her phone down, grabbed her stuff, and hurried out the door.

* * *

            Aubrey had a large grin on his face as he drove over to pick up Jessica.  Knowing her, she thought he had forgotten about today.  On the contrary, this was a day he had been planning for months.  When they broke up, he was heartbroken that his plans today would never come to fruition, but he was glad they worked things out.

           He remembered how badly he wanted to kiss Jessica when he walked her to her apartment door, but he chickened out.  With anyone else, it had never been an issue.  A kiss with things to come later, no kiss with a mutual understanding of no chemistry, or the rare kiss followed by a night of sex with no strings attached.

            Jessica was different though.  He felt like such a dork for being afraid to kiss her, but he didn’t want to screw things up with her, either.  He knew even then that what they had was special.  Yes, he was a major dork for waiting almost six months and her almost being hit by a car to go for it...but he did.  

            What a kiss that was.  It had definitely been worth the wait because it led to two hours of making out at her apartment like a couple of teenagers, but he didn’t care.  They stumbled along the way last August but they were getting back on track.

            Of course, he had different plans for tonight than a year ago.  Unlike last year, he wouldn’t be sleeping with a cat.  No...his planned bed companion for the evening was much warmer...and much more attractive.

            He needed to thank his co-conspirators Angela and Michael Vincent for their help keeping Jessica distracted today.  It was the artist’s idea to bring her lunch while her son let him in the locker room undetected from another hallway since the main one was blocked off for construction.

            Arriving at his destination, he parked and got out.  Going up to the third floor, he had a spring in his step.  Knocking on her apartment door, he waited patiently.  When it opened, he was bowled away as he saw she was wearing the purple splash dress.  She even wore the same heels as before.  Her hair was shorter but she left it down and curled it.

            Jessica Warren was beautiful...and all his.

            The redhead went back into the apartment but stopped when she realized she wasn’t being followed.  Turning around, she saw Aubrey watching her.  Looking around and on her, she turned her head back up.

            “Superman, what’s wrong?  Is there something on my dress?”

            Aubrey shook his head to bring himself back to earth.  “N-no”

            “Then why are you staring at me?”, Jessica asked nervously.

            Coming into the apartment, he shut the door before walking up to her.  Taking her hand, he kissed the inside of her palm, making her instantly shudder.  “Sorry...I...you’re beautiful, Jessica.”

            “Thank you.”,  Jessica said before admiring Aubrey’s attire.  “You wore that shirt.  It brings out your eyes, you know.”

            “You’ve mentioned that.”, the agent said, fighting the urge to take her into the bedroom.  

            “Answer a question for me.  How did you get that stuff in the locker room?  There’s construction at the main entr…”  Jessica trailed off as realization hit her.  “Michael Vincent let you in, didn’t he?  Wait...that means Angela was in on this too.”

            “Yeah, she was.  I’ve been planning this for a while.  When you told me you were working this weekend, she came up with the lunch idea.  So I bought all your lunches and took mine home so I could watch _Blood and Sand_ on TCM today.”

            “Wow…”

            “Also, she got Oliver to cover for you tomorrow if you cover for him Tuesday...don’t ask me how, though, and Dr. B okayed it.  That way we can...sleep in tomorrow.”  

            “Man…”, Jessica said.  “I talked to her Thursday and she didn’t say anything.  She is good...”

            “She told me yesterday.”,  Aubrey replied before taking both her hands.  “You think I would forget a day like this?”

            The anthropologist turned red.  “I didn’t think so, but you never mentioned it and I didn’t want to embarrass you if you forgot.”

            “Hey I’m not the only sneaky one in this relationship.”

            Jessica kissed Aubrey.  “Still smarting about your birthday, aren’t you?”

            “Yeah, but I got the best birthday gift ever and the best souvenir.”, Aubrey said with a dimpled smile. 

            Jessica turned red while shaking her head.  “You’re seriously keeping those panties, Aubrey?”

            “Damn right I am.  All guys dream about doing that at some point.  It’s awesome, because you lean towards lace, which makes it easy, and I’ve done it more than once.  I’m the man.”

            “Yeah...yeah...yeah.”, Jessica said with mock sarcasm as she grabbed her sweater and purse.  “Come on Mister Man.  I'm assuming we have reservations...”

            Aubrey followed his girlfriend to the door and opened it for her to go.  “Excuse me...that's Mister Special Agent in Charge Man, young lady.”

            “...and we need to discuss how you’re going to eventually replace my underwear.” Jessica chimed in as she went through.

            “Hey, I like that you wore the same sweater and have the same purse.”, Aubrey said as he was shutting the door.

_“Quit changing the subject, Superman.”_

* * *

            Almost ninety minutes later, the couple were enjoying their meal and discussing an important topic.

            “Superman, a flamethrower kicks major ass.”

            Aubrey finished off his beer before setting it down.  “Jess...yeah, a flamethrower burns shit--”

            “Uh, more like cook it to nothing, Aubrey.”, the redhead said before sipping her wine.

            “Whatever, but with a mace you need precision and talent.  You also have to get up in that person’s face and it’s pretty cool when those spikes go into someone’s head.”

            “Says you.  I still say flamethrower.”

            Aubrey shook his head.  “Youth…”

            Jessica tossed her kebob stick at her boyfriend.  “Shut up, Aubrey.  You’re only four years, five months, and fourteen days older than me.  This from the guy who plays Kro Nos on his XBox when he’s not watching Star Wars.”

            “And who is playing Kro Nos the Snow Giant by my side when she’s not trying to make out with me?”

            The redhead picked up her wine.  “Be nice, Superman or else you don’t get to see what else I wore tonight.”

            “Oh I’m going to see your lingerie, Jessica.”, Aubrey said with a cocky grin.  “This night will not be like a year earlier, with me chickening out on kissing you and going home frustrated.”

            “Pretty sure of yourself there, Special Agent.”, Jessica retorted as she sipped her Chardonnay.

            “I am.”, Aubrey said as he pulled out his VISA card from his wallet.  “Those panties are so coming off tonight.”

            Jessica accidentally snorted wine up her nose which made Aubrey laugh.  They continued to snicker but calmed down as their Es Campur arrived at the table.

* * *

             An hour later, the couple arrived back at Jessica’s apartment.  Aubrey pulled into the small lot behind the Korean grocery store and parked.  Getting out, he rushed to open Jessica’s door before she could.

            “Thank you, Aubrey.”, Jessica said before climbing out holding her purse and sweater.

            “I need to thank Mr. Cho again for letting me park here when I spend the night.  Parking in DC sucks.”

            “Well, I think the advice you gave his grandson last month to straighten his shit up is a big part of that.  Since then he’s been diligently working at the store.”  

            “I’m glad.”, Aubrey said as he opened the back door for Jessica.            

            The couple walked up the three sets of stairs, the air crackling with anticipation as Aubrey was fascinated by the way Jessica’s dress swayed with her hips.  When they got to her landing, it took all he had not to push his girlfriend up against the wall as the partial erection he had for the last few hours started to make itself more prominent.  Getting to the door, Jessica was about to unlock it when she turned around.

            “Did you feed Skinner enough food for tomorrow?”

            Aubrey smiled.  “I did.  My cat is well taken care of, Jessica.”

            The tumbler clicked and Jessica opened the door.  “Good.”

            The couple entered the apartment, the only light coming from the stove in Jessica’s small kitchen as Aubrey shut the door and locked it.  As the redhead was putting her purse and sweater down, the agent came up behind her and began nibbling on her neck and earlobe.  One arm pulled her close to him while the other gently cupped her breast and caressed it, making her moan.

            “The things I wanted to do to you a year ago, Jessica.”, Aubrey whispered in her ear.

            “Well...what are you waiting for?”, Jessica said softly as he grasped her breast tighter, making her wet.           

            “Well, the first thing was getting you to walk me into your bedroom.”

            Wordlessly, Jessica turned around, took Aubrey’s hand and led him down the hallway to her bedroom, turning on the light on the way.  When they were there, she turned to her boyfriend.

            “So, what was next?”

            “Next, I turned you around...”, Aubrey said while completing the motion and finding the zipper on her back.  “...and I opened your dress…”

            With shaking hands, he pulled the zipper down all the way before pulling the dress apart.  “...before pushing it to the floor.”

            His long fingers did just that, leaving him to gawk as the light from the hallway shone in on her purple lace hipster panties and bra set.  As his hands brushed her posterior, he almost came as he realized how thin the material was and how the see through lace accentuated her lovely posterior.  

            He couldn’t control his hands as one came around to her breast and squeezed firmly.  The other hand traveled around the front of her.  With a light touch, his fingertips moved down past her pubic bone and between her legs, causing the redhead to moan.  Suddenly, he stopped, frustrating Jessica.  

            “Aubrey...what the…”  He turned her around and she saw his eyes were pure black.

            “You look so gorgeous.”

             Jessica almost came at the sheer love and desire that come out of his voice.  Shaking, she took off his jacket and threw it on the floor before she began unbuttoning his shirt.

            “Is this what I did next or was there something else?”, she asked.

            When his shirt was opened, he let go so Jessica could remove it.  When it was off, Aubrey’s hands came around and cupped her rear end.  “I’ve had many different ideas on what happened after this.  What do you think happened next?”

            The redhead smiled as she unzipped his pants and pushed them down.  When he stepped out of them, with a smile she slowly pushed her hand into his boxer shorts.  When she found her prize, she stroked with a gentle touch, driving the agent insane.         

            “Jessica, I want to make love to you right now.”, Aubrey moaned, his composure gone.  

            He backed her onto her bed and she pulled him on top of her.  Taking control, Aubrey’s hand traveled all over Jessica’s body as his lips moved over her purple encased mounds.   Pulling the cups of her bra down, he took her left breast into his mouth and sucked.  When done, he did the same with her right one.  Feeling the anthropologist’s hands through his hair and on his neck, he tasted her cherry vanilla skin while making a trail south.  As he got to the top of her panties, he ran his tongue across her skin, feeling the heat from her body.

            “Yes…”, Jessica moaned.

            Ready for more, he slowly pulled her panties down and tossed them aside on the bed.  Trailing kisses up her leg, he felt Jessica’s legs widen.  As his hands moved up to play with her breasts, he licked the inside of each thigh sensually before plunging in.  The louder she groaned, the further he tasted.  Aubrey made a point of going to the spots where Jessica was most sensitive, causing her to shudder.  When she grabbed his hair and her heel began pushing into his back he pressed further until she screamed his name.

            Not letting her rest, Aubrey quickly pulled his boxers off before moving up and plunging inside Jessica’s heat.  He felt his lover’s hands caress his back before grabbing onto his ass as his hand moved her leg up onto his waist.  When she began to shudder again, he burrowed his head into her neck as he pushed hard into her, desperate to make her release so he could have his.  When her walls clenched around his, he exploded with his seed shooting into her.

            Collapsing onto Jessica, Aubrey tried to catch his breath as she did the same.  When his senses cleared, he realized something.

            “Sorry I left your bra on, Jess.”, the agent said.  “I was really horny.”

            The redhead chuckled before removing the garment and tossing it on the dresser.  “That’s okay.  I’m just impressed my panties survived this time.”

            Aubrey cracked up laughing, shaking as his head landed into her neck, followed by Jessica.  When they recovered, Jessica put her arms around her Superman as they laid together.  Grabbing her comforter and sheet, he covered them both against the chill of the room.

            “We’re doing this every year, Superman.”

            “Most definitely, Jessica.”,  Aubrey said as he held her close.  “Now take a nap because we need to rest up before Round Two.”

            “Sounds good.”

            They continued to cuddle together until they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

* * *

             The next morning, Jessica, clad only in Aubrey’s shirt, was mixing ingredients together for breakfast when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist.  Smiling, she leaned back and enjoyed her boyfriend’s attentions as he nibbled on her ear.

            “Good morning, Superman.”

            “Good morning, Jessica.” The agent moved his soft kisses and nibbles down her neck before he saw what was on her counter.  “You’re making your cinnamon pancakes!  Awesome!”

             “Yes I am.  They’re a thank you for our dinner and...other activities last night.”

             “You’re welcome, but you don’t have to thank me with a meal…hearing you scream my name multiple times last night is thanks enough, Jess.” Aubrey said before squeezing her close.

             “Ooohhh…”  Jessica said with a jerk forward.  “Someone got into the horny dust this morning…”

             “He didn’t need to get into the horny dust.”  Aubrey said as his hand moved down her torso.  “He woke up like this…”

            “Wha—ohhhh…” the redhead moaned when her boyfriend’s hand went under her lone piece of clothing.

            “Christ, you have no panties on, Jess…forget the pancakes…I just want to fuck you right now…”

            Turning her around, Aubrey waited for Jessica to wrap her arms around his neck before lifting her up on the counter.  She had barely got his boxer shorts down when the agent entered her quickly to their mutual delight.  The redhead’s hands moved down to his behind as she pushed him in further, giving him further encouragement.  When he felt her body tremble and heard her yell his name, he came hard in her.  After he was emptied, they held each other for a moment as they came down from their high.

            “Wow…that was hot, Aubrey.  I love it when you get all primal…”,  Jessica said before looking at the clock on the microwave.  “…and before 9:00 on a Sunday.”

            “I’m an…FBI agent, Jess.  Always on duty for when I’m needed, and ready for anything.”, Aubrey replied as he pulled up his boxer shorts before they both laughed.             

            “I should get cleaned up a bit so I can make breakfast.”, Jessica said before a knock was heard.

            “Are you expecting anyone?”, Aubrey inquired as he looked towards the door.

            “No…and I’m soooo not dressed.”, Jessica said before a second knock was heard.  “Just a moment.”

            “Okay, get cleaned up…I’ll throw on my jeans and get the door.”

            Jessica raced into the bathroom as Aubrey quickly grabbed his pants from last night off her bedroom floor.  Putting them on, he headed towards her door.  Hearing another knock, he got annoyed.

            “Keep you damn shorts on, I’m coming.”,  Aubrey bellowed before looking into the Judas Hole.  Surprised at who he saw, he opened the door to a woman with a tear stained face.  “Daisy?  What happened?”

            “Beau and I had a fight…”, Daisy trailed off until she saw Jessica standing there with her robe on.  Pushing Aubrey out of the way, she ran into her friend and hugged her.  “Jessica…it was awful…”

            Catching Jessica’s face, Aubrey went towards the bedroom.  “I’ll get dressed and start breakfast.”

            After finding one of his t-shirts in a laundry basket, Aubrey went into the small kitchen and turned on his girlfriend’s griddle.  As it heated up, he finish stirring the pancake batter, frustrated that his plans for today seemed to be in peril.  When ready, he poured the batter onto the pan and cooked the flapjacks to a golden brown.  A few minutes later, Jessica came into the area and pulled out three dishes.

            “Daisy is going to have breakfast with us.”, she whispered.  “I’m sorry…”

            Resigned to having his romantic morning gone, Aubrey nodded in response.            

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Forty minutes later, the three sat down to breakfast…but not together.  Jessica and Daisy sat in the living room while Aubrey was banished to the center island.  As the agent ate his pancakes, he listened to Daisy speak.

            “After I poured him a cup of coffee, he asked me when I was changing my name to Pixler.  Once again, I reminded him that I had already made the change to Daisy Wicks-Pixler at the DMV last week.”

            “You’re just now changing it?”,  Jessica asked, surprised.  “I thought you would have done it by now.”

            “I’m a busy person, Jessica, at the NFL.  Besides, it wasn’t the most important thing in the world to me.”

            “Okay…”

            “He wasn’t happy because he thinks I should be Daisy Pixler, but I stood my ground on that.  Then he asked once again about changing Lance’s name.  He wants my baby to be Lance Pixler, not Wick-Sweets.  I’ve already told him no on that.  He’s Lance’s stepfather, not his father.  Lancelot was robbed of seeing our baby grow up but his son deserves to carry his name.  I won’t take that away from him…I don’t want that connection erased.”

            “What did Beau say?”

            “He got upset, saying that since I’m not changing our last names, I wasn’t invested in making us a strong family unit, which brought up me having another baby.  Beau wants us to try for a baby now, but I’m not ready for that.  He wants like a houseful of kids, but I can’t manage that and a full time career at the same time.”

            “Didn’t you guys settle this before you got married?”, Aubrey asked.

            “Yes, Aubrey...at least I thought so.”, Daisy said before sipping coffee.  “I told him that I wanted more kids eventually and he was okay with that.  Then he asked when I would be home this week.  When I told him I was keeping my regular hours, he flipped out.”

            _‘I may regret asking this, but here goes…”,_ Aubrey thought.  “Why?”

            “It’s his bye week.  He said he’s going to be swamped with studying plays and visiting the stadium to work with the defensive coordinator.  However, he thinks I should drop by to see the team with Lance.  Even more, instead of taking him to the daycare, I should leave work by noon every day to come home so we can spend time together and have family dinners, although we already do at least three times a week.  Beau needs to quit expecting Little Miss Happy Homemaker out of me.”             

            “Well—“, Jessica said before hearing a knock at the door.  Looking down at herself in her robe, she glanced at her boyfriend.  “Aubrey…”

            “Sure.”,  the agent said before going to the door.  Seeing who it was, he opened it.  “Hey, come in.”

            “Thanks, man.”, Beau said as he carried Lance.  “Is Daisy here?”

            Aubrey stepped aside and pointed to the living room.  Beau walked in and saw his wife, who was blinking back her tears.

            “Baby, I’m so sorry.  I hate it when we fight…”

            Daisy got up and walked to her husband.  “Me, too.  Hey, let’s stop fighting about all this and take Lance to feed the ducks.”

            “Yeah, it’s nice out.  We can grab some bread on the way.”,  Beau said before bending down to kiss his wife before looking at the little boy.  “Wanna go to the park, buddy?

            The couple and the toddler walked to the door.  “Thanks again, Jessica for listening.”,  Daisy said.

            “S-sure, Daisy.”,  Jessica stammered, still in shock at what she was seeing.

            “Good bye.”, Beau said, hesitating before he closed the door.  “Oh, why don’t you guys come over for dinner Saturday?  We haven’t had company over in a while, and Daisy can make a great dinner.”

            “Um…okay.”,  Aubrey said before turning to his girlfriend.  “Jess?”

            “Sure.  Should be fun.”, the redhead said quietly.

            “Great.  See you then.”,  Beau said before closing the door.

             Jessica remained silent as Aubrey just stared in disbelief.  “Jess, do they always…”

             “…ignore the fight to keep the peace…yeah…”,  Jessica said.  “Daisy said things are a little rough with Beau at work…but they’ll work it out.”

            “Yeah…just newlywed growing pains…”, Aubrey said unconvincingly, already dreading the dinner.

            Jessica nodded as she grimaced slightly.  “Right….”


	28. Troubles & Snuggles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Aubrey & Jessica have that dinner party with Daisy & Beau at their condo. What do you think happens next?

                The following week was one of mixed emotions as the world saw the election of a new US President.  Wednesday morning, everyone at the lab kept their opinions to themselves to avoid an argument.   

                Aubrey and Jessica talked as they had dinner at the diner that evening before going to see _The Angry Red Planet_ at the Cineplex for Retro Science Fiction Night.  The redhead had something on her mind.  She’d debated asking her boyfriend, but last night didn’t seem like the right time as their discussion bounced between the movie they were going to see and what the future held after January 20th.

                Later that night, as Aubrey snored quietly in her bed, Jessica laid there in deep thought.  The incoming administration made her sad and angry, as it did Aubrey.  However, she remembered what they agreed on; they had promising careers, great friends and family, and they loved each other.  No matter what happened, they could handle whatever came their way.   

                There were dark times ahead, but she would be strong, just like her idol Princess Leia was when she fought the Rebel Alliance against the Empire.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                On Saturday morning, Aubrey woke up in his bed with Jessica draped on top of him.  As she snoozed on, he groaned as he realized the day he’d been dreading had arrived. 

                Daisy had called Tuesday to reschedule it for Friday, which worked better for Aubrey.  Planning to work on his house Saturday, things were good until the anthropologist called Jessica Thursday to change their plans back to Saturday.  Jessica didn’t want to go that night either, but her friend wore her down until she agreed, much to his annoyance. 

                After getting off the phone, his girlfriend made the case that if they worked together, they could get enough things done today and work on the rest the following weekend, so they wouldn’t be too far behind on the renovation schedule he’d set for himself..

                He was still hesitant but the redhead’s efforts to sway him with her hot mouth in bed that night proved successful. 

                Saturday would work just fine.

                 When Jessica met up with him at Founding Fathers for their Friday night half price appetizers, he was disappointed when she told him that she had already made the dessert that afternoon as well as prepped the Arrabiata sauce for dinner. 

_“Jess....you could have made the cake tonight after we left here...”_

_“So you could keep dipping your fingers in the batter and frosting?  I think not, Superman.”_

                Looking at the end of the bed, he saw Skinner watching.  Turning on his left, he saw his girlfriend was still dead to the world.  Gently nudging her off him, he threw on the socks he left by his bed when they turned in. 

                Skinner wasn’t happy about waiting for his breakfast.  _‘Meow….’_

                Aubrey gave his cat  a scowl.  “I know...I know...your food waits for no one…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Later in the day, Aubrey was mixing paint in the bedroom opposite the master one.  In the doorway, Jessica was preparing to install a knob on the door.  The conversation then drifted towards their evening plans.

                “Superman, it’ll be fine.  It’s just dinner.”     

                Aubrey dumped the can of paint into the tray before grabbing his roller.  “You say that, Jessica, but those two are so...off lately.  It’s really awkward being around them when they act like that.”           

                “They are just...getting used to each other.  Tonight we’ll have dinner with them and it will be fine.  I promise.”,  Jessica said as she grabbed her screwdriver.  “Are you still mad that they interrupted our breakfast with their fight?” 

                “I’m over that...it’s just that I don’t things are as good as they want people to think they are.”,  Aubrey said.  “I mean, Daisy rushes over to your apartment before 9:00 in the morning and spills her guts, then when Beau shows up, all is good.  It’s...weird.”

                “I know...their fight was pretty stupid, wasn’t it?”       

                “I’m not taking Beau’s side, but being told that he’s not Lance’s father multiple times has to hurt a bit, especially as much as he cares for that little guy.”

                “Well, she said he’s kind of traditional about marriage and stuff like that, especially about starting a family right now.”

                “I don’t get why Beau’s in such a big hurry for all that.”,  Aubrey said as he began painting a wall.  “They just got married and they’re both still pretty young.  I’d think they’d want to wait a couple of years, especially with little Lance being as young as he is.”

                “I don’t know, either Superman.”,  Jessica said before finishing her task.  “Voila!  James Aubrey, all your bedrooms have doorknobs now.”

                “Cool.  Now, grab a roller and come help me paint, Woman.”

                Jessica grabbed the other roller and the two painted the room while chatting about various things.  As they got near the end of the wall, they began kissing before Aubrey quietly grasped his roller behind Jessica and smacked her posterior.

                Breaking out of her spell, she left his embrace and looked behind her.  “You asshole!  You put a handprint on my butt!”

                “Just marking what’s mine.”, Aubrey laughed as he barely held onto the roller.  “Now everyone will know you’re my girl.”

                “Your girl, huh?”, the redhead said before smearing her hand on the roller and grabbing Aubrey’s junk. 

                “Hey!”

The redhead gave a satisfied smile.  “Now everyone will know who you belong to, Aubrey.”

                “We’ll see about that, Jess.”,  Aubrey said before he grabbed her and kissed her again.

                Jessica began to get lost in his embrace before she stopped him.  “We still have one more bedroom to paint, Agent Aubrey.  Behave yourself.”

                “Tease…”  He grabbed the paint supplies and followed his girlfriend to the next bedroom.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                By late afternoon, the couple were in the shower getting ready for their evening.  The agent was excited for the food, but not necessarily for the company.  Plus, there was a cool movie marathon on Comet tonight he would rather watch with his girlfriend.

                “Jessica, I really don’t want to do this.”

                The redhead rinsed her hair.  “I really don’t either, but we already promised...and I think Daisy needs to hang out with people other than the football wives Beau is pushing on her.”

                “Well, Beau is nice but he can be...tough to take sometimes.”

                Jessica grabbed her body wash.  “I know, Aubrey, but he drives Booth and Hodgins crazy.  Even Wendell, who can handle anyone, almost lost his patience with him when the four of them went out to dinner last month.”                

                “Well, I’m sure the fact Beau ordered several items off the menu at the restaurant after they agreed to split the check 50/50 didn’t help matters.  Yeah, Andie is a nurse, but she’s also going back to school to become a nurse practitioner.  She and Wendell are doing all right now, money wise, since they moved in together this summer but still…”, Aubrey said as he ducked under the water.  “The man has no concept of the fact that not everyone else has unlimited funds to fall back on.”

                “Daisy told him about my family’s wineries, so maybe he thinks we’re swimming in millions…”

                “Jess, yes, all of you are comfortable and set for life.   However, that is a family business, and Aaron told me the night the four of us had dinner that a decent portion of the profits goes back into the business.  He said one bad season and it hurts the business’s bottom line.  Pixler’s, on the other hand, is all over the Eastern Seaboard, and short of all the beef and chicken being assassinated in one setting, will survive if it’s managed well.”

                “Daisy said she’s talked to him and he’s doing better about the way he handles money.”

                “Beau also isn’t the greatest conversationalist in the world...”

                “I know, Aubrey, but I’m hoping you can rise above it and be polite tonight.”

                “Of course...”,  Aubrey said before taking the bottle from his girlfriend.  Pouring some out into his hand, he began washing her back.  “...but, you know, things seem tense between them of late, and I don’t wanna say the wrong thing....”

                “Me neither, but thanks for doing this, nonetheless.”,  Jessica said.  “I know that the last time we went out with them it wasn’t the greatest.”

                “To put it mildly.”,  the agent replied before his hands moved towards her front.  “Jess, this evening is going to be awkward and weird.”

                “So someone needs some motivation.”,  the redhead replied before coming closer and rubbing Aubrey’s posterior.  “We have some time before we have to be at their condo.  How can I help you relax and forget about how awkward things might be?”

                The agent felt his girlfriend’s wet skin next to his and there was an immediate response.  “How about I show you instead?”

                Pulling her close, they kissed as they caressed each other’s wet bodies.  Backing his girlfriend slowly into the wall, Aubrey’s lips traveled down her neck while he gently felt her nipples harden under his touch.  Losing control, he bent down and picked up the redhead.  Holding her up against the wall, he plunged inside.

                Jessica held on tight as Aubrey moved inside of her.  Nothing she had ever experienced could ever compare to moments like this with her boyfriend.  As he thrust with all his might, her nails began to dig as she heard herself beg for more.  Finally, she couldn’t hold back anymore.

                “James!”

                Feeling her release, Aubrey let go and emptied into Jessica.  When they calmed down, he continued to hold her up as they kissed, not ready to part.  After a minute, he put her down and they smiled.  Cleaning up, Aubrey turned the water off and handed the redhead her towel before they got out of the shower.

                ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                “Dinner and fun with friends.”, Jessica said nervously as they arrived at Daisy and Beau’s condo.  “This is going to be great.”

                “Sure Jess.”, Aubrey said sarcastically.  “Especially since he can’t soak me with a $130.00 bill this time.”                

                Jessica knew he was still slightly annoyed about that night at Founding Fathers’.  “Superman, if I had known--”

                “Jessica, it’s not your fault, okay? I wasn’t going to embarrass Daisy or cause a scene.  However, Beau was the one who racked up his credit card to the limit and was short on cash when they got back from their honeymoon.  I would think, as a professional football player and part of a wealthy family, he would’ve had more enough to cover himself.  However, you said Daisy has talked to him about that so...moving on.”

                The redhead opened the SUV’s back seat for her cake pan and secured crock pot.  As she was gathering everything, she smirked as she felt her dress lifted.  “Like what you see, Superman?”

                Caught, Aubrey put his hand down.  “I just…I’m just trying to be helpful.”

                “By checking to see what kind of underwear I’m wearing?”, Jessica said.

                “Well, you started getting dressed while I grabbed socks from the laundry room…”

                 The redhead turned around with one of the pans and kissed her boyfriend.  “I know you love me and us...now make yourself useful and take this cake pan, please.”

                Aubrey snickered.  “Sure, Jess.”

                The redhead pulled out the other pan and shut the door.  “Behave tonight and you get to take this dress off later.  Now come on.”

                 Aubrey returned Jessica’s smile before following her up to their friends’ door.

* * *

                Less than an hour later, the ladies were in Daisy’s state of the art kitchen as Jessica’s crockpot simmered the sauce she made.  As the redhead was cooking sirloin on the stove, the other forensic anthropologist stirred together the ricotta cheese and other ingredients for the lasagna they had planned.  Nearby vegetables were set out for the dinner salad accompanying the meal.  When she turned off the mixer, conversation started.

                “So has Beau enjoyed his bye week?”, Jessica asked while stirring beef.

                “Yeah...Beau has been pretty busy.”,  Daisy said before taking a drink of her water.

                “I bet you two enjoyed some quiet time together this week.”

                “Between me working and Beau studying plays, we were both pretty swamped.  I’m sure you and Aubrey don’t get much time together, either.”

                “Well, we make the weekend our time and set aside a couple of nights per week.  Aubrey has some comp time coming up and we’re hoping to use it Thanksgiving weekend.  However, it’s not written in stone because things are crazy for him at work and you know what this part of the semester is always like for us interns.”

                “Yeah, I remember all right, but all that hard work and sacrifice was worth it.  Now I have a beautiful son and a job I love so much.”

                Jessica noted who was not mentioned and decided to prod further.  “Well, I’m sure you and Beau enjoyed some family time with Lance.”

                “Beau has been busy with his studies in between meetings at the stadium”,  Daisy replied.  “Of course Lance’s cold came back three days ago and his ears are bothering him, but he was feeling okay enough to spend the night with Dr. B and Booth.”

                Jessica gulped as she watched her friend examine the mixture before sighing.  “I’m sorry, Daisy.  I didn’t know--”                

                “It’s okay, Jessica.  I know you weren’t trying to upset me.”  Getting a spoon out of a drawer, the other woman added more ricotta cheese and stirred.

                “So have you and Beau settled things in the last couple of weeks?”

                Daisy turned to her friend.  “Yes.  I told him I would consider changing my name.”

                The redhead was surprised at her friend’s response.  “But you were dead set against it, Dais--”

                “Don’t worry, Jessica.   I’m not actually going to do it.  Telling him that got him off my back about it.  He’ll come around eventually, just like the whole starting a family bit.  I told him I would think about that, too, but I’m not having another baby for a long time.  I just got into my position at the NFL.”

                Jessica got an uneasy feeling in her stomach, recalling instances of her mother seeming to come to an agreement over an issue with her father, only to do the exact opposite, ruining any sense of trust between them.  No matter where she was going with Aubrey, she felt that it was important to be honest with him.  They had their own disagreements, but they worked to find a consensus while acknowledging their differences. 

               “That feels...almost dishonest, Daisy.  Surely he will understand…”

                “He won’t.”,  Daisy said.  “Beau wants several children, and he said when we do begin our family together,  I’ll need to reconsider my career at the NFL since I’ll be away too much from him and our children.  He also thinks that I should consider staying home like his mother did because I would find so much more fulfillment than _‘playing with bones’_ all day.  He needs to get it through his head that I’m not a baby farm and I’m not like his nosy mother.”

                “Oh…”,  Jessica replied as Daisy continued bitterly.

                “Remember me saying that this was a busy week for Beau? He’s been studying constantly so he hasn’t had much time to clean up around here.  My husband also likes home cooked meals and I’ve been busy at work.  I’ve created a weekly menu but I still have to rush home to start so we can eat before 8:30 when I put Lance to bed or I have to wait until after 9:00 to eat.  ”

                The redhead watched as her friend stirred with more fervor.  “Then Beau wanted me to take Wednesday afternoon off so I could go to FedEx and attend an event for the players’ wives.  Of course, he gave me three hours notice and I couldn’t go because I had to attend a staff meeting.  He was upset about that, because he feels I need to be more social with the team, but the women he wants me to make friends with are into charity projects and mostly homemakers.”

                Jessica didn't miss the bite in her friend’s voice.  “Um, Daisy…”

                “Then my husband forgets to pick up Lance from daycare Thursday because he’s hyper focused on plays for the next games, so I have to rush out in the middle of an examination.”

                Jessica feared Daisy was going to chip the ceramic bowl.  Rushing over, she put her hand on her friends.  “Dais...that looks perfect.  You know what?  Why don’t you get a glass of the Chianti and chill for a few minutes?  I’ll finish cooking the beef and when you’re ready we can put the lasagna together.”

                “Yeah, thanks, Jessica.  That sounds kind of nice.  We should have the wine breathe anyway.”, the diminutive anthropologist said.

                 She turned to the three bottles of Chianti on the counter.  Opening one, she took one of the stemless wine glasses, poured a glass three-quarters full, and started to chug to the redhead’s horror.

* * *

                In the living room, Aubrey and Beau were watching a game...or Beau was explaining a game to the FBI agent, who nodded while chugging his beer.

                “Now see this play here?”,  Beau said before pausing the television.  “I screwed up here because I focused too high on this guy.  I should have focused lower.  Also this…”

                Aubrey was raised to be polite and he really liked Beau.  However, he wanted to talk about more than just the other man’s old plays.  He envied Jessica being able to be around all that delicious food in the kitchen.

                “So what sports did you play in school, Aubrey?”

                _‘Awkward…”_ , the agent thought.  “Um...none.  I was more into computers, Madrigals...stuff like that.”

                “What’s Madrigals?”         

                “It’s the choir group I was in during high school.  I sang tenor and wore a monkey suit for competitions.  I was also doing dual enrollment with City College of New York my junior and senior years in high school.”

                “What’s that?”

                “I took a college class each semester along with attending high school.”,  Aubrey said.

                The football player looked at Aubrey like he had a third eye.  “Why would you do that?  When I was in school I didn’t do any more than I had to.”

                Aubrey exhaled.  “I wanted to get a leg up on college.  I worked part time jobs as well.”

                “Damn, Aubrey, did you have any sort of life?  Did you even have a girlfriend or get laid in school?”

                _‘Of course I got laid in high school...I wasn’t that much of a dork...even though some jerk classmates thought otherwise.’ ,_ the agent thought as he tried to keep his frustration to a minimum.  “Yes, I had a couple of girlfriends, but I also had to pay for my car expenses, including gas and insurance.  I was also saving for college.”

                “Luckily for me, I didn’t have to do that because my parents took care of everything.”,  Beau said before making a realization.  “Shit, Dude, I forgot your dad wasn’t around.  Sorry.”

                “It’s fine.”,  Aubrey said.  “I also did some gaming with friends and computers.”

                “Ah, you were one of those geeks who was all into D and D, right?”

                Aubrey inhaled and exhaled.  “No, not into D and D.  I was more into Star Wars...still am.  One of the best things about Jessica is she’s into it also so we can do stuff together.”

                Beau chugged his beer.  “Daisy and I don’t do much together.  I went to one of her work things but those people she works with talk nothing but science crap and other boring shit.  I tried to talk football with some of them but those science geeks my wife works with are sticks in the mud.  Know what I mean?”

                Aubrey knew that scientists weren’t all closed minded to sports because of his friends at the Jeffersonian.  He did have a vision of Beau in a similar conversation that they were having with the other scientists at the NFL.  He suspected that Beau perhaps didn't have much to contribute to a discussion more times than not.  Still, he didn't want to hurt Beau’s feelings.

                “Yeah...yeah I do.  I’m glad Jess and I both love Star Wars.  We like other cool stuff, too but it’s our hobby to go to conventions.”

                Beau put his beer down.  “I like Star Wars, too.”

                Impressed, Aubrey leaned in.  “Hey, that’s pretty cool.  You know the Cineplex in Dupont Circle does a Star Wars night every other month and it will be again in December for the premiere of _Rogue One._ Maybe--”                

                “Hey, who do you think would be the best football player?  That Han Solo dude or Darth Vader?”, Beau asked before taking another drink.

                _‘And we’re back to football.  No wonder Daisy’s fellow scientists tuned him out after a while.’_ Aubrey thought to himself.  “Not sure.  Um, I’m going to check on the ladies and get another beer.  Want one?”

                “Nah, I’m good.  I’m just going to turn the game back on.”

                “Sure.”, Aubrey said before walking as fast as he politely could towards the kitchen and opened the door.  “Hey, can I help…”

                He walked into the kitchen just in time to see Daisy chugging a glass of Chianti down before belching as his girlfriend watched from nearby.  Aubrey’s eyes got large as she poured another glass until the bottle of wine was empty and repeated her actions before belching again.

                “Oh...excuse me.  I think I’ll head to the little girl's room for a few minutes.  Do you have this...Jessica?”

                Jessica was still in shock.  The last time she tried polishing a bottle of red wine down, especially one like Chianti, she woke up the next day with the world’s worst hangover.  However, she also ate a full meal before said transgression, unlike her friend.

               “Uh, yeah.  I’ll put the lasagna in the oven.  I’ll get the appetizers set out, too.”

                “Good...good call.”

                The couple watched Daisy walk slightly off balance through the kitchen door and presumably towards the bathroom.

                “What the hell did I just walk into?”, Aubrey asked in a low voice.

                Jessica poured two glasses from the second bottle of Chianti and gave one to Aubrey.  “Long story.  Want to help me get dinner set up while Daisy vomits up the wine she chugged?”

                Before Aubrey could answer, the couple heard the unmistakable sounds of retching from down the hall.  He was grossed out but considering the alternative that was awaiting him in the living room, he made a quick decision. 

                “Sure.”, he replied before taking off his sports coat.

* * *

                An hour later,  the four sat down to a very awkward dinner.  Aubrey and Jessica looked at each other in concerned silence.  For several minutes, Beau ate his dinner, blissfully ignorant of his wife’s earlier actions, and Daisy didn’t look up from her plate while she ate her meal. 

               “Thanks for helping with dinner, Aubrey.  I’m sorry that my phone call from my assistant took longer than I thought.”, Daisy said quietly as she ate slowly, still shaky but thankful to have most of her faculties back.

                Aubrey caught Jessica’s warning glance.  Daisy’s _‘phone call’_ was the excuse they used for the agent’s assistance in the kitchen while she vomited up the Chianti.  Clearing his throat, he went back to his meal.  “No problem, Daisy.”

                Beau finished chewing his food and looked across the table.  “Babe, you shouldn't take work calls when we have guests.”

                Aubrey and Jessica each shoved lasagna in their mouth.  “Ladies, awesome job on this lasagna.”, the agent said as he finished chewing.  “Wonderful.”

                “Thank you, Superman.”, Jessica responded while trying to ignore the tension in the room.                 

                Daisy took a drink of her wine, not caring that she vomited it up earlier.  “Beau, my assistant had a call from the Michigan State Police regarding the case I’m working.  I encourage my assistants to call if they need assistance.  One mistake could set a criminal free.”

                “Well, work is not a person’s top priority.  You have to put it aside sometimes.”, Beau said.  “I do that.”

                “Work is not my top priority, Beau.  However, as lead forensic anthropologist, I have to put in more time.  How the department runs in my responsibility.”

                “If your employees can’t handle themselves then you should fire them.”

                Aubrey saw Daisy’s face turn red and moved to diffuse the tension in the air.  “It’s a lot harder than it sounds, Beau.  I put aside time for Jessica and friends but as the head of my division sometimes duty calls and plans have to change.  Booth has the same issue, as does Dr. B, and Hodgins.  In our professions, criminals unfortunately don’t really work by a set schedule.”

                “Well, that forensics place needs to stop calling Daisy at all hours.  She has a husband and son that need her more.”

                Daisy pasted a smile on her face.  “That _‘forensics place’_ is the National Forensics Laboratory, Beau.  It’s headquarters in Alexandria has state of the art equipment that assists several police agencies with important cases...and they don’t call me at all hours, Beau.”

                “Whatever.”

                Another awkward silence filled the room.  After a few minutes of stewing from Daisy, Jessica started talking about the case she was helping with at the lab.  From that, the redhead’s fellow anthropologist talked about the case from Michigan, a cold case from 2000.  Jessica and her friend continued talking shop with contributions from Aubrey.  The three tried to include Beau in their topics of conversation, but almost all they discussed went over his head before going back to football and awkward silences.  Trying a new strategy, the redhead pressed forward.

                “You know, I love MSU football and basketball.”, Jessica said.  “Aubrey and I have a little bit of a rivalry because he went to Syracuse.  Got a little cra cra during March Madness this year.”

                “A little?”, Aubrey said after chewing his lasagna.  “Michigan State got their asses handed to them by Middle Tennessee while we advanced to the Final Four.  Orange always rules over Green and White.”

                “Yeah, it was so cool until North Carolina stuffed that orange back in your mouths when they spanked you all 83 to 66.”, Jessica retorted before sipping her wine.

                “I’m sensing some jealousy, Jess.ica”, Aubrey returned with a smirk before taking a bite.

                “Not jealousy, Special Agent Aubrey.  Just stating facts.  MSU gave me an excellent education including two Bachelors and a Masters.”

                “I got a Bachelors in Criminology with a minor in religion as well as my J.D. while attending Syracuse, Ms. Warren.”,  Aubrey shot back with a joshing smile.

                Daisy felt envy at the other couple’s easy jousting.  Much like Andie and Wendell, her other friend had found someone whom she wasn’t just compatible but seemed to complete her.  It was nice how Aubrey’s accomplishments were on par with his girlfriend and he had an obvious intelligence to match Jessica’s genius IQ.

                _‘They really are best friends.’,_ Daisy thought before her melancholy was interrupted. 

                “J.D?”,  Beau asked, confused.  “What is that?”

                “Juris Doctor, Beau.”,  Daisy replied.  “He’s a lawyer.”              

                “I thought you were an FBI agent, Dude.”, the football player replied.

                “I am.”,  Aubrey said as he cut a piece of lasagna.  “But I went to law school and passed the New York Bar in 2007 to help me get into the FBI.”                

                “But Daisy just said you were a lawyer.”

                Shaking off his annoyance at being denied another immediate bite of food, Aubrey put his fork down.  “Working for the Bureau is something I wanted to do since I was fourteen years old.  It wasn’t feasible for me to attend school outside New York, so I applied to and was accepted to Syracuse because they had a religion minor program as well.  To apply to the FBI, an applicant has to be at least 23 years of age and they required three years of practical experience in law enforcement. When I applied in 2006, during my second year of law school,  if you had a CPA, advanced degree, or a JD, you could waive that with work experience.”

                “So did you take the Bar Exam, Aubrey after you graduated?”  Daisy asked.

                “Yeah, my mom wanted me to as a backup in case I didn’t get into the FBI, so I took the New York Bar.  I found out I was accepted into Quantico the day after I took the exam, which I passed.”

                “So you took that test even though you wanted to be an FBI agent?”  Beau questioned.

                 “Yes.  I put in my application when I did because between testing, interviews, and getting a security clearance, it can take up to a year or more before getting an offer to attend the FBI Academy, where you work your tail off for 21 weeks before graduating as a Special Agent.  It wasn’t written in stone I was going to be accepted, Beau.  I would need a career if I couldn’t be an FBI agent.”

                “That’s wild, man.  You went to school so you could apply to the FBI and then you took a test in case you didn’t get in instead of waiting.”,  Beau asked, surprised at what he was hearing.  “Seems like a waste to me.”

                Taking a breath, Aubrey forced patience.  “I did what I had to do, Beau to accomplish my goals.  To get my JD, I needed to go to law school, which I did.  My education and working for Professor Bacome at his law office made my application for the FBI stand out enough to be approved for the FBI Phase One Testing.”

                “Phase One?”,  Beau asked with a chuckle.  “What was Phase Two?  Strip search?”

                “No, Beau.”,  Aubrey said before taking a bite of his food, biting his tongue from responding to the other man’s lame attempt at humor.  “I don’t regret the choices I made to get to where I am today.  It seems the education and hard work paid off for me because in the eight years I’ve been an agent I’ve worked my way up to running my own division at the DC field office.”

                “The Major Crimes Division is a very important one inside the FBI.”  Jessica said before squeezing her boyfriend’s hand.

                 Embarrassed at Beau’s attitude about Aubrey’s education, Daisy sipped her wine.  “I really enjoyed attending American University, plus we had pretty decent basketball and soccer teams.”

                “What about their football program?”, Beau asked.  “A school is not a school without a good football team.”

                Daisy wiped her mouth.  “Honey, AmU didn’t have a football team, but it had other sports.”

                Beau shook his head.   “Well, that’s just crazy.  What kind of school does that?”

                “A prestigious research university, Beau.”, Daisy said, hurt at her husband’s dismissive tone.  “Football is not an end all in deciding on a university.”

                Beau sipped his wine.  “It was for me.  It’s why I chose to go to Tennessee.  I’ve wanted to be a football player all my life.  I didn’t get a scholarship, so my parents paid on the condition I get a business degree as a backup and work at our flagship store each summer.  However, I know that football won’t fail me.”                

                “It won’t?”, Aubrey asked.

                “Nope.  I am an awesome football player.” 

                Aubrey tended to disagree, but he kept his mouth shut.  “So how are things with the team?  You guys are playing Dallas on Thanksgiving, right?”

                “Yeah.  I’m having dinner with my parents there afterwards.  Some wives are coming along to spend time with their husbands.  Daisy said she can’t, though.”

                “I said it depends on how Lance is feeling, Beau.”  Daisy wiped her mouth with her napkin.  “Lance has a cold and has had recurring ear infections.  I have an appointment with an ENT on November 21st and he may need tubes in his ears.  The doctor said that if he is still under the weather he shouldn’t fly and that keeping him home was best.  If that happens, we’re going to be at Booth and Dr. Brennan’s and we’ll be watching the game rooting for you and the Redskins.  Also, I know some of the wives are staying in town with their husbands’ blessings.”

                “Those wives have family they’re visiting, Daisy.”

                “I would be with family, too, Beau.”, the anthropologist said, hurt at her husband’s words. 

                “No you won’t.”,  Beau replied before stabbing his food.  “You’re eating dinner with friends.  Your family is me, Lance and my family.  You have family, but you don’t talk to them.”

                “Beau…”  Jessica said in shock.  “It’s not that simple.”

                “Beau, as a person who lost his mother, father, and has no siblings, just because they’re biologically related doesn’t make you a family.  Family is what you make it.”  Aubrey chimed in, shocked at the football player’s narrow mindedness.

                “That sucks for you Aubrey, but that’s where we differ.”,  Beau replied before turning back to his wife.  “As I was saying, your family is spending the day with me after the game.  As for getting to Texas, you can still drive.  My parents said they would come with you if needed.”

                “Beau, as I explained to your mother this morning, it would difficult to take on a 19 hour plus drive with a sick two year old.  We can still have a family Thanksgiving when you come home.”

                “Uh no...Thanksgiving is on that Thursday and family should be together.  Besides, it doesn’t look right that my wife and son won’t be there.  Just have the doc give Lance some antibiotics or something.  That should make our son feel better.”

                “He has a cold, Beau.  That’s a virus and antibiotics don’t do anything for that save for bring on unpleasant side effects for nothing.  I can’t throw drugs at my son to make him well enough for you to show off to your teammates and your parents.  If the specialist says Lance is to stay home, that’s what I will do.”

                “My parents and I want you and Lance in Dallas with us.  He’ll be fine.  You need to quit babying him.”

                “Your parents aren’t doctors nor dictate how I care for my son, Beau.  They need to butt out of our business.”

                Jessica and Aubrey could see the anger smoldering between the couple, so the redhead moved to change the subject.  “So Beau, do they plan to have you play on Thanksgiving?”

                Beau finished a large bite of his lasagna.  “They better.  I deserve to be respected for my skills.  I enjoying being part of the Washington Redskins, but lately they don’t seem to appreciate what I can offer.”

                “I don’t think that’s true, Beau.  The Redskins as with most teams, usually have their starting lineup.  It’s nothing personal.”, Jessica said, trying to be diplomatic about the man’s talent.  She agreed with Aubrey that he was decent but not starter material.                 

                “Thank you, Jessica.  I’ve come to a decision though.  If I don’t get decent play time by Thanksgiving I’m going to ask for a trade.”

                Daisy dropped her fork onto her plate.  “You’re going to what?”

                Beau looked up at his wife.  “You heard me.  I’m not going to play where I’m not appreciated, Daisy.”

                “But what about my job?”

                The football player gave her a face.  “Just get another one, or, if you can’t, I’ll make enough to support you.”

                Aubrey and Jessica felt an explosion coming on.  Hoping to diffuse the situation, the agent did what he did best...think of food.

                “I don’t know about you all, but dessert is sounding pretty good.  Jess made a German Chocolate cake for tonight.”

                “Yeah, Daisy.  Let’s go get that cake.”, Jessica said nervously as she saw the daggers her friend sent her husband.  “Come on...Aubrey’s hungry and you know what happens if we don’t feed him in time.”

                “Of course, Jessica.”, Daisy said with a smile before she led her friend into the kitchen.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Over an hour later, Aubrey and Jessica made their goodbyes to the other couple.  Aubrey shook hands with Beau while his girlfriend hugged her friend.  When their coats were on, the first couple grabbed the cake pan and empty crock pot before being walked out.

                “This has been a lot of fun, guys.”, Jessica said as she pretended to smile.

                “Yeah, it has.”, Daisy said with restraint.  “Maybe next time Aubrey can host us for dinner in the Mighty Hut.”

                “No problem.”, Aubrey said while secretly praying it would not be anytime soon.

                “Great.  Good night, you two.”, Daisy said with a smile before shutting the door forcefully.

                Aubrey and Jessica walked down the steps.  “Wow, Jess...I’m sure we just caught them on a bad night, right?”

                “Yeah, Superman.  I’m sure that’s what it was.”

                _“So when the hell were you going to talk to me about requesting a trade? Nice timing, Beau!”_

“Go, go, go…”,  Aubrey said while guiding Jessica quickly to his SUV.

                Making sure things were secure in the back, Aubrey opened Jessica’s door before trotting to the driver’s seat and getting in.  Without hesitation, he started the motor and pulled away to return to Washington DC.

* * *

                 When they got home about forty-five minutes later, by unspoken agreement making love was taken off the agenda to be replaced by turning in for the night.  After Aubrey armed his alarm system, they went upstairs to his bedroom. 

                After putting her pajamas on, Jessica went into Aubrey’s bathroom as the agent stripped down to boxer shorts.  Feeling chilly, he stripped those off too and grabbed a pair of flannel pants and t-shirt from his drawer.  Putting them on, he stood for a minute pondering their evening.

                He hadn’t seen a married couple that...disjointed since his parents.  Jessica had previously said that Daisy seemed frustrated with Beau sometimes, but it was obvious he was with her, also.  Daisy said that before they got married they hashed out these things.  However, it looked more and more like several things had been lost in translation between the two.                

                Then he thought of himself and Jessica.  What if she would have said yes to moving that day at the crime scene?  There would be no friends of theirs in LA.  He could only call or Skype Booth if he needed advice.  Jessica wouldn’t be able to take a trip to Angela’s or talk to Andie if she needed wisdom.

                Would they be as distant and frustrated with each other as Beau and Daisy seemed tonight?  Would their relationship had survived the way it was going if they moved across the country together?

                Getting the chills, Aubrey shook those thoughts out of his head.  He knew the answer, and it was too terrible to contemplate for very long.  After walking by Skinner, who was at the end of the bed, he pet his cat before going into the bathroom.

                Inside, he grabbed his toothbrush and brushed his teeth at one of the basins as Jessica rinsed hers before washing her face.  She looked adorable in her tank top and MSU pants.  When he looked up at her face, though she didn't look lovely.

                She looked troubled.

                Wanting to give her some space to gather her thoughts, he went back to what he was doing.  As she moisturized her face, Aubrey answered the nightly call of nature.  When she walked out, he finished what he needed to do before joining her. 

                He watched for a moment as she climbed into bed.  Getting in himself, he leaned in to kiss her goodnight, but sensed distance.  “Jess, you know that you can tell me anything, right?”

                Startled, the redhead made a smile that didn't reach her eyes.  “I know.”

                “Are you okay?”

                “Yeah, Superman.”, Jessica responded before kissing her boyfriend.  “Goodnight.”

                “Okay.  Goodnight.”, Aubrey said before shutting the light off, troubled by the look in his best friend’s eyes.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                At around 3:00 AM Aubrey was burrowed under the covers with only his hair sticking out.  From the other side, Jessica watched him sleep as she contemplated something.  Making her decision, she reached over him and turned the lamp on.  A startled Aubrey quickly came out from under the covers.

                “Wha--what’s going on?”,

                “Sorry, Superman.  I didn't mean to startle you.  Go back to sleep.”

                The agent rubbed his face and propped himself up on his elbows.  “No, I'm awake now.  What’s up?”

                Jessica looked down for a minute before focusing on Aubrey’s blue eyes.  “I'm sorry I was so distant earlier.  I had some stuff on my mind.”

                Aubrey turned on his side and faced Jessica.  “Like what, Jess?”

                “As we got home...and I got ready for bed...I was thinking about Beau’s announcement.  Daisy mentioned that he brought up leaving the team, but she didn't think he would do it because he was under contract until the end of next season.  She was probably feeling ambushed…”

                The light went off in the agent’s head.  “...and it was like when you found out about my promotion to the LA office from Dr. B instead of me.”

                Jessica saw her boyfriend’s head drop and her stomach turned.  “Aubrey…”

                “I was such an ass…”

                “Aubrey…”

                “I should have talked to you…”                 

                Jessica grabbed him and kissed him, which he immediately responded to.  After about a minute, she let go and blushed when her boyfriend looked dazed.

                “James Robert Aubrey, didn't your mother tell you it's impolite to interrupt someone when she speaks.”

                “Oh...sorry.”

                “Thank you.”, the redhead smiled.  “But you’re right.  It made me feel that...sadness all over again.  It took me a while to process it, but I realized that while similar, their issue is different than ours.  Ours was fear and lack of communication.  We messed up for a while, but we figured it out.  We love each other enough to at least talk and try to work it out.  I...am not sure they do.”

                “Is this like what we were talking about the night they came back from their honeymoon, about how everything moved so fast?”

                “Yeah.”, Jessica said.  “Like I said before, marriage never came up between them until they decided to go to Tahiti. His parents got her so worked up about Lance and convinced her that marriage was necessary...it’s obvious they got caught up in all that...and other stuff...”

                Aubrey nodded, knowing that she was talking about not a _‘what’,_ but a _‘whom’_.  “Well, let’s just keep our fingers crossed, okay?  You’ll be there to help Daisy, Jess, no matter what happens.  They are just having a rough patch is all.  Of course, Beau isn’t gonna make that rough patch any smoother if he keeps opening his big mouth like that, especially in front of friends.”

                “Thank you for loving me and letting me babble.”, Jessica said before taking Aubrey into a hug, almost knocking Skinner over.

                The agent gently rubbed her back.  “Always, Jessica.  Thank you for loving me, too.”

                They held each other for a moment before breaking apart.  They smiled before Aubrey hit the light by his side of the bed.  When it was dark, Jessica moved into her lover’s arms with Skinner laying up against her posterior before the three fell back asleep.


	29. Heroes, Jokers, and Pigs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So there is a mixed bag in this chapter with a few hints of things to come. Maybe you can figure it...or them out...

                Jessica woke up Thursday morning in a quandary.

                Since last week, she’d had a very important question to ask her boyfriend.  Of course, his answer depended on his plans for that day.  However, it seemed like for the last several days, every time she thought to bring it up, it either didn’t seem like the right time, or something happened.

                She’d thought about asking Sunday morning.  However, the couple slept late before spending the morning and part of the afternoon in bed.  Afterwards, they’d made a modified schedule for completing the remaining items to be done to his house.

                Monday morning, Wendell called her at 6:30 asking her to cover his morning shift with Clark due to a raging case of strep throat that had been diagnosed less than an hour before at an urgent care clinic.  Between working all day in Cultural Anthropology and her yoga class, she didn’t get home until late. 

                Tuesday, everything was crazy as Aubrey was stuck in meetings all day and Jessica got called to assist at a scene with Booth due to Brennan having a faculty meeting at the university.  Once again, she didn’t get home until after 9:00.

                Yesterday, she’d covered for Adam, another intern for Dr. B, who had come down with a nasty case of food poisoning.  Due to the new lab schedule Hodgins and Dr. B were trying out this semester, he had been scheduled to work until 8:00.  The only time she spent with Aubrey was when he brought her dinner from the diner and they had a quick meal together.  Not getting home until late, she crashed before getting up and barely making it to Dr. B’s class by 7:45 to set things up.  

                As she drove to the lab, the debate continued in her mind.

_Was it too soon?  Would he want to come?  Would he get freaked out by being around her family so soon after their reconciliation?  She did tell him enough stories about them over the eighteen months they’ve been together.  What if she scared him off?_

                After getting settled in with Hodgins, the entomologist gave her instructions to collect trace from the decedent that had been brought to the lab that morning.  After he and Angela left, she went merrily about her task, but that thing kept creeping up in her mind.   

_Should she bring Aubrey home for Thanksgiving?_

                “Ugh!  I don’t know…”

                Finally realizing she was at an impasse, she headed first to Angela’s office before remembering that she and Curly was gone.   

_‘That’s right...Curly and Angela went to lunch before her OB appointment.  I’m not comfortable talking to that bitch FBI pathologist lady.  Clark is busy and Wendell is on the other side of this wing with Dr. Anderson.  Andie is swamped with her schedule and classes this week.  Daisy is all up in her own shit right now.  Who can I talk to….’_

                Shaking her head as she realized the answer, Jessica walked to the other side of the lab.  Arriving at Brennan’s office, she knocked on the door.

                “Dr. B, can I talk to you for a moment?”

                Working on an article she wrote for _Medicinal Physics Quarterly_ , Brennan didn’t take her eyes from her monitor.  “Of course, Ms. Warren.  I’ll be with you in just a moment.”

                The redhead sat patiently as she waited for her mentor to finish typing her thought.  When done, Brennan turned to Jessica.  “Now, do you have a question in regards to the decedent that came in this morning?”

                “No.”, Jessica said.  “It’s about Thanksgiving...it’s next week.”                

                 “I am well aware of that.”, Brennan said before making a face.  “My husband insists on cooking a dead bird in my oven.  Of course, you are invited, Ms. Warren, if you have no other plans.”

                “My brothers, well, three of them, and their families, along with my dad, are getting together at our old house for Thanksgiving, but I hope to stop by later.”, Jessica said.  “I...well...there’s something I want to do...but I’m not sure if it’s...I would really love it, but Aubrey…”

                Brennan had an idea of what the young woman was getting at.  “Ms. Warren.”

                 Jessica stopped her stammering.  “Yes?”

                 Brennan smiled.  “If you want to ask Aubrey to join you and your family for Thanksgiving, I’m sure he’ll be happy to go.  He is particularly fond of the food associated with the holiday.”

                 The redhead sat across from her mentor and fidgeted with the cuff of her lab coat.  “It’s just...we just got back together recently, and I don’t want to rush him...plus my brothers are a little overprotective of me, and I’m afraid that they’ll try to intimidate him...”

                 Brennan stood up and walked around to lean against her desk.  “Ms. Warren, Aubrey is very much in love with you.  I think he would be very happy to be asked to go with you, especially since he doesn’t have any family.”

                 “Yes, he does, Dr. B.”, Jessica said quietly.  “He’s got you and Booth, Hodgins, Angela, Dr. Saroyan, me...all the squints.  We’re the family that counts.”

                “Well, thank you...and you’re right.  Booth has taught me that there’s more to being a family than a biological relationship.”,  Brennan replied with a smile.  “As for them trying to intimidate him, Aubrey is a warm, caring person, but he will also stand his ground when it comes to something important, such as his relationship with you.  My older brother Russ wasn’t...always fond of Booth, but eventually...they came to an understanding.  I’m sure your siblings and Aubrey will do the same.  From what you have mentioned in the time you have been here, your older siblings care about you a great deal and want you to be happy.”

                “So you think I should ask him?”  Seeing Brennan’s resolute nod, Jessica sighed with satisfaction.  “Excellent.  Thanks, Dr. B…”

                “Any time.”  Brennan watched as her intern walked out of her office and back to the Ookey Room.  Grinning, she returned to her article.

* * *

                 Jessica pulled up in Aubrey’s driveway past his open gates around 7:00 with her overnight bag, happy to spend some time with her Superman after barely seeing each other the last few days.  After shutting off her engine, she pulled out her overnight bag and a six pack of Yuengling out of the back end of her Jeep Cherokee.  As she got on the porch, Aubrey opened the door, looking very cute in his Star Wars shirt and jeans.

                “Hey.  The pizza got here a few minutes ago.”

                “Great. I’m starving.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***         

                Thirty minutes later, Jessica was finishing her final slice while Aubrey was part way through the second pizza.  She enjoyed how much he relished food and how he was game for trying almost anything.  However, her Superman’s Kryptonite would always be soy cheese.

                Remembering what her mentor had told her earlier today, she steadied her nerves.  “Aubrey?”

                “Yeah, Jess.”, the agent replied with a full mouth of Meat Lovers pizza.                

                “Um...would you like to come with me to Thanksgiving dinner with my family?”

                Aubrey was ecstatic.  He knew that meeting her family was a big deal but he didn’t want to assume the invitation.  “Wow...I…”

                Jessica saw her boyfriend’s surprised expression and misunderstood.  “Crap...you already had plans with Dr. B and Booth.  It’s just that three of my brothers and my father will be there, plus my nieces and nephews.  Lots of food and beer...I’m pushing, I’m sorry--”.

                Aubrey heard his girlfriend’s stammering and realized she misunderstood.  “Jess!  I would love to go.”

                “Really?”, Jessica said.  “You don’t mind?”

                Aubrey put his pizza back onto his plate.  “Jessica, it means a lot to me you want to bring me home to your family.  I just hope I’m good enough.”

                “Good enough?  Aubrey, my dad loves you...Aaron and Nadia like you.  It’s them and their kids...plus Stephan and his wife Gail.  Jack and Greg will be there too, and will be bringing some of the apple and other fruit hard ciders the winery has been working on during the off season.  Of course, there will be football and old movies as well.”

_‘Family, football, old movies, new alcohol beverages...but we’re missing one important thing.’_  Aubrey thought.  “So, in regards to food…”

                “Superman, you will be well fed, I promise.  We usually do a mix of turkey and traditional stuff.  Nadia also makes traditional Romanian fare like mici--

                “That’s sausage, right?”,  Aubrey asked as his mouth began to water.  “Lots of spices with lamb, beef, and other good stuff?”

                Jessica smiled.  “Yes, and we can hit Dr. B and Booth’s later in the day for more food and to watch Beau’s game.”

                “I’m so in, Jess.  Thanks for asking.”, Aubrey said before pulling her into a long kiss.  Letting go, he smirked as the redhead needed to compose herself.

                “Whew, Superman.”, Jessica breathed.  “You sure know now to knock a girl off her feet.”

                “Damn right, I do.”,  Aubrey said before taking his girlfriend’s beer out of her hand.  “Now, dinner was great...but I’m ready for dessert.”

                “What’s for dessert, Agent Aubrey?”, Jessica said with a grin.

                “Oh, just a little something sweet...like you!  Duh.”, Aubrey replied before taking his girlfriend in his arms and drawing her into another passionate kiss.

                After they let go, Jessica was slightly out of breath, but she recovered enough to drag her fingertips slowly down the front of his tee shirt.  “Sounds good, Special Agent Aubrey.”

                The agent moaned softly as he felt something twitch in his pants.  “You know what it does to me when you call me that in that tone.”

                Jessica smiled while combing the silver streak in his left temple.  “What tone would that be, Sir?”

                “The sexy anthropologist who wants to have her way with her FBI agent tone.”,  Aubrey playfully growled before pulling her down on top of him.

                “Superman!”, Jessica screamed in laughter.

* * *

                Their following weekend was a mixed bag.

                Friday night was fun since instead of going to Founding Fathers for their customary half price appetizers, Jessica made Aubrey her famous fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans almondine.  Afterwards, the couple binge watched Doctor Who on Amazon Prime until after 2:00 in the morning.                

               Saturday had the couple grocery shopping for both of them and picking up odds and ends from the hardware store for Aubrey’s house.  After dropping off Jessica’s food at her apartment, they returned to his house where they painted the den and man cave.  After that, they put up the light fixtures Booth and Brennan had purchased for the main floor, since Booth couldn’t finish the project due to his bad back.  When done, they got ready for dinner with their friends at Old Ebbitt Grill.

                Their table was large, as Aubrey and Jessica joined Hodgins and Angela, Booth and Brennan, Daisy and Beau, Wendell and Andie, along with Cam and Arastoo.  The waitress brought everyone their drinks before they ordered their appetizers.  Everyone was surprised when Beau ordered more than Aubrey, but they kept their opinions to themselves.  After the server left, Angela looked towards the entrance and saw who was heading towards them.

                “Shit…”

                Before she could say anything else, the twosome arrived at their table.

                “Look at this...the gang's all here.  Mind if we join you?”,  Karen asked as Steve stood nervously off to one side.  “We were told it would be an hour wait for a table.”

                Everyone knew it would be rude to say no when there were two vacant chairs by Hodgins’ wheelchair.  Keeping their groans to themselves, Booth spoke up.  “Sure...what’s two more?”

                The party crashers sat down, but were uncomfortable in the smaller space, with Beau on one side of them and Hodgins on the other.  “Wow, kind of cramped here.”

                “It is, isn’t it?”, Angela said with a smile as a thought crossed her mind.  _Beggars can’t be choosers..._

                “Perhaps someone smaller could sit next to us.”,  Karen said while looking at Aubrey and Jessica.  “Aubrey, maybe you two can trade with Daisy and Beau.  Steve and I are pretty tight here.”

                “Jess and I are fine where we are Karen.”,  Aubrey replied before taking a drink of his beer.  “Besides, I’d think you’d want to be cozy with Steve…”

                Everyone snickered at the profiler’s grimace while she made herself as comfortable as she could.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Almost three hours later, the couples were finishing dessert.  They enjoyed themselves as much as they could with Karen butting into several conversations as well as her display of PDA with Steve, which, to Jessica and Aubrey’s dismay, had not lessened since their lunch at the diner.

                “We should do this more often.”,  Karen said.  “I know, Aubrey can have a dinner party at his house next month with all of us together.  Wouldn’t that be fun?”

                “Um...it depends on our schedules, Karen.”,  Aubrey said as he took another drink of beer.

                “We’re really busy right now.   Aubrey and I are working on his house on the weekends.”,  Jessica said with a sweet smile.  “I’m also working on a dissertation for Dr. B, so my time is limited as well.”

                “Steve has a nice house, too.  What about it, Steevie Weevie?  Can we have dinner at your house?”,  Karen asked her boyfriend in a singsong voice.  “Your house is every bit as nice as Aubrey’s…”.

                “Um...we’ll see, Karen.”, the agent said quietly before taking a bite of his dessert. 

                “We’re all usually pretty busy, Karen.”, Angela said pointedly.  “That’s why when we get together we usually only include our friends.”

                “Well, I’m free most weekends, so just let me and Steve know.”, Karen said before sipping her wine, not noting Agent Bower’s wince.  “Just contact me by phone, email, or even find me on Facebook.”

                “Of course, Karen.”,  Booth said, weary of the profiler and her boyfriend, and annoyed at how they crashed their dinner.

                “Oh, you can find me anytime at work.”, the profiler said before cutting a bite of her Bourbon Walnut Pie and feeding it to her lover.  “Here, Steevie Weevie.”

                Steve took the bite and groaned, forgetting his discomfort of the last few hours.  “Oh, God...that’s so good! Thanks, Sugar Booger.”

                “I know, right?”, Karen smirked.  “But it will be sweeter when I taste you later tonight, Steevie Weevie.”

                Everyone made faces at the profiler’s implications and gross display of PDA before Brennan turned to whisper to her husband.  “Booth, it seems that perhaps Dr. Delfs and Agent Bower are overcompensating with their displays of affection, or perhaps they have no sense of decorum, or, I suppose, both options are possible.”

                “Both, Bones.”, Booth whispered back.  “Definitely both.”                

                The waitress returned to the table.  “So how are we dividing the check tonight?”

                “We have seven couples, so just divide it evenly--”,  Beau started to say but was interrupted.

                “Actually, Ma’am, we are together.”  Hodgins indicted between him and Angela before pointing to each couple.  “The rest of the bills are split between each couple.”

                “All right...I’ll be with you shortly.”

                As the server left, Beau looked puzzled.  “Why aren’t we splitting the bill equally?”

                Cam turned to the football player.  “Because when we get together, the couples usually pay for their own meals and drinks. I wouldn’t expect Booth and Brennan or Angela and Hodgins to pay for my stuff.  It’s not fair to them.”

                Andie finished a bite of the sundae she was splitting with her boyfriend.  Daisy was her friend, but she was tired of her husband taking advantage of them, since not everyone had an unlimited amount of money to spare.  “I only planned on treating Wendell tonight.”

                Aubrey caught the embarrassed look on Daisy’s face, but he wasn’t going to get suckered into covering the football player’s exorbitant tastes again.  “I’ve only taken out enough cash to cover Jess and myself tonight, and to have enough until we get paid next week.  I like to eat but I’ll only order what I can cover because I still have bills and other expenses to pay every month.”

                “Oh…”, Beau said quietly before pointing to the ring on Daisy’s finger.  “Hey, did Daisy show you all the new ring I bought her for our three month anniversary of when we met?”

                Daisy forgot her embarrassment long enough to hold up her hand, revealing a sparkling ruby cocktail ring.  “Isn’t it beautiful?”

                Everyone admired the expensive ring.  “It’s beautiful, Daisy.”, Jessica said.

                “Yeah, and it only set me back about 6500 dollars.”,  Beau said with pride.  “She deserves it since I’ve been such a bear lately with work and stuff at home.  My Daisy is the best.  She’s worth all the money in the world.”

                “He wants everyone to pay for his food, but has that kind of cash around to buy Daisy expensive jewelry?”, Arastoo whispered to Jessica and Aubrey.

                “Yep.  Interesting, isn’t it?”,  the FBI agent replied.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                A short time later, the waitress returned with the checks.  It didn’t escape a few people’s attention when Beau winced at their bill.  Daisy deftly took the receipt.

                “I’m treating you, Beau.  Such an amazing husband.”

                Everyone but Karen and Steve watched what unfolded with amazement, including Jessica and Aubrey.  “Jess, they are so...fucking weird.”

                “They’re like Jekyll and Hyde.”,  Wendell whispered next to them.  “Still meeting up with Andie and I at Founding Fathers’ after this?”

                Aubrey’s attention moved back and forth between Daisy and Beau’s gushing and Karen pawing at Steve.  “How about coming over to my house instead?  I need several drinks and you two can crash if you want on the futon in the den.”

                “That shitty one you had in your storage?”,  Wendell asked.

                “Works for me, Babe.  I need a couple of shots to help me forget what we have just seen.”,  Andie replied.

                Karen saw everyone was in their own conversations and ignoring her and Steve.  Clinking her glass, she got everyone’s attention.  “So the night is still young, folks.  Where are we going after this?”,  Karen asked.

                “We are not going anywhere, because we have a babysitter to relieve, Dr. Delfs.”,  Brennan said succinctly.

                “As do we, Karen.”, Angela said while getting her purse around.

                “Michelle is home with the boys tonight and we don’t want to take advantage of her while she’s home for Thanksgiving.”, Arastoo said.

                “Oh poo...sucks for you all.”   The profiler turned to Aubrey and Jessica, who were still talking to Wendell and Andie.  “So, peeps, what’s on the agenda after we leave here?”

                 Jessica was fed up with Karen’s presence.  “Well, Wendell and Andie are coming back to Aubrey’s house with us to hang out and have a few drinks.”

                “Sounds like fun, doesn’t it, Steve?”,  Karen said.

                “Karen, I have stuff to do--”

                Ignoring her boyfriend, Karen continued to prattle on.  “We can just follow you…”

                “Sorry, Karen...no one else is invited.”,  Andie said bluntly, tired of the bitch who messed with her friend for the last several months.  “Hopefully, you and Agent Bower find something else to do tonight.”

                The profiler turned several shades of red with a look of anger in her eyes.  Not caring about Karen’s humiliation, Jessica snuck her fist behind Aubrey and met with Andie’s in a fist bump.  All the other couples, including Beau and Daisy bit back their chuckles.  Brennan turned to Booth.

                “I’ve always liked Ms. Roberts, Booth.  She seems well suited to Mr. Bray.”, the anthropologist said, making her husband laugh.

* * *

                 Jessica woke up to a sunny day the following Monday.  Checking her phone, the Weather Channel reported sun all day with a high of 46 degrees.  Getting up, she cracked her window slightly to get some fresh air in her apartment.

                She made herself a cup of catnip tea and had a small breakfast.  She only had a couple of hours to work on her dissertation today because she had plans to have lunch with Daisy at the NFL before going to the lab.  Her friend wanted to give her a tour of her new workplace as well.

                She did want to see the facility, one that was almost on par with the Jeffersonian.  Someday she may have to apply there for a job after graduation if she was to stay in the area so Aubrey wouldn’t have to uproot his career.  However, her anticipation was mixed with dread as she contemplated the rest of her day.

                Today was Gerald Maxwell’s first day back at work after his three week suspension.

                While she would’ve preferred him to lose his internship entirely, maybe allowing him to come back was for the best.  She didn’t want his family to do anything to cause problems for Aubrey at work.

                There were rumors that his father had friends with the incoming administration being inaugurated January 20th.  She could never forgive herself if her boyfriend’s trajectory with the FBI was short circuited because she was stupid enough to go on two dates with the douchebag.

                Shaking off her thoughts, she finished her food and walked into her bathroom.  She started her water and stripped before getting into her shower.  She needed to get as much work done this morning as she could and dwelling on Gerald Maxwell wouldn’t let her do that.

* * *

                 Aubrey finished the payroll early and sent it on.  Looking at the files on his desk, he knew he should finish more of the agent performance reviews, but he was too distracted.

                Today was Gerald Maxwell’s first day back at the Jeffersonian.

                He kept telling himself that things would blow over and the wealthy piece of shit would keep his mouth shut...and his distance from Jessica.  But he still couldn’t shake that feeling that something was going to happen.

                 Recalling the meeting with Hodgins, Dr.  Miller, and that asshole three weeks earlier, he couldn’t forget the smugness of the bastard as he invoked his father’s influence over and over.  It wasn’t until Hodgins came back challenging him with the idea that the entomologist could make up for any lost donations that the man really began to sweat.  Gerald had also bragged about getting the lab closed, but that was shot that down as well.  The intern was forced to slink away with his tail between his legs.

                Next, Aubrey considered what Wendell had said about how Maxwell treated women like shit if they turned him down.  It seemed that Jessica fit this pattern in some ways, but not in others.  Not only did she turn him down several times before and while she was dating him the first time, but the asshole charmed Jessica into letting him be her date to the greatest movie convention ever after they broke up. 

                When the idiot showed up two hours late and in the wrong costume, she got right up in Gerald’s face and confronted him, making huge cracks in that perfect veneer that he put on for the public and other women.  He was then accosted by an FBI agent/Stormtrooper who was not only older than him, but who could also kick the shit out of him before leaving his keys behind in his haste to leave.                

                 He threatened her with a lawsuit for damages to his vehicle and accused her of theft.   Surely Gerald knew that he had no case with Jessica regarding the alleged attempted theft of his car.

                 Of course he did, Aubrey realized.  However, unlike what Aubrey suspected was the younger man’s standard M.O. of using intimidation and his family’s money when he didn’t get his own way, Jessica was neither swayed or intimidated by it.  Yes, his girlfriend had a trust fund, but it was earmarked for school and emergencies that were not covered by her fellowship.  As he remembered from when he was a law student, graduate students usually had a tight budget, something the asshole Maxwell surely knew.

                Next, the Gala.  Gerald Maxwell was so confident of his family's influence that he sexually harassed another intern in a public party attended by several influential people, including members of the FBI, DOJ, Congress, and other movers and shakers.  He went for Jessica’s jugular, and it took all the agent had not to beat the life out of the smarmy bastard.  However, he stood up to the punk and put the fear of God into him.  The fact that he revealed the intern to be all bluster when he pissed himself was just the cherry on the sundae.

                That kind of drunken power could be very dangerous.  It reminded Aubrey of his father and the parties that he would host at their townhouse when he was growing up.  The man would schmooze people, all the while hitting on their wives and daughters behind their backs.  He’d always suspected that his father had many tricks up his sleeve that the SEC never caught him on.

                He knew Jessica was safe at the lab and that she could take care of herself.  He and Booth consulted on the security modifications for the lab redo and their suggestions had all been approved.  The Governing Board didn’t want another bomb or lapse in security cause a repeat of what had happened a few months back.

                But Aubrey worried...because he loved her with all his heart.  She was an independent soul who bristled at being protected.  He respected that and trusted her.  However, he would do what he could to make sure she was secure and safe. 

                He was aware of the rumors she referred to about Gerald’s family and influence in town.  As far as he was concerned, they could fuck themselves.  Nobody would hurt Jessica Warren as long as there was a breath in his body.  If Gerald Maxwell so much as breathed on her wrong, Aubrey would make him pay.

                “Boss!”

                His thoughts disturbed, he looked up and saw Genny in the doorway.  “Sorry...were you calling me?”   

                “Yeah, I just wanted to see if you had the Tyler case file before you did Agent Satterly’s JPR with her.  Are you alright?”            

                “Yeah...just got a lot of my plate is all.”,  Aubrey said before digging out the requested file and handing it to his ASAC.  “Here you go.”

                “Thanks.”, Genny said before walking away but stopping halfway to the door.  “Sure you’re okay, Boss?”

                “Yeah, all good.”,  Aubrey said, not wanting to talk about what he was thinking.

                “Okay.”, Genny said.

                Aubrey watched his second in command walk away and he exhaled in relief.  His mother always told him to do the right thing and that good would come through in the end.  More than once Rachael Aubrey’s words were proven very prophetic.  He hoped with this situation that it would be once again.

                Shaking off his thought, he pulled up the review on his laptop.  Getting his coffee cup, he walked out.  Seeing Karen in the immediate vicinity, he ducked past her and walked in the conference room where a female agent was waiting with her laptop.

                “Ready, Deb?”

* * *

                  Jessica pulled into the parking garage of the Jeffersonian around 12:30.  She was early, but it couldn’t be helped as her lunch with Daisy wasn’t the greatest.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

_They started with a tour of the facility.  It was very impressive and her friend seemed to be in her element.  As they walked by the physics division she was surprised to see Oliver Wells working on a platform.  Then Daisy made a revelation._

_“He’s working here part time while Dr. Beesley is on leave.  It may become permanent, but he still plans on interning at the Jeffersonian.”_

_Jessica had so many questions, but kept them to herself as they finished the tour and sat down to the lunch Daisy had ordered for them.  Halfway through lunch, Beau had called.  While the tone was polite, it seemed too polite...almost as if her friend was restraining her answers due to having a visitor and at work.  Seeing the anthropologist so tense after ending the call, Jessica asked if she could do anything._

_“Nope, Beau and I have to work it out.  He just needs to grow up is all.”_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Getting out of her vehicle, her stomach filled with dread as she got closer to the building.  Angry with herself, she muttered, _‘Stop it, Jessica.  That asshole has better things to do than to worry about you.’_

                Walking into the locker room, she put her bag down at the bench nearby and smiled.  Since the Halloween Gala, whenever she saw it she remembered her very hot quickie with Aubrey on it.  He might be a by the book FBI Agent in charge of his own division, but when they were alone, he was definitely not one to blindly follow rules.  The fact she was the only one who got to see that side of him gave her shivers.

                Then she remembered their plans for Thursday.  Aubrey was joining her for dinner with her family before meeting up with everyone else later that night at Booth and Dr. B’s.  She had never taken a man home to dinner with her family and she was nervous, hoping that everything would go well.

                While Aubrey had met Aaron and his wife, he’d never met her other brothers.  Michael and Jason had other plans for the holiday, but Stephan and his wife along with Jack and his boyfriend would be there.  Her boyfriend would enjoy the food for sure, but she didn’t want to scare him off.  Her brothers could be overprotective of their little sister.

                Suddenly, she got a chill and a sense she was being watched.  Turning around, she looked around but didn’t see anyone.  Chalking up her feelings to having a lot going on, she put on her lab coat, secured her locker, and left.

                When she left, Gerald Maxwell came out from the corner with a smirk on his face.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                She talked to Clark about her assignment and when done, she obtained the remains that were found in a newly discovered Viking settlement in Norway.  After laying the decedent on the table, she went to work, using her laser focus to concentrate in spite of the many thoughts going through her head.  She was so into what she was doing that she didn’t hear her name at first.  When she finally did, she turned around and her stomach sank.

                “Gerald...I didn’t expect to see you.”

                 The intern came up to her with a cart that contained a fireproof box and several artifacts.  “Well, I’m dropping of more of the Ottoman remains that were discovered, and I was told you were working on them by the anthropologist out in the main area.”

                 The redhead kept her cool.  “No, that’s Dr. Jessie Wilson.  We both are Jessicas but she goes by that to keep us apart.  She’s two rooms down.  Now, if you’ll excuse me...”

                 Gerald pushed the cart closer until he was mere inches away from his fellow intern.  “I think we have some things to discuss--”

                 “There you are.  I’ve been waiting for that stuff.”

                  The redhead sighed in relief.  “I think we’re set, Gerald.  Now, Dr. Wilson is waiting for you, and she doesn’t suffer fools.”

                  Both turned to see a 5’11 African American woman with her hands on her hips.  “Well, Maxwell, are you coming or not?  My work doesn’t stop just because you broke a nail or can’t hold your water.”          

                  Embarrassed, Gerald followed the scientist out of the exam room and Jessica’s stiff stance relaxed as she exhaled the breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

                Aubrey was eating lunch in his office while going over case files in his division.  He missed having lunch with his girlfriend, but she ate with Daisy at the NFL today before going to the lab.  She was apologetic, but he understood.

                Realizing he couldn’t concentrate, he got up to get another cup of coffee to have with his lunch.  As he walked towards the 4th floor break room, he contemplated the upcoming holiday.  This year would be the first time in three years he missed the main feast at Booth and Brennan’s.

                Because this year, he was having dinner with his girlfriend’s family…and he was scared to death.                

                Things were going so well for them, but he knew enough about Jessica’s brothers to realize that they were very protective of their baby sister.  While all five wouldn’t be there, the prospect of three of them together was daunting.

_What if they hated him?  What if they didn’t consider him good enough for their little sister?_  He thought of Booth’s advice when they talked about it this morning.

                _“You’ll be fine, Aubrey.  Just don’t eat all the food.”_

                He laughed for a moment.  They were going to stop at Booth and Brennan’s house later for dessert.  Well, Jessica was.  Dr. B promised him more turkey and dressing.

                Getting his coffee, he poured the cinnamon in it.  As he turned to walk back to his office, he heard his name and a familiar unpleasant voice.  Turning around, he attempted a smile.

                “Hi, Karen.  How can I help you?”

                The profiler hesitated for a moment.  “I have a preliminary profile I need to go over with Steve.”

                Aubrey felt bad for what he was going to say.  “He’s not here, Karen.  He went back to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving with his family this week.”

                “Oh…”, Karen said before recovering quickly.  “I misunderstood.  I thought he was leaving tonight.  My bad.”

                 Aubrey thought Karen seemed too calm for finding out her boyfriend had taken off on her without letting her know.  “I figured you were going to be with him..”

                 Karen waved her hand in front of Aubrey.  “No way!  We’re not there yet.  Not doing the family thing right now…too complicated.”

                “So you’re spending your Thanksgiving with your family, huh?”,  Aubrey said.

                 Karen lifted up her files.  “No…my parents are going on a cruise and my sister is going to be with her husband’s family in Idaho.”

                “Oh.”,  Aubrey said, feeling stupid for asking.

                “I have a friend who invited me to go with her to visit her family in Falls Church…but I barely know anybody.  I may just go to Founding Fathers…”,  Karen said in a soft voice.  “I’m sure there will be people to talk to.”

                Aubrey felt bad for her but he had plans and he was a guest to both places.  Still…no one should be alone on Thanksgiving.

                “Aubrey.”

                Both turned around to see Booth standing by them.  “Hey.  I was going to email you but I wanted to let you know that dinner on Thursday will be at 1:00 but come by anytime.  Hodgins and Angela don’t know when they will make it because Billy is in town and Wendell and Andie are eating with her folks, too.  Beau’s game starts at 4:30.”

                “Cool.”,  Aubrey said.

               “Must be nice to have all those people together for Thanksgiving.”,  Karen said.  “I hope Founding Fathers has that many people and not a bunch of losers alone on Thanksgiving.”

                Booth saw Aubrey gesturing towards her while mouthing _‘Alone Thursday._ Taking a deep breath, he spoke slowly.  “Karen, why don’t you stop by our house Thursday?  Bones makes a ton of food, some of it actually real meat.  Always room for one more.”

                “I couldn’t, Agent Booth.”,  Karen said coyly.  “I know how hungry Aubrey gets.”

                “Actually—“

               “There will be plenty for Aubrey, I promise.  Now I’ll email you the address and directions to our house.”

                The profiler smiled.  “It’s a date, Agent Booth.  Thank you very much.”,  Karen said before leaving, but Aubrey stopped her.

                “Karen, I can take that preliminary profile.”

                “Great.”, she said as she looked through her folders before sighing.  “Shoot, I forgot it.  You know, I should work on it a little more.  Steve said not to rush it with the holidays.  I’ll try to get it finished before Thursday.  See you later, gentlemen.”

                 When she left, Aubrey turned to Booth.  “Thanks for the time, but we probably won’t be there until maybe 4:00.”           

                “I know.  I overheard Karen giving you her sob story, so I told her 1:00.”

               “Why?”,  Aubrey said, obviously confused.

               “Because she was trying to sucker an invite out of you, Aubrey.  She still wants to get in your pants, so I want to see if she takes the bait.”

              “Booth, I told you that I talked to her already and put the fear of God into her regarding her career.  She’s with Agent Bower now anyway.”

              “Aubrey…she may seem to have turned over a new leaf, but I’m not sure about her.  Be careful with her, all right?”

                “Booth--”

                The older man stared down his friend.  “Aubrey, what do you do when your friends look out for you?”

                The agent smiled.  “Thank you, Booth.”

                Booth finished pouring his coffee into his Steelers mug.  “You’re welcome.  Now, if you have a few minutes, let’s put our heads together on the Vacchio case and see if something new comes out.”

* * *

                By 3:30 Jessica had forgotten about Gerald’s earlier interruption as she worked on a different set of remains for Clark while listening to music on her Amazon Prime app.  She hummed along to Ella Henderson’s _‘Ghost’_ as she cataloged the Viking remains in front of her.  As she examined the 6 th rib, she heard a loud knock.  Startled, she turned around and saw two people, one male and one female in front of her.

              “I’m sorry.  Can I help you?”

              “Yes.  Turn off that music.  This is a museum and research facility, not a rock concert.”

               Immediately, she peeled off her gloves and complied.  “My apologies if my music disturbed anyone.”

              “Remember this for future reference:  we do not play loud music or treat this place as anything less than a research facility, Ms. Warren.”, the woman stated.  “The Governing Board takes their responsibility to maintain the high standards of this facility seriously.”

              The gentleman with her stepped forward.  “Furthermore, you will follow the dress code assigned to all employees of the Jeffersonian.  That means—“

             “Excuse me, what’s going on here?”, Clark asked as he entered the room.

             The two turned around and the male indicated himself and the woman next to him.  “I’m Timothy Swanson and this is Jeanette Larson.  We are the aides to the Treasurer and Secretary of the Governing Board.  We were explaining to this young lady about how we have high standards here at the Jeffersonian—“

             “I’m Dr. Clark Edison, head of Cultural Anthropology, and Ms. Warren is my intern for today.  What exactly has she done?”

             “Well, there have been complaints about her wardrobe and she was listening to loud music which could be heard by others.  This creates a disturbance and that is unacceptable.”

             Clark stood for a moment before speaking.  “I apologize for any confusion, but I need to clarify something.  In the future, if there are any concerns regarding the anthropology interns working with myself or Dr. Brennan, you will take those concerns up with either of us or with Dr. Jack Hodgins, the acting head of the Medico-Legal Lab.  The Governing Board will not send their interns down here to dress down our interns.  Now, is there anything else we can help you with today?”

             The two stiffened their spines.  “I would think we would have more cooperation from you, Dr. Edison.  You are usually very respectful of policy.”

             “You’re right, I am.  However, I am seeing an intern who is tastefully dressed in a dress roughly 1 inch above the knee, high heeled shoes, and her hair is neat.  I let my interns listen to music while they work because for some, it helps them concentrate, and as long as the music is not full of profanity, I don’t see a problem.”,  Clark said before smiling.  “Please give the Governing Board my warmest regards.”

             Seeing they were being dismissed, the two interns walked out stiffly.  When they were gone, Jessica turned to her friend.

             “Dr. Edison, I’m sorry for causing a disturbance.”, Jessica said, using Clark’s title since they were at work.

             Clark put his hand up.  “You didn’t do anything.  I don’t know what all that was about but if it happens again, you let me know, all right?”            

            Jessica smiled.  “I will.  Thanks.”

            “Go ahead and turn you music back on.  No way in hell they heard it outside the doors.”, Clark said before leaving.

            Turning back to her phone, she started the song back and put on gloves.  A few seconds into the song, she sang along softly.  “But your ghost...the ghost of you...is keeping me awake…”

* * *

              At 6:15, Jessica gathered her stuff together.  Shutting her locker, she was startled to see Gerald Maxwell standing in front of her.

              “Can I help you, Gerald?”, she said in exasperation.

                “Yeah…” the intern said.  “I just wanted to apologize for what happened at the Halloween Gala.”

                Jessica nodded.  “Apology accepted.  Excuse me.”

                “Wait...I’m not done yet.”,  Gerald said while holding up his hand out to stop the redhead.  “I’ve been thinking and I realize now that I may have been rash in thinking you were trying to steal my Alfa Romeo.”

                “Well, I’m glad you’re seeing that.  Thank you.”

                Gerald walked up to her.  “You’re welcome. Now, there’s the issue of how to put that ugliness behind us.”

                “You apologized...I accepted...now we steer clear of each other.”,  Jessica retorted.  “Pretty simple I think.”

                “I have a better idea.”, Gerald said as he leaned in.  “I’ll help you if you’ll help me.”

                Jessica gulped as she got a bad vibe.  “W-with what?”

                “I’ll drop all those charges that I’m going to file…”, the intern said before his finger touched her arm and traced down to her elbow.  “...and you’ll be friendly with me.”

                “Thanks, but no thanks.  Excuse me.”  Jessica moved her arm away, but the man grabbed her and held her tight.

                “You must have misunderstood me, Jessica.  Let me rephrase.  You give me what I want, which is a good time like you used to give to the guys here, and I’ll let bygones be bygones with my car.”

                “No, I didn’t misunderstand, Gerald, so I’ll rephrase.”  Jessica pried his hand off her arm.  “There are no bygones to be made with your car and there’s no way in hell I would ever you touch me sexually, you fucking pig.  If you were going to sue me, you would have done it a long time ago.”

                The muscular intern’s charming facade fell quickly.  “I’m trying to give you another chance, Jessica, and you would be smart to take me up on it.”

                “You have several other women who would do anything to go out with you, even after you pedal your outdated and trite bullshit.  However, you come back to me.  What’s the matter Gerald?  Lonely?”,  Jessica retorted before she came to a realization.  “Is that why you’re trying to sucker a screw out of me?  Women are not as easy for you as they used to be after Aubrey made you piss yourself at the Gala in front of your daddy’s friends?”

                “I’m trying to be nice to you after the trouble you caused me.”,  Gerald said menacingly, his humiliation at the reminder building up again.  “I would be more appreciative of my efforts if I were you.”

                “No, you’re trying to intimidate me into sex like I’m sure you’ve done to other women who see through your bullshit.”,  Jessica said with all the courage she could muster up.  “There’s a term for that and it’s called _‘sexual harassment’._ I would recommend you turn around and walk out of here or I may be tempted to talk to Dr. Miller about the desperate bully who hassled me in the intern locker room.”

                “I’m not sexually harassing you, you little cunt.  I’m just trying to save you some embarrassment and get each of us something we want.”

                “I’m not ashamed of anything I’ve done and I’m not concerned about being embarrassed.  As for having any sort of sexual contact with you, I would rather fuck a syphilic goat.  I’m sure if I ask some of the other female interns here about you, they’ll agree before we all go to Dr. Miller about you.”             

                Gerald raised himself to his full height of 6’3” and looked down at her with hate.  “You better watch your mouth, Jessica..  I’ve been tolerant of all the trouble you caused me these last several weeks, including riding out a suspension that was unjustified.  I have plans for my future and I won’t let some redheaded bitch with a big mouth wreck my internship here.”                

                 Crossing her arms, she looked up at the tall man and stared him in the eyes.  “I don’t have to do shit, Gerald, because you can wreck your career all on your own.  You’re the spoiled brat who was too proud to call someone to get a new set of keys when you lost yours at the Star Wars Convention.  You’re the one who harassed me and Aubrey at the Gala before my awesome FBI agent boyfriend put you down like the pathetic bug you are.  Most of all, you’re the douchebag who seems to think we female interns should just spread our legs at your beck and call for your probably small, overcompensating dick because you think you’re a stud and you are important when you are not.   If you don’t work enough hours this semester or do some other stupid thing to lose your internship, that’s on you, not me.”

                The man was furious at the obstinacy of the woman in front of him.  “Listen to me, Firecrotch.  No one is going to interfere with my plans.  Either you wise up and take the deal I’m offering you or I’ll make sure your internship disappears and your future career anywhere in North America or Europe.”                             

            “You think your money can get your anything you want, don’t you?”,  Jessica said as coldly as she could.  “You may have pulled that _‘Mr. Wonderful’_ bit in the past and got lucky...or even used your money to pay off someone...but that ends now because you don’t scare me, Gerald Maxwell.  You’re just a spoiled coward who coasts off his family’s name because he doesn’t have the balls to do anything on his own.”

                “You’re going to regret this, you cheap slut.” 

                “Whatever, Gerald.”, Jessica said before turning to pick up her purse and bag.  “Now get out of my way and go fuck yourself.”

                 When he wouldn’t move, Jessica stepped around the man and walked out the door.  When it shut, she leaned against the wall shaking.  It didn’t surprise her that his charm turned to shit when he didn’t get her into bed.  However, she didn’t expect him to take it so personally.  Starting now, she would make it a point to never be alone with him again.         

                His threats to her internship did make her stop and think for a few minutes, but she knew that Dr. B wouldn’t be easily swayed by money, and Curly was same. She’d worked hard to get where she was, and there was no way in hell she would let that man ruin things for her.   Gerald Maxwell wasn’t the first bully she had encountered in her life and he probably wouldn’t be her last.  Her brothers and father taught her to always stand her ground and she hadn’t looked back since.

                Jessica debated telling Aubrey about Gerald’s threats, but decided not to.  She didn’t want her boyfriend to go after the intern in anger and possibly ruin his career.  She would not let him do that.  James Aubrey’s happiness was too precious to her to let a bully ruin that.   

                Besides, the Antiquities intern was just pissed off because she’d stood up to him.  No way would he get his hands dirty and there were plenty of other females who was less discriminate on who they slept with.  Everything would blow over soon.


	30. Dressed for Success

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone is trying to life rough for Jessica? How will her friends help her out? 
> 
> NSFW reading. Find that quiet closet and lock it before reading...

                Tuesday morning, the lab got an unexpected visit from scientists from the Sorbonne, a few members of Congress, including former Senate Minority Whip Hayley Winters, and members of the Governing Board, including Harold Maxwell.  Brennan gave a tour of the facility, maintaining civility as Senator Winters asked pointed and critical questions about their work.  Jessica was at the enzyme tank putting remains in the solution when the group climbed up onto the platform.

                “This is Jessica Warren, one of my graduate student interns.  Ms. Warren, please explain to the group what you are doing right now.”

                Jessica caught the look of anger from the senior Maxwell as she realized the man recognized her...or at least her name.  Using a mixture of scientific jargon and layman speak, she explained what she was working on, ignoring the man who alternated between anger and looking at her like she was his next meal.  When the group left, her nerves almost got the better of her.  Taking a few deep breaths, she barely held onto her breakfast as she completed her task, Harold Maxwell’s stare leaving an impression in her mind.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                 Two hours later, Jessica was in the Bone Room examining the cleaned remains when Hodgins wheeled in. “How’s it going?”

                “Getting there, Curly.”, Jessica said.  “I’m hoping to find cause of death once I get these bones cleaned.”

                “Good.  Listen, I have to talk to you for a minute.”, Hodgins said, embarrassed about what he had to do.  “I’m only doing this so I can say I did it, okay, so don’t read much into it--”

                “Hodgins...what’s wrong?”

                “I got a phone call from the Secretary from the Governing Board.  It seems there have...been complaints…”

                “About what?”, Jessica asked nervously.  “Did I mess up on a case?”

                “No, Jessica, nothing like that..”, Hodgins said.  “According to the Secretary, there have been complaints that you dress inappropriately for working here.  I guess a couple members of the tour earlier also felt you were...underdressed.”

                “How?”, the redhead said, looking down at her olive green dress.  “I always wear nylons when I’m here and I don’t wear anything low cut--”

                “Jessica, don’t get upset, all right?”, Hodgins replied.  “Outside of the scientists, those people are a bunch of hoity toity snots.  My wife’s come in to work wearing stuff that was much shorter, all right?  I had to let you know about it though.  You are fine, I promise.”

                “Are you sure?”  Jessica bit her lip as she tugged at the hem of her skirt.  “I can wear something else to work…maybe slacks would be better...”

                The entomologist wheeled up to the young woman.  “Jessica, unless you’re flashing people when you bend over, we’re good.  Honestly, you’re one of the best interns we have here, and I’m hoping a position can open up for us to keep you when you get your degree in a couple of years.”

                “Really?”, Jessica asked, forgetting about her embarrassment.

                “Yeah, really.  Now, I’ll let you get back to your bones.”, Hodgins said before turning his wheelchair around.  “Oh, are you going to Booth and Dr. B’s Thanksgiving dinner Thursday?”

                 “Aubrey and I will be there later in the day.  We’re having dinner with some of my family in our old house on the cooperative property around noon.”

                “Aubrey is joining you for the family dinner, huh?  Intriguing.”,  Hodgins said with a smirk before leaving the room.

                 Jessica watched her friend wheel away.  Finishing her task, she took off her gloves.  Walking towards her mentor’s office, she knocked.  “Dr. B, can I talk to you for a minute?”

                Brennan turned to her intern.  “Of course.  Is it in regard to the remains that arrived this morning that I’ve assigned you?”

                “No.”  Jessica hesitated for a moment.  “Do you think I dress inappropriately for work?”

                Brennan crossed her arms.  “I have never felt the need to send you home to change.  If your wardrobe was inappropriate for the workplace, I would have been the first one to tell you.”

                Jessica smiled.  “Thank you, Dr. B.  I’ll get back to those remains.”

                “See that you do.”,  Brennan said.  Watching her intern walk away, she wore a puzzled look on her face before returning to her task.

* * *

                Later that night, Aubrey made a dinner of wheat pasta with Brennan’s puttanesca sauce for himself and Jessica, only getting the recipe after a stern lecture about not calling it _‘whore sauce’._   Sitting at his center island, they enjoyed their meal while talking about various things. 

                After a while, the agent watched his girlfriend as she enjoyed her wine, puzzled at her demeanor since he picked her up at the lab.  She’d laughed in all the right places and said all the right things tonight, but she was quieter than usual.  Even when he brought up seeing _Rogue One_ , she was subdued.

                “So I’m thinking about waiting until _Rogue One_ comes out on Blu Ray instead of us going to the midnight premiere on December 16th...”

                Jessica took a bite of her dinner.  “Sounds good, Superman.”

                Finishing off his glass of Pinot Noir, he pushed further.  “No, you’re right, we should see it that night.  Actually, I think I’m going to take Karen and Steve with us…I’m going to pay for all of it…who cares if I can’t stand them.  We’ll still have fun, right?”

                “Yeah.”  The redhead sprinkled shredded parmesan cheese onto the last bit of her pasta.  “Make sure they pay you back.”

                Shaking his head, he took the cheese from his girlfriend’s hand.  “Give me that.”

                “Superman, I was using that.  Give it back!”

                The agent put the cheese out of her reach.   “No, because something is on your mind.  Did you hear a word I just said?”

                “Yeah, you want to see _Rogue One_.  So do I, Superman.”, Jessica said before taking a bite.

                “Wow...you so weren’t paying attention to me.”, Aubrey replied.  “Jess, what’s wrong?”

                The redhead mixed the cheese around with her pasta.  “Nothing, Aubrey.”

                “Bullshit.  Now what’s the matter, Jessica?  You’re not very enthusiastic about Star Wars and that is a no no in our relationship.”, the lanky man said, concerned. 

                Jessica looked at her boyfriend’s serious expression and knew she couldn’t lie to him.  Turning to him, she asked, “Do I dress inappropriately for work?”

                “What kind of stupid question is that?”, Aubrey asked, dumbfounded.

                “Great, you can’t answer me.  That means you think I don’t and you don’t want to hurt my feelings.”,  Jessica said before grabbing her plate and walking it over towards the sink.

                “What the fuck?  Jessica…”, Aubrey said as he got up to follow his girlfriend.  “Jessica!  What is this all about?”                

                The redhead turned around and saw his concern.  She sighed softly as she rinsed their plates.  “Yesterday, a couple of interns from the Governing Board came to see me while I was working with Clark, saying there were complaints about how I was blasting music for everyone to hear and about how I was dressed.”

                Aubrey decided to bring some levity to the situation.  “Was your skirt tucked into your panties or something?”

                Jessica smacked Aubrey on the arm.  “Be serious, Superman.  It was embarrassing.  They were snotty assholes until Clark came in and told them off.  Then today, we got a tour of important people, including Senator Hayley Winters…”

                “I bet that was a lot of fun for Dr. B.  The senator publicly blamed her after being forced to step down as Minority Whip after the O’Malley case.”

                “It was a bit tense...but there were some other movers and shakers in attendance.”, Jessica said, looking at Aubrey before continuing.  “Including Harold Maxwell.”

                Aubrey began to grind his teeth.  “What did he say to you, Jess?”

                “Nothing...just stared at me like he couldn’t decide if he preferred to have me with my panties down or dead on a slab.”, Jessica said quietly, shuddering as she remembered how the man’s eyes shifted between anger and lust.  “A while later, Curly came to me and said there were complaints that I was dressed inappropriately.  He said he had to tell me, but not to take it seriously.  When I asked Dr. B, she said she never found me inappropriately dressed, and would have sent me home if she thought so.”

                “Well, then…”

                “Superman, I know my skirts and dresses are short, but I’ve always worn tights, thigh highs or nylons under them.  I’ve always made sure they are long enough to cover me even when I bend over unlike a couple of the hoochie mama interns in Caribbean Studies.  I’m careful about what I wear to the lab and when I teach with Dr. B.  What do you think?”

                Aubrey saw she was serious about this.  “Jessica, I may be a bit prejudiced, but I think you always dress respectably for work.  Your style is your own and has never crossed the line of good taste.  Trust me when I say you are fine.”

                “Really?”, Jessica said as she faced her boyfriend.

                “Yes, really.”, Aubrey replied as he reached out to caress her.  “I like you in everything you wear...even when it’s nothing.”

                “Aubrey!”

                He shrugged as he ran his hand down her torso.  “I’m sorry...I like my girlfriend naked.  She looks good…”,  the agent replied before he began unbuttoning her dress.

                “Aubrey...what are you doing?”, Jessica said with a smile.  “We haven’t had dessert yet.”

                “I made a chocolate pie last night and we will have that part of dessert...later.”, Aubrey said as he finished his task, revealing a matching emerald green set of bra and panties underneath with dark green thigh high stockings.  “Now, I want to have my favorite dessert.”

                Bending down, he picked her up to her giggles.  Wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around Aubrey’s waist, she held on as the agent walked her to the dining room table and sat her down.

                “James Aubrey, what are you up to?”

                “Um, I thought I had already established we were having my favorite dessert…”, Aubrey said as he took off his Syracuse t-shirt and tossed it on the floor.  “...right here on the dining room table…”        

                “Your clean towels and other laundry are on it, sir.”, Jessica giggled as she pushed off her dress, leaving her in only her lingerie and hose.”

                “Not for long.”,  Aubrey said before pushing everything off the table. 

                Jessica laughed as she backed up, with Aubrey following and crawling over her.  Coming together, the two embraced.  On the floor, Skinner sat down by his owner’s discarded shirt but quickly moved out of the way as the agent’s jeans almost landed on him, followed by his Deadpool boxer shorts.

_“Now you’re wearing my favorite outfit of yours, Superman.”_

_“Thanks.   I like how you matched your lingerie, Jess.  Green is a great color on you…but they have to go.”_

                Skinner dodged Jessica’s bra and panties as her laughter could be heard throughout the house.

* * *

                 The next morning, Jessica and Hodgins were going over evidence in the Ookey Room for a new case she was assisting Dr. B on for Booth.  “So you think your vacuum chamber thing here will be able to pick up the fingerprints, even though it was in filthy porta potty water, Curly?”

               “Hey, remember the Hodsell case?  I got prints off a champagne bottle in the Potomac with my Vacuum Metal Deposition Chamber.  If I can do that, then I can get a print off a bottle dunked in turd infested water.  Now, turn the button.”

                She turned the dial and they watched as slowly, a couple prints developed in gold.  “Curly, that is amazing.”

                “It is, isn’t it?  King of the Lab!”,  Hodgins said with a smile before his phone rang.  Picking up, he answered.  “Dr. Hodgins...wait...what do you mean a difficult approval?”

                Jessica watched as her boss and friend became more irritated as he listened.

                “That is an essential requirement recommended to us by Agents Booth and Aubrey to help protect the security of this lab and to prevent what happened back in August.  No, I don’t understand.  We got approval for that and other enhancements at the final meeting three weeks ago.  So how does hiring extra security guards and setting up a sign in desk all of a sudden go over budget now, when it was okay then?”

                Somewhat embarrassed, Jessica was going to step out of the room, but Hodgins’ hand stopped her.  “No...no...unacceptable.  I will be taking this up with the Governing Board.  This lab has worked with dozen of federal and international police agencies for decades with top security and now all of a sudden we’re getting nickel and dimed.  Tell me, who had the sudden fit about the security increase?”

                Hodgins gave a mirthless chuckle.  “Why am I not surprised...the Governing Board is meeting at what time today?...3:00?  Good.  I’ll be there because this is not standing...same to you...goodbye.”

                The entomologist hung up the phone.  “Smarmy ass little tool.”

                “Curly...what’s wrong?”

                Hodgins took a deep breath.  “That was the secretary to the Governing Board.  Apparently there is sudden hesitance to some of the enhancements that were planned for the security upgrades in the lab reconstruction.  At the preliminary meeting and finalization, they approved Booth and Aubrey’s recommendations to get badge readers for the intern locker room entrance to the lab.  The dual badge scans and individual codes for the evidence vaults were also approved, as well as the new lockers with the digital code locks.  However, all of a sudden the expense involved in setting up the security desk and hiring the guards that everyone agreed to is too now much.”

               “Where people have to sign in before coming in the lab, right?”

                “Yeah.”,  Hodgins said before drinking from his bottle of water.  “Your boyfriend and Booth suggested the desk with two people 24 hours a day.  That way the desk isn’t left alone while one makes rounds every thirty minutes.  It was all set until Harold Maxwell pitched a fit about cost today and suggested that it be stricken, saying that new badge readers can do the same thing more cheaply and that Antiquities should get the increased security instead.”

                Jessica shook her head.  “But if we had that desk and the two guards before the bombing, whoever stole Dr. Saroyan’s badge wouldn’t have been able to break in here and plant the bombs, because they would have been stopped.”

                “I know.  However, that pompous ass always thinks Antiquities is more important than anything else.”,  Hodgins said.

                Jessica suddenly felt nauseated..  “Curly, you don’t think he’s doing this because I got Gerald in trouble, do you?”

                “Jessica, Harold Maxwell is a skirt chasing pig who worships art and thinks anything else is a waste of time around here.  I’m sure he’s also pissed about what happened with his evil spawn.  However, I doubt he’s going to ruin the reputation of this place just because his son has his nose out of joint over you and Aubrey.  Now, relax and don’t worry about it.  I’ll take Dr B,. Booth, and Aubrey with me.  Trust me, all will be good, all right?”

                Jessica pushed the sinking feeling aside.  “If you say so.”

                “Yeah, I say so.”,  Hodgins said before wheeling to the chamber and opened it.  “Now, take this to Angela so she can send the prints to Booth.”

                The scientist watched as the squintern put gloves on and gingerly picked up the 375 mL bottle and placed it on the tray before carrying it out.  When she was out of sight, Hodgins wheeled back to his cell phone and sent a text.

**_U & Aubrey call me ASAP._ **

                At the FBI, Booth knew his friend long enough to know when he was serious.  Sending a text message, he got an almost immediate reply.  Two minutes later, Aubrey arrived at Booth’s office.  Turning on the Skype, the two agents contacted the entomologist.

                “What’s up Hodgins?”, Aubrey asked.

                “I have an update on this morning’s case for you, Booth, which I’ve just emailed you.  But I have something else to talk to you two about.”

                They listened as Hodgins explained the phone call.  Booth’s jaw tightened and Aubrey’s knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists.  When he was done, the younger man spoke up.

                “What do you think, Hodgins?”

                They watched their friend on the computer screen.  _“I think Gerald Maxwell whined to his father about Jessica, plus good ol’ Harold isn’t looking so good either after his son made an ass of himself at the Gala.  His son losing his internship here will tarnish that perfect Maxwell image so he probably wants to put Jessica in her place and thinks if he throws money Dr. Miller’s way he can sway him to keep his asshole son on staff.  The Governing Board is meeting at 3:00 today and I need you guys there.  We need this security enhancement.  I don’t want another bomb planted in here, because next time, someone is going to get killed.”_

                “We’ll make it work, Hodgins.  What happened in August can’t happen again.”, Booth said.

                “Does Jessica know?”,  Aubrey asked.

_“She was here when I got the call...”_

                “Shit…”, Aubrey muttered.

_“I think I convinced her it wasn’t about her…”_

                Aubrey’s head went down.  “Hodgins, her IQ is almost 170 and her instincts are sharp.  She knows.  I’ll be there at 2:30.”

                “Me, too.  We’ll meet you at the lab.”

_“See you guys later.”,_ Hodgins said. _“Thanks.”_

                “No problem.”, Booth said before disconnecting the screen.  He turned to his former partner, whose eyes were blazing as he breathed heavily.  “Aubrey, don’t do anything stupid.  He’s just being petty.  Bones has always told me that the Governing Board loves the lab because it makes the Jeffersonian look good and that they signed off on our recommendations.  He’s just blowing smoke.”

                Aubrey closed his eyes.  “You’re right...you’re right.  I know…”

                “But you worry that this is about Jessica.”

                “Yeah.”

                Booth thought for a minute.  “I agree.  However, going there half cocked isn’t going to do Jessica, or the lab, any good.”

                “I don’t get why Gerald Maxwell is so fixated on the fact she rejected him, Booth.”,  Aubrey said before shoving his hands into his pockets.  “Jessica didn’t plan on stealing his car, but he’s set on the idea she did.  He got suspended because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut at the Gala, embarrassing himself and his date in the process.  From what I’ve heard, the butthole can get any date he wants.  Why does he give a shit about a fellow intern that turned him down?”

                “Because he’s probably is used to getting what he wants and Jessica isn’t playing his game.  Bones thinks thinks the little shit won’t be able to make up his required hours for his program by the December deadline.  If that happens, he’ll lose his spot at the Jeffersonian and he’ll have no one to blame but himself.  However, he and his father are taking it out on the lab...and her.  He probably assumes that Bones, Hodgins, and the lab will get rid of Jessica first to play nice, but the Maxwells don’t know them very well because it won’t happen.”

                “I know.”, Aubrey replied.  “You’re right.”

                Booth knew he had Aubrey calmed down.  “Now come on, get out of my office.  You have a division of your own to run.  I’ll grab you at your office around 2:00.  Sound good?”

                “Sounds good.”,  Aubrey said before going back to his office. _‘Maxwell, you don’t know who you’re messing with.’_

* * *

                 At 3:00, the Governing Board met in a conference room.  Doctors Hodgins, Miller, and Brennan sat in the chairs provided as did Aubrey and Booth.  As chairman, Harold Maxwell brought the meeting to order.

                “Now, we have a lot to cover before we leave for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Let’s get to work.”

                Forty five minutes passed as the Board went over plans for another fundraising Gala for January or February as well as upcoming exhibits.  Everyone was anxious until finally the last topic of the meeting was reached.                

               “Our final order of business is to discuss this ridiculous expense that the Medico-Legal lab is asking for.  Why are we dishing out additional resources that could be put to other departments when there is equipment that can do the same thing more cost effectively?”

                A woman named Amanda Marshall spoke up.  “Mr. Maxwell, I’m not ready to dismiss this item. A person using the stolen badge of the head of the lab was able to get in unchecked during the early hours of August 27th and plant two bombs.  Not only was several millions of dollars worth of lab equipment destroyed, but four people almost died in the explosion.  The lab is world renowned and for us to go cheap on security merely to save money is just wrong.  What I don’t understand is your sudden opposition to this item, Harold? As I recall, you were the first to sign off on all these recommendations when we approved them October 28th.”

                “Because Antiquities could use the extra security--”

                “Antiquities doesn’t need added security, Mr. Maxwell.  My understanding was after the discovery of Dr. Batuhan’s forgeries and his arrest for the attempted murder of my colleague here...”, Dr. Miller said while indicating Brennan, “...back in 2013, the security was overhauled to ensure what went on would never happen again.  Not that I don’t appreciate the funding, but I do believe the Medico-Legal Lab needs the best security money can buy.  I was blessed to take a tour of the facility with Dr. Hodgins after lunch today and I won’t accept any funds diverted from their budget to mine.”

                “With all due respect, David--”

                “Please call me Dr. Miller, Harold.  I worked thirteen years for my PhD and I will be addressed as such.”, the antiquities director stated with a sarcastic smile.  “As one who has waxed poetic with esteem for our department, I assume that you would agree.”

                Maxwell controlled his embarrassment.  “Fine, Dr. Miller.  However your opinion does not negate the fact that there is better uses for our funds than unnecessary manpower.”

                A man with a name plate of Martin Pixler spoke up.  “I happen to agree with Mr. Maxwell--”

                “You always agree with Harold, Martin.  I’m sure the fact that your barbecue business caters all of Mr. Maxwell’s company cafeterias is no coincidence.”, another woman named Cheri Hitchcock chimed in.

                “I want to hear from the scientists at the Medico-Legal Lab”,  Ms. Marshall said.  “You have the floor, Dr. Hodgins.”

                Hodgins cleared his throat.  “The Jeffersonian prides itself on the being not only the house of treasures from all over the world, but also containing one of the most, if not the most cutting edge forensic laboratory anywhere.  We got our reputation by not only hiring the best, but practicing the highest standards of science and yes, because of our security.”

                Hodgins took a breath.  “Three months ago, two bombs were planted in the middle of the night by someone who’d stolen Dr. Saroyan’s badge at her own wedding reception in an attempt to destroy evidence and kill people.  There was no one available to stop the person from running it through the detector and going in to do what needed to be done because at night, there is one security guard that makes one hour rounds.  Through good detective work, Special Agent Seeley Booth figured out what was happening and helped us evacuate people so there were no casualties.”

                “I don’t see how--”,  Maxwell chimed in but was interrupted by Hodgins, who was fired up.

                “We have a higher burden to hold to the highest standards.  It took a tragedy like this to make us see that what we had, although excellent, was not enough.  If the FBI, CIA, and other international agencies are resistant to give us their evidence because we hesitate on spending money, why should they hire us to help them?  That evidence is sometimes the only thing that prevents a criminal from getting away scot free from murder, genocide, financial crimes, and other serious matters.  It is not acceptable to me or my employees that a security recommendation from two well respected federal agents, both of whom have multiple commendations for valor, is being challenged by someone just because his son has a bug up his ass because one of our interns rejected his sexual advances and called him out on his less than acceptable behavior towards her.”

                "Order!”, Maxwell said.  “That is preposterous.” 

                “That is a serious accusation, Dr. Hodgins.”, Ms. Marshall said. 

                “Yes it is, but it’s also true.”, Hodgins replied.

                “That’s enough.”, Maxwell retorted.  “I will not allow the Board to entertain flights of fancy by a scientist who believes in wild conspiracy theories.  I move to discuss--”

                “Actually, I want to hear what Dr. Hodgins has to say.”, Ms. Marshall said. 

                “As do I.”, Ms. Hitchcock said.

                When the rest of the Board members save for Maxwell and Pixler spoke up affirmatively, Ms. Marshall turned to the opponents.  “It seems you’ve been outvoted, Harold.” 

                “I must once again voice objections to his supposition.  You have no right or no evidence to support that claim.”

                “Duly noted.”  Ms. Marshall smiled before turning to the lab group.  “Please continue, Dr. Hodgins.”

                “Thank you, Ms. Marshall, and I do have evidence Mr. Maxwell, if everyone remembers what happened to your son at the Halloween Gala last month.”,  Hodgins said.  “For those who did not attend, your son Gerald publically confronted Ms. Jessica Warren in the buffet room and proceeded to harass her.  When she tried to leave the situation to avoid the confrontation, he continued harassing her before her escort, Special Agent James Aubrey, stepped in.  At this time, Mr. Maxwell proceeded to use foul language as well as referring to Ms. Warren in sexual and demeaning terms in front of several witnesses.”

                “He’d had a few drinks and was upset…”, Maxwell said before being interrupted.

                “So your son, an employee, put himself in a position to embarrass himself and the Jeffersonian in public?”,  Cheri Hitchcock said before turning to Harold.  “For a man who extols public decorum, your son’s behavior that night was grounds for termination from his program.  He was lucky that he was only suspended.”

                Hodgins held back his smile as he continued.  “At the following counseling session attended by myself, Agent Aubrey, Dr. Miller, and Gerald Maxwell on October 31st, Mr. Maxwell threatened to have his father, Chairman of the Governing Board Harold Maxwell, arrange to have Dr. Miller fired when my colleague punished him with a three week suspension for his actions at said gathering two days earlier.  Next, he told us that his father and family would pull all their donations from the museum and then move to close the lab as payback for his punishment.  All of this information is included in the transcript of the meeting notes, if you’d care to read it…”

                “My son can be a bit of a hothead, but he usually cools down.”,  Maxwell replied gruffly.  “He was merely upset at the fact his internship could be in jeopardy.  Getting his doctorate is something he had worked very hard for, and to see it gone for what amounts to a simple pique of emotion is distressing.”                 

                “Distressing?”, Aubrey said as he stood up.  “Distressing?  I find it distressing that your son has on more than one occasion threatened to press charges against Ms. Warren for grand theft auto, even though she made an effort to give him his keys, which he’d accidentally left on a table.  Instead of calling someone to bring him an extra set of keys, he’d decided to called a tow truck, and then, after she gave him his keys, he called her several disgusting names, even though she was trying to help him out. Furthermore, after she tried to ignore him and leave the situation at the Gala, your son referred to my girlfriend as a bitch and then a cheap whore who needed to be tested for sexual transmitted diseases, doing so in front of several guests.”

                “Is she?”,  Maxwell retorted.  “Ms. Warren’s reputation precedes her, from what I hear.”

                Aubrey was about to stampede over the man when Brennan held him back.  “Let me take care of this, Aubrey.”

                Brennan stood up and faced the Board.  “For those who don’t know, I’m Dr. Temperance Brennan.  I found the behavior exhibited against my intern by the Chairman’s son to be distasteful and disgusting.  I find it disturbing that I may work for a facility that does not want to hire extra security guards to protect us from another bombing...or a shooter...or any other sort of attack.  Even more disturbing is that there is strong evidence that Mr. Maxwell will hold our safety hostage because one of my interns turned down multiple sexual advances from his son, a misogynistic, catered to, spoiled, short of average intelligence child who has only his surname to allow him to succeed in life.”

                Everyone, including members on the board bit their lips to keep from laughing at the anthropologist’s rebuke. 

                “Now, if this item is not approved, I will immediately resign.  Angela Montenegro, our forensic artist and computer expert will do the same.  Dr. Hodgins also pledges to tender his resignation, as does Dr. Camille Saroyan.  We’ve all fielded lucrative offers over the last several years from other universities and facilities in the area that, I’m sure, will take our safety seriously.”

                “Empty threat, Dr. Brennan.”,  Maxwell retorted before smirking.  “You all have a contract with the FBI for services at our Medico-Legal lab.”

                Brennan gave him an icy stare.  “You are mistaken, Mr. Maxwell.  While the Jeffersonian has a contract with the FBI, it is for the services for the lab only.  If you actually had taken the time to read it, it does not specify personnel for exclusive services.”

                Everyone attending the meeting, including members of the board, held back their smiles as the Chairman’s bluff was called while Brennan continued to speak.

                “However, I have a separate agreement with them and Homeland Security that follows me wherever I choose to work.  As a tenured professor at American University, I’m able to have my interns learn from wherever my colleagues and I go, whether it’s the FBI or to some other agency within the jurisdiction of Homeland Security.  I know that the contract renewal with the Bureau is coming up this spring, and my husband and Agent Aubrey, as the FBI liaisons, have considerable influence over whether the FBI will renew the contract with the Jeffersonian.  I would imagine that without the services of our team, the Federal Bureau of Investigation may instead contract with say...the NFL, Marshall University, the CFL, George Mason University...”

                Booth sensed his wife would prolong her statement and moved in.  “I would imagine donations wouldn’t be as robust, especially if it gets out that the lab lost their star scientists simply due to a father protecting his son from charges of sexual harassment.” 

                “I take recommendations from law enforcement seriously, particularly the FBI, with whom we’ve always had a lucrative partnership with since the days of J. Edgar Hoover.  I believed when it was first raised, when we approved it, and now more than ever, that the recommendation of a sign in desk and security guards at the entrance 24 hours a day was a sound one.  I’m making a motion to keep this in the final stage remodel plans for the lab.”, Ms. Marshall said.                

                “Seconded.”, a gentleman named Ray Stover spoke.

                When the vote commenced, it showed a vote of 7 - 2, with Harold Maxwell and Martin Pixler against.  Maxwell’s face was red from anger and the lab group watched with a mix of fascination and amusement as the older man attempted to control himself.

                “That concluded the monthly meeting of the Governing Board.  We will be meeting again December 21st.”,  the man said before slamming the gavel down and storming out, quickly followed by Martin Pixler.

                The meeting adjourned, the group broke up and went their separate ways.  Ms. Marshall walked up to the group.  “Thank you for speaking today, everyone.  I’m glad that our lab will continue its fine work.”

                “Thank you, Ms. Marshall for your support”, Brennan said.  “I’ll see you next week at the monthly meeting?”

                “That you will, Temperance.”

                When the Board left, Booth turned to Brennan.  “Bones, you know her?”

                “She belongs to the woman’s right group I’m a member of.  She’s mentioned her distaste for Mr. Maxwell and his Neanderthal tendencies on more than one occasion.”

                Everyone laughed as they left the conference room.

* * *

                 Four hours later, Aubrey and Jessica were finishing their meal of steak, potatoes, broccolini, and salad at her apartment.  Taking the last bite from her steak, the redhead groaned.  “Superman, this steak is amazing.  When are you going to tell me what you put in your super secret spice rub?”

                “When the time is right.  You know, I only serve that to the ones I love.”

                Jessica smirked.  “The ones you love?  How many other girls did you cook for like this, Superman?”

                “Just one.”, Aubrey said before taking a bite of out of his dinner. 

                “Just one, huh?”, Jessica said finishing her plate.  “She must have been pretty special.”

                Aubrey took a drink of his red wine.  “Except for you, the most special woman there ever was.”

                “It was nice you cooked for your mom like this.”,  Jessica said with a smile.  “I wish I could have met her.”

                “Me too, Jess.”, Aubrey said in a melancholy tone before finishing his plate.  “Me, too.”

                Jessica felt guilty for the turn in their conversation.  Taking his hand across the table, she squeezed it gently.  “I’m sorry Superman.  I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

                “You didn’t, Jess.  I like talking about my mom sometimes.  I still have days when I grab the phone to call her, but then I remember that she’s gone.”,  Aubrey said before deciding to change the subject.  Picking up his empty plate and silverware, he walked to the sink. “Let’s talk about something else.  How about the board meeting today?”

                “A great subject to talk about.  So we’re still getting the security guards and the desk?”,  Jessica said as she followed him.

                “We sure are, Jess.”, Aubrey said as he dipped silverware into the bubbly water in the sink they’d filled before eating.  “Maxwell was on his pedestal, but Hodgins got pissed and talked about what Gerald did at the Gala and at the meeting we had with him a couple of days later.  That asshole tried to make it sound like his son was just really scared to lose his internship.  He even got cocky with Dr. B, but she shut that asshat down when she told him that the entire lab would walk.  Him and his flunkie, Martin Pixler...they tried to get the board to agree not to spend the money, but Dr. B shot them down, and they ended up just looking stupid.”                

                “Yeah, Daisy said Beau’s dad and and Mr. Maxwell do a lot of business together, and he’s a major investor in Pixler’s BBQ.”, Jessica replied before putting some rinsed silverware in the drain rack.  “I’m just glad all this stuff is over so we can concentrate on Thanksgiving and other things.”

                “Yes, we can.”,  Aubrey said before giving his girlfriend a kiss.  Going back to work, after a few minutes, he noticed that the intern was silent.  “Jess, what’s wrong?”, Aubrey said as he washed a glass.

                Jessica smiled to herself, knowing she couldn’t fool her boyfriend.  “I don’t like the fact that I could have indirectly caused the lab to lose funding.”

                “Jess, it wasn’t just you.”, Aubrey said.  “Harold Maxwell was trying to bluff and he lost...big time.  His son has a big mouth and he couldn’t get out from under it.  The prick knows what’s coming, but he wants to blame anyone but himself.”

                The redhead remembered her earlier conversation with Gerald in the locker room.  “I don’t want to lose my internship, but I don’t want anything to happen to you or to anyone else because of me either--”

                “Jessica Warren,”,  Aubrey said with a straight face before picking up the sprayer from the sink.  “Quit making things about you or else I’m going to give you a shower.”

                “You wouldn’t dare, James Aubrey.”, Jessica said as she held her almost damp towel tight and twisted it.  “If you do, I’m snapping that cute ass of yours.”

                “Well, it appears we have a stalemate.  Let's get these dishes done so we can watch a movie, shall we?”

                “Fine.”, Jessica said and they continued in silence for a moment before she spoke up again.  “I’m not making things about me, Aubrey.  I just don’t want anything to happen---AHHHH!” 

                Aubrey laughed as Jessica pushed the wet hair out of her face.  “I’m a federal agent, Jess with deadly aim.”

                “Oh you are, are you?”, Jessica replied before quickly wringing the damp towel together and snapping at Aubrey’s rear end. 

                “Ow….hey, my ass is a priceless commodity.  Revenge will be mine.”, Aubrey said before squirting her again.

                “Going down Aubrey.”,  Jessica said before snapping the towel again but missing him.

                “You have shitty aim, Warren.”, Aubrey retorted before squirting her right on her blouse.  “Oh, what a lovely black bra you have on right now.”

                “You’re a dick, Aubrey.”,  Jessica said with a laugh as she snapped him successfully, but he grabbed the towel’s other end and pulled her closer.

                “I’m not a dick, but you’ve enjoyed sitting on mine more than once.”,  Aubrey said, his face inches from his girlfriend.  “I think you might enjoy it again.”

                “I think it's more that you would, isn’t it?”,  Jessica said before moaning as her boyfriend’s hand crept into her wet blouse. 

                Aubrey began lowering his girlfriend to the kitchen floor.  “Why don’t we find out for sure, Jessica?”

_“What about...the movie, Aubrey?”_

_“Forget the movie.  What you’re doing is much better...oh yeah...”_

* * *

                 An hour later, giggling could be heard from behind Jessica’s counter facing the living room.

                Behind it, Aubrey was sitting up against one of her cupboards, wearing only his boxers as Jessica leaned up against him, wearing only his Green Day t-shirt from earlier in the evening.  Nearby the rest of their clothes were in a pile on the floor in front of the stove. 

                “So you’re going home in the morning to feed Skinner and to get dressed?”, Jessica asked before sipping their communal beer and handing it to Aubrey.

                “Yep, I’ll be back here about 11:00 to pick you up.”  Aubrey took a drink of beer.  “What’s the dress code?”

                “Casual is fine, Aubrey.  We don’t put on airs in my family.”, Jessica said before grabbing a nearby tub of ice cream and feeding a spoonful to her boyfriend.

                “Cool.”, the agent replied, his mouth full.

                Taking a bite from the carton, she handed it back to her boyfriend, who took another bite.  When the redhead reached for the pint, the agent held it up away from her.

                “Aubrey, that’s my mint chocolate chip I’m sharing with you.  Be nice…”

                “Jessica, I deserve extra dessert for that last high note you hit before you screamed my name…”

                “I gave you extra dessert when I let you rip my panties off me.  That’s seven pairs you owe me, James Aubrey.”

                “More like eight, but who’s counting?”  He took another bite of ice cream.  “Hey, remember that old rhyme?  _I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream?_ Well, since I made you scream, I get more ice cream…”

                “Hmm...that may be true, but I don’t want you to eat all of it right now.  I have something else in mind.”  She gave him a flirty wink.  “You know, the contrast between warm and cold can be quite sensual.” 

                “Oh really…”

She turned and quickly crawled onto his lap, and while he was distracted by having her so close, she took the carton from him.  “Yes.  For example…” , she purred, “...if I dribble a little bit here…”  She dribbled some melted ice cream onto his navel.  “...and then I lick it off…”

                He groaned softly as her warm tongue spread the cold treat over his skin.  “God, Jessica...who knew ice cream could be so good…”

                “You know...there’s another rhyme that is apropos right now, Superman.”  Jessica said as she wiggled herself slowly against his erection.

                “Yeah...oh yeah...what’s that?”, Aubrey moaned breathlessly.

                The redhead smiled.  “I see London, I see France, I see James Aubrey’s underpants…” 

                “Maybe we can also add that thing magicians say:  ‘now you see’ em…”  He gently pushed Jessica off him before he slid his boxers down his hips and kicked them away before pulling her closer.  “...and now you don’t.”

                “Very nice.”  She grinned coyly as she pulled off the t-shirt she was wearing.  “Would you like some more ice cream now?”

                “Yeah, now that you mention it, I would.”  He dipped his fingers into the cold mixture and coated her rosy nipples with it.  “Oops...looks like I got some on you.  Here, let me help you get rid of that…”  His tongue laved her breasts as she bucked hard against him.  “Yep...good to the last drop.” 

                “It was definitely good…”, she moaned.  “I think I need a second helping…”

                “Really?”  He raised an eyebrow at her as he applied some ice cream to her bikini line.  “Well, I aim to please...c’mere…”  He rolled her onto her back and slowly dragged his tongue from her navel downward.  “Oh good...now we get to the cherry on top…”

                “James!”, Jessica cried as his tongue worked its wonders on her again.  “I swear, if you don’t hurry up, I’m gonna…”  Her back arched as waves of pleasure rolled through her body.  “...oh, God…that was...wow…”

                “You’re gonna what?”  Aubrey chuckled as he sat beside her, running his fingers down her abdomen.  “You’d better tell me quick before the ice cream melts.”

                Jessica wore a dreamy smile as she sat up and pushed her boyfriend onto his back.  Noting the twitching of his member, the redhead smirked.  “I think you need another helping, too, James.  I shouldn’t be the only one who cums on the kitchen floor.”

                Scraping some ice cream with the spoon, she put it in her mouth before bending forward and taking him in her mouth.  Aubrey closed and eyes and moaned at the sensation.

                “Holy shit…”


	31. Meet the Warrens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All righty folks...Thanksgiving 2016 is here. How will Aubrey do when meeting Jessica's family for the first time?

                Early Thursday morning, Aubrey was startled awake when Jessica’s phone loudly played The Pretty Reckless’ _‘Heaven Knows’_.   “God, turn that off, please…we didn’t go to bed until after 1:00 this morning.”

                 “Whose fault is that?”, the redhead slurred as she slapped at her phone until the music stopped.  

                “Not mine.  You’re the one who got me all horny again when you couldn’t resist me in all my glory.”, Aubrey retorted with a smirk.

                “I disagree.  You’re the one who used his wicked tongue and body on me for evil purposes on my kitchen floor, sir.” Jessica mumbled sleepily before wrapping her arm around Aubrey and snuggling close.  “You’re warm.”

                “Yeah, but you liked it, Woman...and you’re welcome.”, the agent muttered, enjoying the attention until he saw the time.  “Jess! Why are we up now?  I thought we weren’t getting up until 9:00.”

                “I thought I would surprise you.”, Jessica said with a wicked smile as she began kissing his chest and caressed the agent softly.

                Aubrey shuddered as his girlfriend’s kisses extended down his torso and abdomen.  “What are you planning, young lady?”

                “There’s a method to my madness, Superman…”,  Jessica replied before climbing onto her boyfriend.  “Like why I set my alarm for an hour earlier.”

                “Okay, that’s works.”, Aubrey replied before embracing his girlfriend.

* * *

                 After their pleasant morning interlude, Aubrey left Jessica’s warmth with a heavy heart.  As she got up to get around, he walked into the kitchen, where their clothes were still in a pile on the floor.  Looking through the heap of clothing for his items, he found her torn underwear and smiled with satisfaction.

_‘I’m still the man.’_

                Getting dressed where he stood, he ducked back into the bathroom, kissed his girlfriend goodbye while she was in the shower, and drove home.

                Arriving at his house a short time later, he fed an annoyed Skinner and checked his mail from the day before.  Going upstairs, he got into his shower and luxuriated in it, thinking about last night on Jessica’s kitchen floor.

                It wasn’t the first time he and Jessica had experimented with getting a little kinky.  However, the ice cream was new...and they’d definitely have to do that again.  Realizing he was getting extremely aroused thinking about it, he reluctantly took care of it himself, realizing that social convention did not approve of one meeting his girlfriend’s family with a boner. 

                Finishing his shower, he took great care shaving and fixing his hair.  Jessica had told him the dress code was casual, but it took him almost an hour to finally decide on a white Oxford shirt under a blue sweater and his best jeans.  As he got himself ready, he remembered what Jessica had said about her brothers.

                First, there was Aaron, whom he’d met this summer, along with his wife Nadia, when they came down to visit Georgetown.  His wife was warm and kind, but also a tough cookie, from what he remembered.  However, his girlfriend had explained how her family fled to the United States from Romania’s Ceaușescu regime in October 1989, two months before the Communist government fell.  From what he recalled from his European history class, surviving that would make anyone a tough cookie.

            Then there was Stephan, a mechanic and owner of a successful Harley Davidson franchise in Alexandria, who lived in a modest home in Falls Church with his wife Gail, who was a former beauty pageant contestant and his head mechanic.  They could afford a home in the seven figure range, but they loved their neighborhood.  Much like Hodgins and Dr. B, they didn’t feel the need to show off their wealth. _My kind of people_ , he thought.  _Not given to flaunting their money..._

            Jack had arrived home from Montreal two weeks ago from an extended buying trip for the family business.  Her brother, along with his life partner Greg, ran _Saoirse Finn_ , the family’s Rappahannock County winery in Washington, Virginia, a business that had been in her family for generations.  His partner of sixteen years was also a businessman who’d struck it rich during the dot.com boom before selling out in the right time .  Now, he used his time to work on philanthropic causes as well as watching over the satellite tasting room in Maryland.  Starting next summer, he would be helping her nieces MacKenzie and Chelsea as they transitioned to running the Maryland site full time.

            Charlie was getting picked up for the day by Aaron and joining everyone at their childhood home for dinner.  The neuropathologist was in negotiations to join Georgetown University’s medical system and their faculty.  If successful, he was going to buy that house and property from their father for him and his family, three acres that was connected to the land of their former educational cooperative.

            She’d said her siblings were a little protective of her.  Hopefully, he’d pass the Big Brother test today.  Even though he carried the gun, something told him that her brothers could still make sure he disappeared if their only sister was hurt in any way.

             When he got downstairs, he made sure to give Skinner extra food before getting the bag with the Tupperware containers to put leftovers in.  When ready, he walked out the door before walking back in a minute later and getting his keys.

             “Kind of need those to pick up your girlfriend, Dumbass.”, a nervous Aubrey muttered.

* * *

              An hour later, the couple turned into a half mile long paved driveway surrounded by trees on the edge of Bethesda, Maryland.  Aubrey admired how the trees encircled the lane before they came to an opening with a large farmhouse.  Next to it is a barn that looked like it was modernized into a three car garage.

            “That looks pretty cool.”

            Jessica turned to her boyfriend.  “It was Aaron and Stephan’s shop final at the cooperative over twenty years ago.

            “Really?”

            “Yeah.  Then it was Jack’s science final to install the electric doors to code.”

            Aubrey chuckled as he put the SUV in PARK.  He was amazed at the brain power in her family.  “My school never let me do fun shit like that.”

            Before they could get out, Jessica grabbed his arm.  “I’m a little nervous, Superman.”

            The agent felt himself relax a bit, however he was curious.  “You?  Why are you nervous?  I’m the one who has to get the final seal of approval by your family.”

            “I…I want you to like them.”,  Jessica said.  “They’re a little bit overprotective, but they’ve always been there for me.”

            Aubrey smiled.  “Jessica, I met Aaron and I liked him a lot.  Your dad is really cool with an excellent taste in movies.  I’m a little nervous, too, but I can’t see myself not liking your family.”            

            The redhead visibly relaxed.  “Okay.  Ready?”

            “Ready.  Let’s go.”

            The couple got out of the vehicle and both saw the faces looking out the window as they got to the back door.  “Oh my God…”,  Jessica said embarrassed.

            “I don’t mind.”, Aubrey said as they went in, slightly jealous he never had a family do that with a woman he’d brought home.

            The agent followed her example by removing his shoes at the back door.  Going in through the mud room, Jessica was bombarded when she opened the door into the main house.

            “Aunt Jessie!”

            Aubrey watched as his girlfriend was jumped by two teenage girls who looked almost alike, with a boy that had to be their older brother close behind them.  When she broke free, she took his hand and pulled him closer.

            “Aubrey, these are my twin nieces Annabelle and Charlotte.  Behind them is their brother Niki, short for Nicolae.”

            “Nice to meet you all.”,  Aubrey said, feeling his nervousness dissipate a little.

            Jessica then led them into the open kitchen area where they encountered six adults.  Taking a breath, she first led Aubrey to a pair of stunning women, the first was about 5’10” with blonde hair and hazel eyes.             

           “This is my sister-in-law Gail.”, the redhead indicated.

           Aubrey mentally thought for a second.  _‘The 2001 Miss Virginia second runner up...now the head mechanic at Stephan’s Harley Davidson Alexandria franchise.’_

           “Glad to finally meet you, Aubrey.  Jessie has talked a lot about you.”

           Aubrey blushed as Jessica nodded to the other woman, and the agent immediately recognized her.  She was closer to the redhead’s height with black hair and stunning blue green eyes.  “You remember Nadia.”

           “Hello, ladies.”, Aubrey said.

           “It’s very nice to see you again, James.”, Nadia replied with a slight Romanian accent.

           She then turned to Aaron and the three other men, all between Aubrey’s height of six foot and what he estimated to be about six five. As their eyes focused on him, the FBI agent felt like he was being studied as a specimen.

            “You know Aaron.”, she said before pointing to a red haired man with eyes like Jessica and a tall, muscular man beside him.  “This is my brother, Jack and his partner, Greg.”

            Aubrey held out his hand but Jack pulled him into a hug, giving him a sense of deja vu.  “We don’t do that handshake shit.  We hug in this family.”

            After he was let go, she pointed to another man, who was the tallest of all of them with brown hair and eyes.  “And this is my brother Stephan.”

            Aubrey got ready before Stephan also gave him a hug.  “Kind of scrawny, but you’ll do.”

            “Thanks.”, Aubrey said before he felt himself be pushed into a chair at the table.

           “Jessie said you like to eat, so we prepared lots of food.  But before that, let’s talk, shall we?”,  Jack said.  “We brought some of our new ciders.  Would you like apple, cherry, or blueberry?”

            Aubrey felt like the guys were determining his fate based on his choice.  “Cherry?”

            “Good choice, Aubrey.”  Stephan handed the agent a bottle with a smile.             

             Jessica felt a wave of embarrassment.  “Guys…”

            “Jessie, don’t worry.  Aaron vouched for him, but we need to get to know the guy you were brave enough to bring home to us.”, Greg said before putting his arm around her and wiping a mock tear from his eyes.  “This is a day we thought would never come.  Our baby sister is growing up.”

            “Fuck you, Greg.”, the redhead said.

            “Leaf…leave…him…alone…boys.”

             Everyone turned and saw Charles with his cane heading towards Aubrey.  When he was close, he smiled as he reached out to shake hands.  

            “He…hello…James…glad…yip…you…could…come.”

            Aubrey relaxed when he saw Jessica’s father.  “Thanks, Charlie.”

            “Yes, thank you, Dad. Happy Thanksgiving.”, Jessica hugged her father before looking at her brothers and pointing.  “I’m going to help Nadia and Gail get dinner finished.  Be nice.”

            “Don’t worry, Jessie.”,  Stephan said before putting an arm around Aubrey.  “We’ll be good to your boyfriend.”

            Charles sat down in a chair at the large decorated table.  “I heart…love…a…cig...cider.  Give...me...apoi...apple.”

            Nadia went into the fridge.  Pulling out two bottles, she added a straw to one before giving them to Jessica.   When the redhead gave the one with the straw to her father, he sipped before making a face.  “Wha…light…beer?  Where...cider?”

            “Yes…light beer.  Your doctor said if you drink alcohol it has to be light beer because of lower content of alcohol and cider has sugar.  Either drink it or I will and you get none, Tată.”, Nadia said with a look of toughness but then a smirk popped out.  “Don’t fight with me.  I’m physician's assistant and I can make you drink O’Douls if I have to.”

            Charles cracked a smile before turning to Aubrey.  “Women…tough…coo…cookies.”

             Jessica held out the other beer to her boyfriend.  “In case you were afraid to drink the cider, here’s a beer.”

             “Thanks, Jess,  but this cherry stuff is pretty good.”,  Aubrey said, stopping Jessica with a hand on her arm as she turned away.  “But I’ll never turn away a Yuengling.”

             Jessica handed him the other beer with a smirk. Moving his bottles forward, he clicked with her father.  “Tough, but we love them.”

            “A…amen.”, Charlie said before sipping his beer.

             Aubrey, waiting until Jessica was distracted, leaned down to speak quietly to the older man.  “Stick by me, Charlie, and I’ll give you a taste of this later.”

             “Good...bye...boy.”, Charlie said.   “Come...James...Affy...Affair...In...Trinidad...on...”

             “Be right there, Charlie.”, Aubrey said before walking up to Jessica in the kitchen and sharing a kiss with the redhead.  As they separated, they were greeted by her brothers giving her kissy faces.

             “Shut up, guys!”, the redhead said as she gave her brothers the finger.

             The siblings laughed as they led Aubrey into the open living room to watch television with their father.  Everyone got situated as the movie began.  It wasn’t ten minutes in when Aubrey happened to look out the window and saw a car pull up.  “Looks like you have company.”

             “Really?”,  Aaron said as he brought out more beer for everyone.   “Everyone is here.  Jason is with his girlfriend’s family and Mike is with his girls in Philadelphia today.”

             “Greg, who is it?”,  Jack asked as he helped his brother put the empties on the center island.            

             The muscular man looked out and saw who was getting out of the car.  “You’ve gotta be shitting me…”             

            “What, Greg?”,  Jack said before looking out the window.  “Fuck…”

            “Who’s here?”,  Jessica said as she stirred the mashed potatoes from the kitchen.   

            Before she got her answer, the doorbell rang.  Greg, being the closest, opened the door and greeted her coolly..  “Hello, Eleanor.  Didn’t expect to see you today.”

            Aubrey looked over to see Stephan slam his beer bottle down and Aaron cross his arms.  Nearby, he heard Nadia mumble something he presumed was not very nice in Romanian.  He noticed Gail and Jessica put all their concentration into their tasks.  Looking at Charlie, he saw the man’s friendly eyes harden and what looked like a grimace appeared on the non-paralyzed side of his face before he sipped more beer.  As everyone stood silent, he saw a woman with a sleek, shoulder length pageboy haircut the color of dark oak and eyes of brown walk into the living room.

            “Happy Thanksgiving!”,  Eleanor Gordon said with a happy voice.  Not getting a response in turn, her happy mood turned slightly sour.  “Do any of you have enough manners to greet your mother correctly?”

            Mumbles of _‘Hello, Mom’_ echoed in the room.  Immediately, Aubrey got up and headed for the kitchen as Eleanor turned to her ex-husband.  “Charlie…been a long time.”

            “Not…long…enough…”, the redheaded man mumbled before turning his attention back to the television.

            Eleanor turned to Jack and Greg.  “Jack…nice that your friend Greg could join us.”

            “Thanks, Mom”, Jack said before taking his partner’s hand.  “My lover and I don’t get to see you often enough.”

            The woman’s face contorted with anger before her smile returned, and she turned to her elder sons.  “Aaron, Stephan…where are your wives?”

            “They’re in the kitchen with Jessica working on dinner.  You could help them you know.”,  Aaron said.

            “I would just be in the way.”  The older woman turned towards Aubrey, who was now standing next to Jessica while holding her hand.  “This must be FBI Special Agent James Aubrey…my daughter’s latest…friend.”

            “You could say that.”, Aubrey said, remembering his last conversation with the woman.

            Eleanor looked at her daughter again with a critical eye.  “You cut your hair, Jessica.”

            “Yeah, last summer.”,  Jessica said while fidgeting with her hair.

            “You need to keep it long, young lady.”,  Eleanor said, shaking her head in a disapproving way.  “Men prefer long hair.”

             Aubrey couldn’t keep his mouth shut.  “Actually, I think it’s very flattering on her.”

            “We thought you would be with Mike and the girls this year, Mom.”, Stephan said, trying to avoid a fight on the holiday.

            “I was planning on that, but MacKenzie and Chelsea wanted to make dinner this year and Michael invited his new girlfriend to join them.  I’m not particularly fond of her, so I decided that I wanted to spend time with my other children.”

            “Lucky for us.”,  Gail muttered sarcastically as she checked on the turkey.

            Eleanor heard Gail’s comment and walked over to the kitchen.  “Gail, darling, I’ve been meaning to ask you.  How long before I hear good news from you and Stephan?”

            “Mother…”, the mechanic warned.

            Aubrey was appalled at what Eleanor had just said.  From what Jessica had told him recently, Stephan and his wife had been struggling with starting a family for five years, and after two failed IVF attempts, they’d recently applied for an overseas adoption.  The woman’s remark was obviously meant to be cruel.  He saw his girlfriend’s brother walk up to his wife and put his arm around her.            

           “Don’t worry, Eleanor...as always you’ll be the last to know.”, Gail retorted without missing a beat.

           “Eleanor, if you are through with your interrogations, what would you like for drink?”, Nadia asked in thinly veiled annoyance.

            “I would like a glass of wine, thank you.  I’m hoping that there is a bottle of the Cabernet that the winery came out with this summer that got rave reviews.”

            “You’re not allowed wine on your medication, Eleanor, remember?”, Gail said as she prepared appetizers.  “There’s Coke, Gatorade, or water.”

            “Soda, sports drinks, or water?”, the woman replied before turning to her other daughter-in-law.  “Really, Nadia.  You’ve been in our country for almost thirty years and you still don’t know what to offer your guests--”

            “My guests are usually satisfied with what is offered in our home.”, the Romanian woman answered back.  “Once again, we have Coke, Gatorade, or water.  Wine will not be offered to you in this house.”

            “My doctor said—“

            “Your doctor doesn’t have your best interests, Mom, if he says an occasional drink is acceptable with your medication and your previous history.”,  Aaron said.  “Now, like Nadia said, there’s Coke, Gatorade, or water, or I can brew a pot of coffee if you would prefer that.”

            “Aaron, you are not a psychiatrist--”

            “I’m PA, and I say with your history you will have no alcohol in this house.”,  Nadia said.  “If you want wine you will have to go elsewhere.”

            “Rudeness to guests is not acceptable behavior, Nadia, particularly if the guest is a family member.”

            “Neither is being overly demanding when you’re uninvited...Eleanor...family member or guest”, the physician assistant replied sternly.

            The older woman stewed for a moment before she answered sweetly.  “Coffee would be nice, Aaron.  Thank you.”

            As Jessica’s brother went to start a pot of coffee for his mother, Aubrey shook his head at the woman’s audacity.  Yes, she had Bipolar II Disorder, but that was no excuse for her appalling behavior.  As he looked around, he didn’t see any looks of surprise from anyone, even the teenagers.

_‘How sad that everyone is used to this.’_ Aubrey thought.  _‘Of course, I have no room to talk.’_

            As he watched the lawyer stand stiffly at the center island waiting for her coffee, her demeanor reminded him of his father’s behavior every holiday until eventually it was just the three of them...Philip Aubrey, his wife Rachael, and their son James….and those were a mixed bag to say the least.

            Clearing her throat, Eleanor eyed Aubrey with disdain.  “So James, how much does a FBI agent make salary wise?   I realize you’re in some sort of supervisory position, but I’m curious to know if you’ll have enough to support my daughter if she can’t find a suitable job with all those fancy college degrees.”

           “Mom!”, Jessica shrieked, completely mortified.             

           “Jess is talented and smart, so I’m confident that she’ll easily find a well-paying job when she graduates.”, Aubrey said quietly, before finishing his beer.  “As for me, I currently make more than enough to take care of both of us if I need to, Eleanor, and I’m provided a government issued SUV to boot.” 

           He held up the empty bottle to Gail, who pointed to the cabinet under the sink.  Walking the few steps, he opened it and put the bottle in the recycling bin.  “Let’s leave at that, shall we?  I was taught that it was rude to discuss private matters like a person’s salary in public.” 

           He narrowed his eyes at Eleanor, wondering if she’d gotten his point.  He kept his satisfaction at her shock to himself, although he did appreciate the furtive thumbs up he got from Aaron and the _‘atta boy’_ looks he got from Jessica’s other brothers.

           Helping himself to a cracker and spinach dip, he turned back to Eleanor and smiled pleasantly.  “Nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?”, he added before shoving the cracker in his mouth.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           For the next thirty minutes, in between sampling the wonderful appetizers Gail and Nadia made, Aubrey heard their mother grousing about everything from what dishes were being served down to how the table settings looked. 

           However, each time he wanted to speak up to the rude woman, he remembered growing up with his mother’s lessons on being a proper guest, and anyway, each of Eleanor’s targets seemed to hold their own against her acidic comments.  For now, he would bite his tongue.

           He also saw how she almost totally ignored Greg.  Jessica already told him of how she disapproved of Jack’s homosexuality.  Aubrey thought her attitude was old fashioned and sad, but it was her loss.  He thought it was cool that they met in high school and were friends before taking the plunge while in college.

           Then, Aubrey’s favorite time came as Nadia spoke up from the kitchen.  “Dinner is ready.  Eleanor, you will have to sit at the table with the children.  Not enough room for you with the rest of us at the table.”

           Eleanor acknowledged her daughter-in-law’s statement with a cold smile.  “I’m sure Agent Aubrey would be more than willing to give up his spot so I could have dinner with my children.”

           Before Aubrey could speak up, Nadia interrupted him.  “No, he’s sitting with Jessica.  Since you’re always big on manners, you will know what happens when you don’t call ahead to let people know you’re coming.  Now sit with children or in living room.  Take your pick.”

           Everyone could see Eleanor’s lip curl up in distaste, and they had difficulty holding back snickers at the older woman’s dressing down.  Undeterred, she gave Nadia a haughty glare.  “I think it would be nice to sit with my grandchildren.”

_‘Sorry kids.’_ Aubrey thought as he saw the teenagers’ faces fall. 

           Taking his cue from Jessica, he helped bring the food to the center island.  His mouth was watering as he smelled the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and other common Thanksgiving offerings, along with Nadia’s traditional Romanian dishes of mici and sarmale.  As Jack helped his father with his plate, Aubrey filled his own.  As he finished, he calculated how many trips back he would have to make before he’d be able to adequately sample everything, but he soon lost count.

            As everyone sat down, Aaron brought his mother another cup of coffee along with a small carafe of cream and Splenda packets.  When done, he sat down at the head of the table and made an announcement.            

            “There’s a tradition in this family that everyone says what are thankful for this year.  I will begin.  Starting in June, Dr. Chen and I will be moving our practice to Alexandria to be part of the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital system.”  Aaron looked up across the table.  “Dad, we’re buying your house.”

            “Here…here…”

            Instead of Nadia being next, she indicated that the table go the opposite way.  Jack and Greg were grateful for both the successful soft launch of hard ciders from the family company and for same sex marriage becoming the law of the land, although they made a point of shooting down any rumors of an impending wedding.  Stephan and Gail were thankful for their shop being successful and announced that they were opening another one in Arlington next summer.  Charles was grateful that his children were happy and successful.  Niki and the girls talked about the things they had to be grateful for. 

            Then they got to Eleanor.

            “I’m grateful that in spite of the obstacles of my past, including lack of familial support at times through my struggles, my law practice has brought me the success I’ve always wanted.”

            The retired neuroscientist gave his ex-wife a withering gaze.  “Sh…shut…up…Eleanor.”

            As Eleanor’s mouth gaped open, Charles turned to his daughter.  “Jep…Jessie…your turn.”

            “I’m grateful for the chance to live out my dream as a forensic anthropologist under Dr. Temperance Brennan.”, Jessica said before looking at her mother.  “It’s because of the support of my family that I’m here today.”

            Taking Aubrey’s hand, she continued.  “And I’m also grateful…that Aubrey and I found our way back together.  He’s my best friend and I can’t see…my life without him.”

            The agent was stunned by the emotion behind his girlfriend’s words.  He didn’t want to cry like a baby in front of her brothers, so he took a breath and carefully composed his words.  “I’m grateful that I’m in love with my best friend.  We got stupid for a while, but we figured things out.  I’m also happy and honored to be spending this day with the family who helped make Jessica the person that she is.  Also, because of them, I get to eat this food which looks and smells really, really good.”

            The room chuckled before Stephan spoke.  “Aw, shit.  I was going to mess with you about my sister, but I can’t after you say that.  Protect her, G-Man, or I have to run you over with one of my motorcycles.”

            Everyone laughed until Aubrey responded.  “I will.  I have a federally issued semi-automatic pistol and I don’t miss.”

            People hooted and hollered at the table.  “Jessie, he can stay.”, Jack said.

            “Gee, thanks, Jack.”, Jessica replied sarcastically before drinking her beer.

            “Okay, Nadia has something to be grateful for.”,  Aaron said almost too happily.

            The room became quiet as Nadia spoke, her accent getting thicker with emotion.  “I’m thankful to be part of this family.  I did not just gain my partner and best friend, but I got five brothers, two sisters, and a wonderful father who helped fill the void left by my departed one many years ago…oh, and I’m pregnant again.”

            Everyone celebrated with clapping and cheering, but Aubrey caught the quiet anger in Eleanor’s eyes before she turned around and started eating.  As they got to dessert, after hounding from her nieces, Jessica told the story of how she met up with Aubrey at the Star Wars convention and how he’d defended her honor against Gerald Maxwell, up to when they’d found the jerk again in the parking lot.            

            “Aubrey took me to dinner while we were still wearing our costumes and then we talked…and here we are.”

            “That is so romantic, Aunt Jessie.”,  Annabelle said.

            Eleanor had been listening and couldn’t hold back anymore.  “You pissed off one of the scions to the Maxwell political family?”, Eleanor asked.  “Good God, Jessica.  A man from a wealthy and respectable family shows interest in you and you don’t appreciate that?  What the hell is wrong with you?”

            Jessica’s only reaction was to roll her eyes and turn back to her plate.  “I don’t appreciate people who don’t listen to me or who don’t have the courtesy to treat me with respect, Mom.”

            “So because he wore the wrong shirt to some childish meeting, you were ungrateful for the effort he made to fit into your “hobby”, and you are bitching about how he was he was less than respectful?  Men like Gerald don’t grow on trees, Jessica, and you should heed my advice to remember that.”

            Nadia just merely pointed her finger behind her and the kids reluctantly took their pie into another room.  When the coast was clear, Jessica turned to her mother. 

            “I know they don’t, and I’m glad, because he was a misogynistic jackass.  Gerald didn’t want to date me, Mom.  He only wanted one thing and he made it obvious.  I deserve better than that...” The redhead turned to Aubrey and took his hand.  “...and I’ve got it.  You may enjoy kissing up to rich snobs like that, but as far as I’m concerned, the Gerald Maxwells of the world can sit and spin.”

            Surrounded by laughter from their family, Eleanor was irritated at her daughter’s disrespectful attitude.  “Watch your mouth, Jessica Elizabeth I make an effort to be friends with people who will benefit me.  I do not...kiss up, so cut the smart ass routine and grow up.  Not many men from respectable families would be tolerant of a woman with hobbies like attending silly movie conventions and being into that…science fiction crap.  How many times have I told you to be more respectful and appreciative of a man’s attention?”

            Aubrey had enough of listening to the woman.  “So instead of your daughter being happy with a man who respects her and makes a decent living, she should be a kept woman for a slime ball like Gerald Maxwell who will disrespect her left and right because his family has money and is prominent?  That’s bullshit.”

            “No, it’s typical behavior for my ungrateful daughter.”, Eleanor said with hardened dark eyes at the FBI agent.  “Jessica continues to blow her chances towards men with good futures and families like the Maxwells.  That’s why she can’t keep a man in her life for more than casual sex.  She needs to lower her all mighty standards and be more tolerant of a man’s imperfections.”

            “A little more tolerant of a man’s imperfections?”, Aubrey replied with a sarcastic smile.  “Are you referring to the imperfections of a sexist asshole who called her a cheap whore in public because she had enough self-respect to call him out for what he was?  He didn’t want a relationship with your daughter, Ms. Gordon.  He just wanted a one night stand.”

            “If my daughter would get off her high horse and quit being an ungrateful, spoiled brat, she wouldn’t be hard pressed to find a suitable man instead of the barrel scraping deadbeats she finds herself with.”

             The attorney’s comments struck a nerve with Aubrey, but he pushed it away, noting she didn’t disagree with his last statement as it pertained to Gerald Maxwell.  Disgusted with the older woman’s attitude towards Jessica and her siblings, he stood up and walked over to where the woman was sitting.  “Ms. Gordon, are you always a bitch to your children or just when the mood strikes you?”              

            “Excuse me, young man.”,  Eleanor said in shock that this man would be so forward with her.  “You will apologize immediately!”

            Aubrey crossed his arms.  “No, no I won’t, because you have six children who have made something of themselves, no thanks to you.  You have a mental illness, and I’m sorry for that.  However, you don’t have the right to take your frustrations about your life out on them because you are jealous that they are content with their lives while you are not.  All five of your sons have found success and prestige in their careers.  On top of that, your only daughter, whom you’ve been so dismissive of...whom you described to me on the phone several weeks ago and then just now as an ungrateful, flighty, spoiled brat, is an intern at the most prestigious forensic laboratory in the country.  She works with the FBI and is also mentored by an internationally renowned forensic anthropologist.  Someday what she learns could put her on the road for that same distinction after Dr. Brennan retires.”

            “Superman, you talked to my mother on the phone?”

            Aubrey realized his big mouth had just revealed something he didn’t intend to share.  Turning around, he faced his girlfriend with a slightly embarrassed expression.  “Yes, she called me at work when you refused to go to Philly for that dinner, wanting me to _‘use my influence’_ with you to talk you into changing your mind.  However, I refused, because you have a mind of your own, which is one of the things I love most about you.”

            “You do?”, Jessica asked.

            “Yeah, I do.”

            “Well, isn’t that touching?”, Eleanor said.  “The son of a federal criminal is lecturing me on parenting.”

            A knot formed in Aubrey’s stomach, but he ignored it.  Turning back to the woman, he crossed his arms again.  “Yes Ma’am, Phillip Aubrey is my father.  He stole millions from people simply because he could, and I helped get him arrested when I was thirteen years old.  Now he’s in federal custody because I helped arrest him a second time.  He’s why I worked hard to become an FBI agent.  Just like my father’s actions don’t make me a criminal, your less than stellar example of mothering doesn’t make your children less than the great people they are.”

            Eleanor could not believe the audacity of the man standing in front of her.  No one talked to her that way...never.  She looked to her ex-husband, who continued to sit in his chair at the end of the table.  “Charlie, are you going to let this young man talk to me this way?”

            The older man looked at his ex-wife.  “You…make…your…bed…Ellie.  Lie…in…it.”

            “Well…I never…”, the older woman said, obviously irritated, but Aubrey continued.

            “As their mother, your children may have to show you a modicum of respect, but I sure as hell don’t.”,  Aubrey said.  “My mother always said to me that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.  Maybe you should keep that in mind while I go back and enjoy my pumpkin and cherry pie a la mode.  My vanilla ice cream is melting.”

            Eleanor looked around and saw no one jumping to her defense.  “I’m your mother.  I gave birth to you all.  I brought you up the best that I could.”

            “We know, Mom.”,  Stephan said.  “But Aubrey’s right.  The ice cream is melting on my pie, too, and I, along with everyone else here, would like to enjoy it without your left handed commentary, please.”

            “I would never be treated this way by your brother.”            

            “That’s because Michael still thinks he needs to cater to you and your demanding nature.”,  Jack said before taking a bite and continuing with a full mouth.  “The rest of us, on the other hand, don’t agree.”

            “Well, I know when I’m not wanted.”  Eleanor stood up and squared her shoulders before turning to her family.  “To think I could have spent the day with Michael.  He understands respecting his mother.”

            “You mean the way he tries to keep the peace while you turn him inside out?”,  Jack said.  “There’s a reason he’s divorced and the way he is today, Mom and it isn’t because of his ex-wife.”

             “Jackson Daniel Warren, watch your mouth.”, Eleanor rebuked.  When no one seemed to care, the woman stormed over to the coat rack where her purse and coat were hanging.  “Well I…tell the children I said goodbye, please.”

            “Of course, Mom.”,  Aaron said with a smile.

            “Happy Thanksgiving, Eleanor.”, Gail said with a sarcastic smile.  “Hope you find a bar with your name on it.”

            Eleanor’s cheeks were flushed with anger.  “I don’t appreciate your sarcasm, Gail.”

            “I know, Mom, but I do.  That’s why I married my best mechanic.”, Stephan said before kissing his wife on the cheek.

             Eleanor turned her fury towards Aubrey.  “Obviously your mother didn’t raise you with manners on respecting your elders.”

            “He...has..res...respir...respect...with...me...Ellie.  Raised...well…, Charles retorted.

            Jessica put her arm around her boyfriend.  “Rachael Aubrey made him the man he is, Mom.  I’m proud to love him.  Have a nice Thanksgiving.”

            When everyone went back to their dinner and their conversations like she wasn’t in the room, the older woman stormed out of the house in fury.  After the door slammed shut, Jessica’s brothers crowded around Aubrey. 

           Greg smacked him on the back and handed him a bottle of Yuengling.  “I like you, G-Man.  I think I can speak for everyone here when I say you are going to fit into this family just fine.”

            Jessica watched her boyfriend being surrounded by her brothers before Gail and Nadia smiled at her.  “Hang onto him, Jessie.  He’s good one.”, Nadia said.

            “He’s the best.”

            Gail took a drink from her beer.  “Tell me Jessie about this nickname of his…Superman?”

            Jessica giggled.  “Well, I was working at the lab when he stopped by…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week...Thanksgiving at the Mighty Hut II.


	32. The Thanksgiving Interloper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It looks like Aubrey and Jessica have another stop to make. Let's find out what happens as our favorite pair go to Booth and Brennan's house for round two of Thanksgiving...

             After hanging out with Jessica’s family for the afternoon, the couple left with delectable leftovers for Aubrey as well as tentative plans for spending Christmas and some other evenings together.  Instead of taking 495 into Virginia, they took MD 355 back into DC so the FBI agent could drop off his food and feed Skinner before heading to Booth and Brennan’s.

            “So...um...I guess I should tell you that Karen may still be there when we arrive at Booth and Dr. B’s.”, Aubrey stated as they crossed the border into Washington DC.  “She said she had nowhere to go, but Booth told her to arrive about 1:00.  We may be dodging a bullet by getting there later.”

            “Superman, she will be there.”, Jessica grumbled as she sipped a Coke she swiped from her family gathering.  “No way she’s leaving without a glimpse of her Aubrey.”

            “I am _not_ her Aubrey, Jess.”, the agent said in an exasperated tone before borrowing the red can from his girlfriend and taking a drink.  “I’m your Superman.”

            “I know that Aubrey, but you know I’m right about her.  Even if she’s dating Steve, she still has the hots for you.”, the redhead said confidently.

            “I prefer to be optimistic today.  This is a holy day after all.”, Aubrey said as they got closer to his neighborhood.  “Maybe God will be on our side.”

            “Okay…”, Jessica said with a smirk. _‘Dr. B is right...they don’t have to say you’re right because knowing it is enough.’_

* * *

             When they arrived at the Mighty Hut II at 4:00, they were happy to see all the cars in the driveway.  Then they saw another one.             

            “Shit...why is she still here?”, Aubrey muttered as he parked next to Hodgins’ modified car.

            “You know why…”,  Jessica giggled as she got out. 

            “I know, I know…”, the agent replied.

            “Don’t worry...I’ll protect you.”, the anthropologist said with a smirk.  “Besides, are you going to let a crazy profiler ruin your holy day?”

            After sharing a smile and a kiss, they walked up to the door and knocked.  When the door opened, they were greeted by Parker and then Booth.

            “Hey, it’s Aubrey and Jessica.”, Booth said while holding a beer.  “It’s about time you two got here.  Join us.  Wendell and Andie got here about fifteen minutes ago.”

            After Parker took their coats and Jessica thanked the teenager, Aubrey headed over to Brennan.  “Dr. B?”

            The anthropologist merely pointed to the center island, where there was plenty of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and other various items.  Next to the dinner choices were pumpkin, apple, and cherry pies. 

            “I did make more of those tofu artichoke squares you enjoyed last year, and I made a Tofurkey tetrazzini as well.”

            “Oh yeah…”, the agent said.  He moved two steps before being stopped by Brennan. 

            “Now don’t eat it all, Aubrey.  Booth wants leftovers for the weekend.”             

             Aubrey saw the food again and his heart sank.  “Awww….c’mon...it’s Thanksgiving.  After all, I do have a reputation to maintain...”

             Jessica rubbed her boyfriend’s arm.  “Aubrey, you got a lot of leftovers from my brother’s house.  Remember?”

             Aubrey looked at the dazzling display of food just a few feet away. “That’s true…those leftovers will probably get me through lunch and dinner tomorrow.”          

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            In the guest bathroom, Karen washed her hands before examining her makeup.  People’s reaction to her since she arrived around 1:00 had ranged from stiff politeness, courtesy of Drs. Edison, Saroyan, and Vaziri, to haughty indifference from Brennan, all the way to being obviously ignored by Daisy, Angela, Michelle, and a recently arrived Andie, unless social convention forced them to do otherwise. 

            Remembering her humiliation by Dr. Brennan at Aubrey’s birthday party, Karen had made an effort to be nice to the children in attendance.  Luckily, Drs. Saroyan and Vaziri’s two eldest sons were old enough to hang with Parker, who was playing video games with the head of the house.  The youngest one was watching a movie with Christine and Michael Vincent in what Booth called his “man cave”.

            The result:  She’d been bored for the last three hours.

            Once again, she second guessed her decision to not discuss spending Thanksgiving with Steve.  She’d hoped to snag an invite to Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan’s gathering with him as her date so she could show her boyfriend off to everyone.  However, when he announced last Friday that he was going home for the holiday, he didn’t extend an invitation for her to go with him, and she didn’t push for it.  Yes they had only been together for a month, but it still surprised her that he hadn’t offered, especially as much time as they’d spent in _very_ close contact.  He had only talked to her twice since he left, once when he arrived, and this morning when she called him.  He wasn’t very happy that she’d awakened him as Wisconsin was one hour behind DC, but she couldn’t wait to talk to him on the holiday.

            However, she didn’t cry about missing Steve and the holidays with him too much, because she knew she could count on Aubrey to get her an invitation to dinner here.  All it took was some fake ignorance that her boyfriend had left town early and a sob story.

            Of course, he would bring that twat Jessica here, too, who was after her boyfriend. 

            Karen held her temper in as she thought once again about the repeated calls Steve kept getting from an unknown number last week.  He might have been content to ignore it, but she wasn't.  She had to push him to trace the number, which he told her Friday night traced back to some unknown burner phone.

            But the profiler was certain it wasn’t just any burner phone.  Steve told her after dinner Saturday how he’d caught Jessica checking him out more than once that evening.  He also explained how during a couple of her visits to Aubrey at the Hoover she always stopped at his desk and flirted with him. 

            Karen wasn’t surprised.  She could tell from Day One that the intern couldn’t handle being in a monogamous relationship.             

            It was also obvious to Karen that the hang up and unknown number calls were also Jessica using a burner phone to call him without Aubrey knowing.  Obviously, the thrill of the chase that came from getting her former boyfriend back was wearing off for the intern, and she wanted a real man...a man like Steve. 

_‘Poor James...she’s going to hurt him again, isn’t she?  That skank is nothing but trouble.’_

            Well, that insipid college student was in for a big surprise if she thought things would be that easy, because she couldn’t have him.  Steve Bower was taken.  Jessica Warren may have sunk her claws into James Aubrey, but she wouldn’t let the little bitch burn her twice.  Soon, she’ll come out on top, the intern would be gone, and her spot in the group would be assured.     

            She was part of the Jeffersonian team, even if Jessica didn’t want to acknowledge it.  The intern could use every trick she knew to push Karen out.  In the end, though, she was the FBI profiler for the Jeffersonian cases and more important than a lowly graduate student ever could be.  It took some maneuvering to get an invite to Drs. Saroyan and Vaziri’s wedding back in August, but making her presence known at Founding Fathers and at the lab during the cases she worked did the trick. 

            If the late Dr. Sweets, who was basically an overgrown child, could make himself part of their tight knit group, then with little bit of effort and social acumen, anyone could. 

            Then once that happened, Aubrey would get sick of whatever Jessica had between her legs and come crawling to her, begging for another chance.  She had a lot to offer now because she’d recently purchased the Better Sex DVD set as well as finishing her copy of Sam Jones’ book _How to Give a Hand Job That Will Blow His Mind_.  She smiled happily.  Steve had definitely liked the one she’d given him in the 4th floor men’s room at the Hoover last week. 

            Of course, she’d have to let Aubrey know that he was too late.  He would be sorry, too because she had a real man now.

            _‘Where the hell was Aubrey?’,_  Karen wondered as she touched up her lipstick.  _‘He always brags about coming here for dinner.’_

            Once again, she debated on whether to leave, but decided to wait a little longer.  Satisfied that she looked good, she came out of the bathroom and was excited to see Aubrey was finally there.  Walking over to him quickly, she stood next to him as he was looking over the food on the counter.

            “You made it, finally.  I wondered if you’d forgotten about us.”, Karen said before laughing at her own joke.  She batted her eyelashes at him in an effort to flirt. “Happy Thanksgiving, Aubrey.”

            “Hi, Karen.”,  Aubrey said, his attention focused on the holiday offerings.  “Happy Thanksgiving.”

            Jessica saw Karen fawning all over her boyfriend, who was too preoccupied with all the food in front of him to notice the profiler’s blatant flirtations.  Unable to stop herself, she walked over to the two.  As she got closer, she heard the other woman’s end of the conversation.

            “It must have been lonely for you and your cat today, Aubrey.”, Karen said.  “Why didn’t come over sooner?”            

            “Because he was with me.”, Jessica said before she looped her arm into Aubrey’s free one.  Kissing him on the cheek, she turned and smiled at the glimmer of annoyance in the profiler’s eyes.  “Happy Thanksgiving, Karen.  Where’s Steve?”

            “With his family in Wisconsin.  He’s coming home tomorrow.”, Karen said to the unwelcome redhead presence in front of her.  “It’s too soon for us to spend the holidays together.”

            “I see.”, Jessica said.  “Perhaps by Christmas you’ll change your mind.  The holidays are best when you spend them with the one you love.”

            “Perhaps.”  The profiler began pouring herself another glass of wine, ignoring Jessica’s loaded comment.  “So, you guys certainly took your time getting here today.  Dinner was at 1:00.”

            The redhead turned and saw her boyfriend filling two plates with glee.  Returning her attention to the other woman, she smiled pleasantly.  “We ate dinner with my father, three of my brothers, and their families in Bethesda earlier today, so they could get to know Aubrey better.”

            Karen hid her shock at that bit of news.  “Jessica, from what you told me about your brothers, they’re very overprotective.  Aubrey, you must have been nervous that she threw you into the gauntlet like that...”

            “Jess’s brothers are great guys, and we’ve got plans next weekend to have dinner with her brother Stephan and his wife Gail.  Got to watch old movies with Charlie, met some of her nieces and a nephew, and had an amazing meal.”  Aubrey dumped a huge spoonful of stuffing onto his plate, deciding the profiler didn’t need to know about Eleanor.

            “Charlie?”, Karen asked in confusion.

            “Jess’s father.”,  Aubrey said before scooping mashed potatoes onto his plate.  “He’s a great guy with an excellent taste in movies...a professor of neurosciences…tops in his field before he retired from George Mason University.”

            “You...you met her father...wow...back together for a month, and she’s already pushing the family on you.  Seems pretty rushed to me.” 

            Jessica knew what Karen was up to, but she chose not to make a scene.  “Well, Aubrey and I have known each other for over two years and we’ve been friends for a year and a half.  Meeting my family was way overdue, Karen.  In any case, he’s met my dad before today.”

            Karen let out a low whistle.  “Wow...you’ve already met her father?  That’s strange, isn’t it?  Isn’t he like all bedridden from a stroke?”

            “Yes, he had a stroke about eight years ago, but he’s not an invalid.”, Jessica replied with a forced smile.  “He’s partially paralyzed on his right side, and still has trouble speaking.   However, he has some mobility and all of his mental faculties.  He’s even a member of Mensa.”

            Aubrey made room on his plate before making his way down the buffet, deciding that Jessica put the profiler in her place.  “Yeah, I met Charlie several months ago when Jess took me with her to visit him at his nursing home.  Oh yeah...cherry pie!”

            Jessica wanted to be polite, but she couldn’t resist a dig.  “It’s been a great afternoon.  It was nice that Booth and Dr. B were very accommodating to everyone since most of us here had other plans as well.”

            Karen was annoyed as she realized that Booth had given her the invite knowing Aubrey wouldn’t be here until later.  Keeping her temper in check, she pretended to grin.  “That’s very nice.  My friends and I have been spending the day together celebrating this wonderful holiday.”

            “I’m sure everyone enjoyed having you here today”.  Jessica quickly glanced around the room and saw that no one else seemed to agree.  Keeping the glee to herself, she turned to her mentor.  “Dr. B, can I help you put away some of the food?”

            “I’m fine for now, Ms. Warren.  I’ll let Aubrey…”

            The ladies turned to see the hollow legged agent making himself comfortable in a chair near the television with a full plate of Thanksgiving food, a smaller plate with pumpkin and cherry pie, and a Yuengling.  Quickly situating himself, he took a bite of the cherry pie and groaned in ecstasy.

            “Awww, this pie is…awesome.”, the agent said before trying the pumpkin pie.  “Oh man, so going for seconds…and thirds.  So good.  Can’t wait to try the apple pie and the ambrosia next.”

            Booth turned and pointed to his friend while holding his beer.  “Don’t eat all my apple pie, Aubrey.  I know where you live.”

            “…get what he wants.”,  Brennan finished.

            The women laughed before joining Angela, Daisy, Cam, Michelle, and Andie at the center island with Karen following behind.  Leaning her elbow against the counter, the artist smiled. 

            “Dish, Jessica.  How did Aubrey do at dinner with your family?”

            Jessica took a sip and chose her words carefully with Karen’s prying ears nearby.  “Very well…and he didn’t eat all the food.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            For ten minutes, Karen sat with the ladies and listened in on their conversation, trying not to be bored.  She hated football, but maybe she could talk with Aubrey during the game since Jessica was ignoring him. 

_‘How shameful….she ambushed him with her family and then she ditches him for a hen gathering.’_

            Going towards the living room, Karen saw Christine eying Aubrey as she, Michael Vincent, and Jordan Vaziri came into the main room.  Before she lost her chance, the profiler sat in the chair next to the agent. 

            Keeping his cool, Aubrey glanced at the young girl, who looked crestfallen.  Quickly giving Karen a dirty look, the agent put a smile on his face.  “How about grabbing that pillow from your dad?  Then you can come sit in front of me, Christine.”

            Booth held out the pillow for his daughter, who smiled happily.  “Thank you, Daddy.”

            “You’re welcome, Monkey.”

            The young child walked up and put the pillow down in front of Aubrey between his legs as the other two kids situated themselves on the floor in front of the couch.  When she was satisfied that it was fluffed just the way she wanted, she sat down on it.

            “Can you see the TV all right, Christine?”, Aubrey asked.

            “Yes.  Thank you, Uncle Aubrey.”, Christine said before putting her focus on the game.            

            Karen leaned in towards the agent next to her.  “So, Aubrey…sounds like you’ve had an interesting holiday.”

            Aubrey shrugged at Karen before turning to watch the show again.  “Yep.”

            Leaning towards the television in feigned interest, she asked around.  “Now, who are we rooting for?”

            The guys looked at the profiler like she was crazy.  “Obviously Washington, Karen, since Daisy’s husband plays for them.”,  Wendell said before putting his attention back to the screen.

            “I don’t know much about football, Aubrey.  I may need your help explaining it.  It looks really complicated.”

            “You’ve got your phone with you, right?  Look it up on Google, Karen.”,  Booth said, annoyed at the woman who was talking loudly over the commentators.  “He doesn’t have time to explain it to you, especially with all that food on his plate to occupy him.”

            “You want me to use Wikipedia?  That could be wrong.  I understand things better when someone explains it to me verbally.”

            “Ask Bones, then.”, Booth said as he continued to watch the pre-game show.  “She researched football thoroughly before I took her to an Eagles game several years ago.”

            “Yes, Dr. Delfs.  I’m very familiar with the concepts and the history of the game.”, Brennan said from the kitchen.  “I’ll be glad to share my knowledge with you.”

            Karen gave a wan smile to the forensic anthropologist before turning back to Aubrey.  “It seems like Jessica would rather talk to the ladies.  Not a sports fan like I am, is she?”

            Clark, Wendell, and Arastoo snickered, along with Aubrey, getting the profiler’s attention.  “What’s so funny, you guys?”

            Arastoo calmed down as he explained the joke.  “Jessica likes sports, Karen…”

            “Big fan of MSU football and basketball...and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it.”,  Wendell said before pointing to himself and the other two.  “The four of us have watched games together at Founding Fathers.”

            “Remember that argument she got into with that guy during the MSU-Notre Dame game last year because she made fun of their quarterback’s multiple fumbles?”, Clark chimed in. 

            “Yeah.  He told her to shut up and _‘to go back to hosting tea parties or do needlepoint.’_ since girls _‘don’t know shit about football.’”,_ Arastoo added.  “I thought she was gonna kick his ass.”

            “Yeah, Jess told me about she shot back with how she would host a tea party and do needlepoint when he went on a diet to lose the _‘wide load of sexist pig he carried with him.’_ ”,  Aubrey responded before taking a bite of potatoes. 

            “That guy’s friends laughed at him, but he shut up for the rest of the game.”, Wendell chuckled.

            “That’s not nice for her to ditch her boyfriend to hang out with a bunch of guys in a bar.”,  Karen said.  “Women shouldn’t do that.  It doesn’t look right and makes you look bad, Aubrey.”

            That comment got Aubrey’s attention.  “Um, why shouldn’t my girlfriend meet up with friends to watch a game?   Also, how does that make me look bad?”            

            Karen took a drink of her wine.  “You know....it gives people the wrong impression...that she’s looking for a hook up and stepping out on her man.”

            Aubrey didn’t like the implication that the profiler was making about his redhead.  “Sometimes I join Jess and the guys...sometimes I don’t.  Sometimes Andie and/or Cam join them.  My girlfriend is allowed to have friends outside of me, male or female.  Frankly, Karen, I don’t care what others think, and if the patrons of Founding Fathers are paying more attention to what my girlfriend is doing with her friends instead of watching the game, they should get a life, don’t you think?”

            Karen caught the warning in the agent’s eyes as well as the irritated expressions from the other men in the living room.  “Sure, Aubrey, of course.  Absolutely.  I only meant that--”

            “Dr. Delfs, my daddy says it rude to talk while others are watching television.”, Christine chimed in from the floor.

            All the guys barely held back their laughs at the child’s rebuke of the profiler.  Aubrey stuffed a large bite of pie in his mouth to keep himself in check.

            _‘Good girl, Christine.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***       

            In the kitchen, the ladies either drank or held their mouth shut to keep from laughing themselves silly.  It stopped when Karen responded by sitting closer to Aubrey, who moved over in his chair to get away from her.

            Brennan turned to Jessica, who was beginning to look annoyed.  “Ms. Warren, are you concerned about Dr. Delfs’ attentions towards Aubrey?”

            “Am I worried that he’ll hook up with her?  No way.”,  Jessica said confidently.  “I can trust Aubrey, and I know he has no interest in her.”

            “But she’s still getting on your nerves, isn’t she?”,  Cam said.  “She seems to lack certain... boundaries.”

            “You could say that.”,  Jessica said as she took another pull of her beer. 

            “Lacking boundaries is being polite, Cam.”,  Angela said before sipping her club soda.  “She’s salivating at the chance to jump on Aubrey’s lap when he finishes eating.  We all know she came over this afternoon because she wanted to see him.” 

             Daisy giggled as she watched Aubrey take another bite of pie.  “Of course, it may be awhile until he actually quits eating…”

            “Isn’t she dating that other agent?”, Michelle asked.  “I saw him at the Hoover for my Phase Two testing last week...what’s his name...oh, Bower.  He was checking me out and then when I grabbed a bottle of water from the break room, he said I had eyes like hot chocolate and I was a sweet young thing...yuck.”

            “He hit on you?”, Cam said in an irritated tone.  “I’m going to talk to Aubrey--”

            “Don’t worry, Mom.  Uncle Booth walked in and gave him the death stare.  I think Agent Bower crapped his pants because he walked away very quickly.  Then Uncle Booth said to let him know if _‘that dumbass’_ bothers me again.”, Michelle said with a smile.             

            “Ugh, Steve Bower is such a pig...the perv actually hit on me a few days after the Halloween Gala at the diner.”, Jessica said before sipping her beer.  “Karen was describing how much _‘fun’_ they’d had after the Gala while he was trying to play footsie with me under the table.”

            “Does Aubrey know?”, Angela said in a low voice.

            “No, because he’ll get pissed, but I nailed Bower in the shin with the heel of my boot, so I’m sure he’s not stupid enough to try it again.”, Jessica said. “I’ve actually thought about telling Karen, but...”,

            Daisy took a drink of her beer.  “I wouldn’t.  She has to know his reputation, and look at how she is following Aubrey around like a puppy today.  She’s no better than Agent Bower.”

            Jessica looked at Aubrey ignoring Karen as he ate and watched the pregame show.  “She’s really pissing me off.  She’s got a boyfriend...why is she still stalking mine?  Is she that desperate for a man’s attention since Agent Bower is out of town?”

            Brennan tolerated the profiler’s presence because she had nowhere to go for the holiday.  However, she was not appreciative of the distress the woman was causing her intern.

           “Ms. Warren, within each society there is an alpha female.  This is also true in committed relationships.  Sometimes, though, there are interlopers who threaten the natural balance of the society and/or a committed relationship.”,  Brennan said.  “With Booth’s superior physicality and perfect bone structure frequently being admired by other women, I have found from personal experience that when this happens that it’s best to guard my territory.  I recommend that since your first message didn’t make the impact that it should have on Dr. Delfs, perhaps you need to send another message to the interloper.  I’m sure Aubrey would appreciate it as well.  Do you understand what I’m saying?” 

            Jessica heard her mentor’s words and realized what she had to do.  “Yes, of course, Dr. B.  Thank you.” 

            The ladies watched as the redhead finished her drink.  Walking over to the food, she made up another plate before getting two beers from the fridge and walking towards the guys. 

            “Girls, this is going to be good.”,  Andie said with a smirk.  “Go get that bitch, Jessica.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Wendell saw Jessica coming towards the living room and nudged Arastoo as he nodded toward Karen.  “Jessica is going to get her…”

            “I know...it’s going to be awesome.”, the forensic anthropologist said.  “Clark, hand me the bowl of popcorn.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Aubrey felt Karen scoot her chair closer to him, so he moved up for some space and as far to the right as he could without jostling Christine.      

            “Karen, do you want to switch seats?”,  Aubrey asked, tired of her closeness.

            “I’m fine, Aubrey.  I just want a good view of the game.”

            Booth looked over at Parker, who moved up from his spot on the couch.  “Aubrey, I can sit over there if you want to switch seats.”

            Looking at the teenager in relief, he smiled while moving to get up.  “That’s nice of you, Parker.  Thanks.”            

           “Actually, Parker, that won’t be necessary.”,  Jessica said as she got close to Aubrey.  “Superman, I brought you some more food and another beer.”

            Aubrey figured out what his girlfriend was doing and damn it if it wasn’t making him hot.  “Thank you, Jessica.”

            “You’re welcome.”, the redhead said before turning to the profiler.  “Karen, I didn’t know you liked football.”

            Surprised, she turned to Jessica.  “Oh, I do.  I don’t understand a lot of it, but I I know what touchdowns are.  I hope if I have questions, someone can explain it to me.”

            “Well, as Booth said, Dr. B can explain it to you in a way that won’t disrupt the game for everyone here.”, Jessica said pointedly as she looked around. 

            “Well, I’ll just watch and learn.”, Karen replied.  “I’m sure Aubrey can help me if I need it.”

_‘So the interloper didn’t get the first message.’_ Jessica thought as she made her next move.  “Hmmmm, no seats left….”

            Looking down, the redhead smiled at Christine.  “Is it okay if I sit with Uncle Aubrey, too?”

            The young girl looked up and nodded happily.  “Yes, Jessica.”

            Everyone except Karen chuckled as Aubrey put his plates on the end table before opening up his arms to his girlfriend.  After settling in, the agent quickly finished his plate before starting on the new one.

            “Now Aubrey, no touchy feely during the game.”,  Clark said with a smile.

            The agent looked to his friend and grinned back as the redhead stole a piece of turkey from his plate.  “Now Clark, don’t be jealous that I have a girlfriend.”

            The anthropologist laughed before throwing popcorn at the agent.  “Screw you, Aubrey.”

            “Hey…”,  Booth said while pointing to his daughter.  “Watch your language.”

            Karen was annoyed with the interruption.  “Jessica...I thought you were out in the kitchen enjoying some girl talk?”

            “I was”, the redhead said as she stole a bite of Aubrey’s cherry pie.  “But I missed my boyfriend...”

            “...and your boyfriend missed you, too.”, Aubrey replied as he kissed her cheek.

            From the kitchen, reactions to Jessica trumping Karen ranged from quiet laughter from Angela to a smile and nod from Cam.  Nearby, the guys were all snickering at the profiler’s indignation.  Brennan, however, made her contribution in her own way.

            “You know, Dr. Delfs, if it’s too hard to understand the game, we could use some help in the kitchen.  Angela should be resting in a comfortable chair instead of on a hard bar stool.  Yours would be perfect for her, so she can sit with her husband and put her feet up.”

            Seeing everyone look at her, Karen reluctantly got up.  “Actually, I think I’ll take off.  I have some cases to work on...including a profile I’m working on for Steve that I want to have ready for him when he get home tomorrow.”

            The attendees watched as Brennan retrieved the woman’s coat from the hall closet.  After she put it on, Karen stood for a moment before adjusting her purse.  “It’s pretty dark out now…”            

            “The motion sensor lights illuminate the driveway quite effectively, Dr. Delfs.”, Brennan said.  “However, if you prefer someone to walk you to your vehicle, I’m sure my husband would be glad to assist you to your car.”

            Booth, who was watching the game, heard his wife’s words and turned around with a stricken expression.  Seeing the stern look his wife gave him made his face change into a fake smile.  “Of course...Karen.”

            “No...no I’m okay.”, Karen said before grabbing her her uneaten Asparagus Tart from the center island.  “I’ll just take my food home since I’m sure everyone is full.  Good night.”

            The group created a cacophony of _‘Good night’_ as the profiler walked out the door.  When she was gone, Michael Vincent went up to his dad.  “I don’t like her, Dad.  She wasn’t nice to Jessica and she smells stinky.”

            Everyone lost their composure as they laughed.  With all the strength he could muster, Hodgins straightened his face and looked at his son.  “Her perfume was strong but you were polite, just like we always taught you to be, Michael Vincent.  When the baby is born you get to help us with teaching your new brother or sister that, too.”

            “Nice save, Hodgins.”, Wendell said before sipping his beer.

* * *

             Four hours later, all lights at Aubrey’s house were off except for the light above the stove,  a lamp in his master bedroom, and the en-suite bathroom.  On his bed, Skinner was sleeping next to two sets of clothing dropped on it haphazardly.

            In the bathroom, Aubrey and Jessica were relaxing in his jet tub with Bob Dylan’s _Positively 4th Street_ played softly from on her phone as it sat on the sink.  The agent held Jessica close as she leaned up against him.  Their eyes were closed as they enjoyed the quiet.

            “Today was a good day, Aubrey.”

            The lanky man began playing with Jessica’s pinned up hair as she leaned on his shoulder.  “It was a good day, Jess.  Even Karen was less annoying than usual.”

            Jessica snickered.  “Yeah, whatever...I don’t care if she’s dating Agent Bower, she still wants in your pants, Superman.”

            “Well, she’s not getting in them.”, Aubrey replied.  “It was pretty hot you marking me as your territory.”

            Jessica played dumb.  “How did I do that, Aubrey?”

            Aubrey’s hand gently caressed Jessica’s leg under the water.  “Oh, I don’t know...brought me food...sat on my lap…pissed off Karen...”

            “You were hungry, Aubrey, and she wouldn’t let you eat.”, Jessica said with a smile.  “Also, are you suggesting I should have sat on Clark’s lap instead today?  He is single.”

            Aubrey’s response was to tickle Jessica under her knee. “Oh shit, stop.  Stop tickling me!  Fine...fine...I didn’t like her flirting with you, so Dr. B said I needed to send a message to the interloper to make sure she knew who you belonged to...and that’s what I did.”

            Aubrey pulled her closer in the water and kissed her temple softly.  “You know you have nothing to worry about with Karen, right Jessica?  I love you.”            

            “I know, Superman.  But...it was still fun.”, Jessica said.  “And you liked it, right?  Me being territorial about you?”

            “Not denying it, Jess.”, the agent replied before kissing her again on the head.  “And I liked your family a lot...your mother being the exception.”

            Jessica’s hand was on Aubrey’s knee.  “Yeah...I was kind of hoping you would never have to meet her.  She has a way of...sucking the air out of the room.”

            Aubrey continued to play with Jessica’s hair.  “You could cut the tension between your parents with a knife.”

            “Yeah.  It’s ironic that they had this great love years ago, and now it’s all shit.  I think a part of my father still loves the Eleanor Gordon he fell in love with, but they shouldn’t have ever been married.”

            Aubrey thought about something Charlie said the day he visited.  “I have a confession to make.”

            Jessica turned around.  “What’s that, Superman?”

            The agent debated, hoping she wouldn’t be mad.  “I...visited your dad after your mother demanded you come up to Philly.”

            Jessica looked confused.  “Why?  I’m not angry or anything, but I’m curious.”

            “I needed some advice and he gave it to me.  He’s a wise man, your father.  After we talked, we watched _Gilda_.”

            The redhead waited for further details.  When she didn’t get any, she narrowed her eyes.  “You’re not going to tell me what you two talked about, are you?”

            “Nope, but he did say something that I’m curious about.”

            Jessica settled back with her head into his neck.  “Curious, huh?  What do you want to know?”

            Aubrey wasn’t sure how to ask.  “Charlie said he didn’t realize his marriage was over until you got hurt.  What happened, Jessica?”

            Jessica closed her eyes and debated with herself.  “It’s...hard for me to….you know…”

            The agent realized he upset his girlfriend.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have brought it up--”

            “It’s okay, Superman.”, Jessica said.  “I’ll tell you about it someday...but I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

            The room was silent for a few minutes before Aubrey spoke his mind again.  “Jess, I’m sorry for being an ass with your mother.  It was not my place as a guest to speak out like that.  I’m sure it was embarrassing to your family.  I don’t know what came over me...”

            Jessica turned to Aubrey.  “Embarrassing?  Once again, you stood up to a bully for me and also for my brothers.  Superman, my brothers like you even more now, as well as my sisters and my dad.  You weren’t an ass...you were being the good person I know you are.”

            Aubrey’s hand caressed her back.  “Sure that you’re not angry at me for back talking your mother?  You held your own, like your brothers, but she was really pissing me off.  Nobody is gonna talk like that to the woman I love and get away with it...”

            “No…I’m not angry at you...not at all”.  Jessica gently caressed his face. “I should be thanking you.  You are the best person I know, James Aubrey.  You stand up for people every day as an FBI agent.  You stand up for your friends...my family...and for me.  Nobody has really done that before, save for my brothers and father.  When you do that, it makes me love you more.”            

            “Really?”, Aubrey asked, still a little unsure.

            “Really.”, Jessica said.  Kissing his cheek, she turned back and leaned against him in the water.  “I’m just glad today was good.  My brothers like you...you defended my family’s honor...you got to eat lots of food…”

            Aubrey began laughing as she continued.  “...I repelled an interloper...all in all, a good day.”

            “Yes, and we will have an excellent Thanksgiving weekend in my house.”, Aubrey replied.

            “So Genny was okay with covering tomorrow?”, the redhead asked.

            “Yeah.  I told her to take December 26th off as a thank you.  I’m glad Hodgins closed the lab for the holiday.”

            “Dr. Saroyan usually does it every year.  If a case comes in, only essential volunteer personnel come in as well as obviously Hodgins, Angela, Dr. B, and the FBI pathologist who is covering for Dr. Saroyan.  God, that woman such an uptight bitch.”

            Aubrey chuckled.  “Dr. Boyd isn’t that bad…”

            Jessica turned around.  “Superman, you couldn’t pull a needle out of her butt with a tractor.  I think the FBI just wanted her out of their hair for a while.”

            “Well, Cam is coming back in March and things will be status quo again.”.  Aubrey grinned as he rubbed Jessica’s shoulder.  “Now, an important question.  Are you really getting up at like 5:00 tomorrow for Black Friday?  Those people are nuts.”

            “Yes.  There are some great bargains this year.  One of those bargains may or may not be for you.”

            “Don’t spend a lot on me, Jessica.”, Aubrey said.  “I know you have money saved up in your trust fund, but you’re still a grad student.”

            Jessica pecked her boyfriend on the lips.  “Don’t worry about me, Superman.  Besides, I should say the same to you, too.”

            Aubrey rolled his eyes.  “Fine.  So what are our plans for this weekend?”

            Jessica smiled.  “Quality time together with and without Skinner.”

            “Do I get a hint?”, Aubrey asked.

            The redhead considered for a moment.  “We may...or may not be naked for at least some of it.”

            “I’m all for that.”, the agent said as his hand began to gently move up and down her thigh.  “With that said, Ms. Warren, I suggest we get a head start on our weekend.”

            “Oh, really...”, Jessica said with a smirk before turning around.  “I think I like that idea, Agent Aubrey.”

            The couple immediately began making out in the hot tub.  It wasn’t long before he pulled the redhead on his lap, where she moved her lips moved his neck and collarbone.  In the water, one of Jessica’s hand slowly caressed his skin along his happy trail down. Aubrey responded by pulling her closer and closing his mouth over her left breast.  He feasted further to his girlfriend’s moans of pleasure.  As he moved to taste her other one, his phone vibrated and the couple groaned at the interruption.             

            “That better be one majorly dead body.”, Aubrey said before shaking off his hand.  Looking at the caller ID, he groaned.  “Ugh...Karen.  Sorry Jess...I think she calling about a profile for one of Steve’s cases.  Give me just a minute.”

           “One, James Aubrey.”, Jessica said as she leaned back.  “I’ll be counting…”

            Picking up the phone, he answered and hit speaker.  “Karen, what’s up?”

_“I have that profile done for Steve if you want to go over it tonight.”_

            Aubrey rolled his eyes.  “Steve is supposed to be back tomorrow afternoon.  He can go over it then.”

            _“Actually, he just called.  The weather is bad and his flight was cancelled, so he’s going to fly home Sunday morning.  Is he going to be in trouble?”_

            _‘He probably wanted more time with his family.’_  Aubrey thought.  “It’s fine, Karen, as long as he has vacation time to cover it.  Just email it to him and Genny.”

           _“Are you sure?  It does involve bank robbery...that’s important.”_

           “I agree.  That is why I said to copy the email to Genny, because she’s in charge tomorrow.  Now, I have to go.  Talk to you later, Karen.  Good night.”  Aubrey hung up his phone.  “Now, where were we?”

           Jessica smiled before putting her arms around Aubrey’s neck.  “Right about here.”  She muttered before the two embraced in the bubbly water.


	33. The Past Rears Its Ugly Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for our favorite couple to go back to work after a long weekend. Will there be smooth sailing until Christmas? Read on to find out...

            Humming a happy little tune to himself early Monday morning, Aubrey walked across the parking garage to the elevator that would take him up to the fourth floor.  It was wet and chilly outside, being the last week of November, but he hardly noticed the weather.  He was determined that nothing was going to spoil his good mood today.

            As he waited for the elevator, he smiled to himself as he thought back over the long holiday weekend.  Spending the Thanksgiving holiday with Jessica’s family had been slightly stressful, but it seemed he’d managed to avoid making too much of a jackass out of himself...except perhaps when it came to dealing with Jessica’s mother. 

            He’d ruminated all weekend about what had happened at Thanksgiving dinner the previous Thursday.  As a boy, his parents had expected him to present himself as a well behaved child so he could make a good impression on his father’s clients when they met for dinner.   His father had insisted that children should be seen but not heard, and his son was expected to act accordingly.

            Under his mother’s persistent tutelage over the years, he’d learned how a gentleman was expected to act as a guest at someone’s home and at their table.  He knew he should keep controversial opinions to himself.  He shouldn’t interrupt, and he should always defer to his elders during a conversation.  If in doubt as to the appropriateness of a comment, he should say nothing at all.  He was expected to be polite, well mannered, and to do nothing that would call an inordinate amount of attention to himself.

            All of those expectations seemed to fly out the window as soon as Eleanor Gordon opened her mouth.  Apparently the woman had nothing good to say about anyone.  As far as Aubrey could tell, she hated the world, and the majority of her anger and hatred appeared to be focused on her own children.

            He got onto the elevator, watching the numbers light up as it took him upstairs to work.  As he watched for the number 4 to light up, he pondered further.

            After hearing what Jessica had to say about her mother’s illness, he’d thought he was emotionally prepared for dealing with the woman whom he hoped would one day be his mother-in-law.  Instead, he found himself appalled at the venom Eleanor directed toward the members of her family.  Their family dynamics were really none of his business, however, and since his own father was a convicted felon, he was in no position to sit in judgment over any of them.

            Getting off the elevator and making his way to the break room, he sighed, wondering if he should’ve kept his mouth shut at dinner, like his mother had raised him to do.  However, Eleanor’s tirade against her own daughter...the woman Aubrey loved...simply could not be tolerated.  Thoroughly provoked, he spoke his mind in response to the older woman’s vitriol.

_She basically encouraged her daughter to be a slut so she could marry for money.  Imagine thinking Jessica should go out with Gerald just because his old man is rich.  Who’d want their daughter to date a lowlife like that loser?_

            Jessica’s father and her brothers seemed pleased that he’d stuck up for his redheaded girlfriend, but he was still unsure about whether he’d done the right thing.  Jessica had insisted that she wasn’t upset with him, but instead she was pleased with his actions in her defense, and proud to be his girlfriend.  Her reassurances were a balm to the chagrin he felt over his outburst, and he finally began to believe that his girlfriend had approved of the way he’d put her mother on notice for her poor behavior.

            If nothing else, she had certainly made it a point to demonstrate her approval of him as many times as possible over the past weekend, including some pleasant time spent together in his jet tub Thursday evening.

            Deciding he was in the mood for a latte, he found his cup and pressed the correct buttons on the coffee dispenser.  Leaning against the counter in the breakroom,  Aubrey thought about Thanksgiving weekend.  He was pretty sure he was grinning like a fool as he remembered his girlfriend’s efforts to soothe his irritation. 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Friday morning, Aubrey woke up about 8:00.  Moving his arm over to pull his girlfriend close, he felt only cold sheets.  Opening his eyes, he saw a note on his nightstand, letting him know that she would be back by lunchtime and that she was stopping at the grocery store on the way home.  It was then he remembered that she’d gone out shopping for Black Friday, hoping to snag a few bargains. 

            When she returned about 11:30, he’d been curious about the things that she’d brought home.  However, she smacked his hand away and told him that he’d have to wait until later in the weekend to find out what was in the shopping bags.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            They spent the afternoon together painting the den and former man cave.  When they finished removing the last of the painter’s tape, Aubrey picked up his girlfriend and twirled her around.

            “My house is done!  My house is done!”

            Jessica laughed.  “Yes it is...and it’s only a week late.”

            They celebrated with a dinner made up of various Thanksgiving leftovers.  As she picked up the plates from the table, Jessica announced that they were going to play her version of penny ante strip poker.  The person losing the hand had to give up a piece of clothing.  The winner had to drink a shot of whiskey. 

            Aubrey wrinkled his nose as he looked at the bottle of Jameson on the counter while Jessica finished loading the dishwasher.  “No Old Fogelsong?”

            “Um...no…” Jessica turned around and bit her lip as she studied her nails.  “The liquor store was out.”

            The agent noticed she wasn’t looking him in the eye.  “I think maybe you’ve forgotten what I do for a living. Using my skills as a detective, I can tell that you’re lying, Jessica Warren...but I will forgive you just this once.  In the future, however, you’ll need to remember that one should never get between a man and his Old Fogelsong.”            

            “I’ll keep that in mind.”, Jessica laughed before taking his hand and leading him into the living room, where she invited him to sit on the floor next to her.  “Here...you deal first.”

            “Okay.”  He smiled as he looked over his cards and dropped some pennies into the space between them.  “It’s been a long time since I’ve played poker.”

            “I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly.  I’m going to see your bet and raise it…”, Jessica said, smirking as she saw her cards.  _‘Hmm...what to have Aubrey take off first…’_

            Aubrey saw his girlfriend’s leer and decided it was time to make his move.  “I call.”

            The redhead dropped her cards, which were two sixes and two tens with a King.  “Two pair, Superman.  How are you doing to beat that?”

            “Oh, I don’t know, Jess…”   He laughed happily before laying down his cards.  “How about three Kings?”

            “Son of a bitch.”, Jessica retorted.  “No way…”

            “Yep, my three kings beats your two pair, Jess...now take off that top.”  Aubrey took a swig of Jameson as he watched her slowly unbutton her blouse and shrug it off.  When he saw the black bra and how perfectly they supported her beautiful breasts, he whistled before running his fingers over the lacy cups.  “I already like this game a lot.”

            “I thought you might.”  Jessica smirked before playfully smacking his hand away.  “No more touching, Aubrey.  It’s my turn to deal.”

            “Awwww….”

            The anthropologist chuckled while shuffling the cards.  “I’m gonna give myself a better hand this time…” 

            “You do that, Jessica.  However, I’m going to get your panties off sooner or later.”, the agent said in a cocky tone.  “You know that, right?”

            “Not before I get yours off first, Special Agent Aubrey.”, she giggled.  Picking up her cards, she held the tip of her tongue between her lips as she studied them.  “Hmm…”  Adding some pennies to the pot, she winked at her opponent.  “Your play…”

            “What?”  Aubrey had been busy watching the rise and fall of his girlfriend’s breasts as they swelled above their delicate confines.  “Oh, yeah...my cards.  I’ll see your five cents, and raise you five more…”

            “Feeling brave, are we?”  Jessica shook her head.  “I think you’re bluffing.”  As they finished the hand, she showed him her cards.  “Two pair…”

            Aubrey cocked another grin.  “Ha.  I’ve got a straight.  Lose the bra…wait a second, though...” 

            Jessica saw her boyfriend pour his shot.  “You’re making me wait so you can have a shot?”

            “Yep...those are the rules.  Besides, a man gets thirsty while looking at a pretty girl.” 

            After pouring it into the shot glass, he slowly tipped back the liquor.  He grinned happily as she reached around to unhook the clasp before tossing it aside, admiring the rosy peaks that were just begging to be kissed.  “You know, we don’t have to play any more if you don’t want to, since you’re getting beat so bad…”            

            “I’m not giving up until I win some hands and get you down to your boxers.”, Jessica whined.  “I don’t wanna get skunked…”

            “We don’t have to play this game for me to get rid of my clothes, Jessica…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            By the time they’d played several hands, they were laying on the rug in front of a crackling fire, both of them naked and pleasantly buzzed.

            “I’m cold, Superman.”  Jessica pretended to shiver as she rubbed her arms.

            “That’s because I’m a much better poker player than you are, Darlin’.”  Aubrey chuckled as Jessica narrowed her eyes at him.  “I let you win those last few hands because I didn’t want you to be naked by yourself...although I was enjoying the view…”

            “You threw those last few hands?  Sure you did, Superman…”

            He gently caressed her curves.  “Want me to help you get warm?”

            Giggling as she pounced on him, Jessica straddled her boyfriend gleefully.  “Yep...you better get out some more wood…I’m gonna build a fire...”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            The next day, after their morning in bed was interrupted by Skinner nagging for food, they’d decided to have a clothing optional breakfast.  Aubrey got out a mixing bowl and measured out some flour before adding some eggs and buttermilk and mixing it into a thick batter. 

            “Booth must like me...he gave me his secret pancake recipe.”  He plugged in the electric griddle to preheat it.  “Now all we need is some syrup…” 

            He turned to his girlfriend, who was sitting up on the counter across from him, and laughed.  “What’s that?”

            She held up a can of whipped cream.  “I like this on my pancakes better.”  She opened the can and sprayed a dollop on her finger.  Giving her boyfriend a naughty grin, she slowly ran her tongue up and down her finger before slowly sucking the rest of the whipped cream off.  “Syrup is so sticky…”

            “Uhh...I see.”  Biting his lip, Aubrey inhaled sharply as he unplugged the griddle.  “I don’t suppose you have a can of that for me, do you?”

            “Here…”  She held out another can for him.  “I guess you know what to do with it…”

            “Oh, yeah.”  Shaking the can, he sprayed a trail of whipped cream from her neck to her navel and then carefully licked it off.  “You’re right...that’s a lot better than syrup…” 

            “We may have to eat those pancakes later, Superman…”, Jessica sighed as her lover embraced her.  “I’m not hungry for breakfast any more…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Most of Sunday morning had been spent folding their laundry, cleaning out Skinner’s litter box, and other domestic chores.  When they were finished, they sat on the sofa together and watched a _Lost in Space_ marathon with a plan to head over later that evening to Booth and Brennan’s for Sunday dinner.             

            Snuggling up against her boyfriend’s chest, Jessica batted her eyelashes at him.  “This has been a great weekend, hasn’t it?  Too bad we have to go back to work tomorrow…”

            “Yeah, I wish I had another day off, but I’m sure there’s a pile of shit on my desk waiting for me to take care of it.  I don’t want to take advantage of Shaw, either.”  He grinned as he pushed a lock of red hair behind her ear.  “Maybe we can take off a couple of extra days at Christmas.  I have some vacation time coming…”

            “That would be nice.”  She turned back to the television.  “Of course, I should probably use my Christmas break to work on my dissertation…”

            “I think you’re gonna need to take some time to spend with me, too, Jess.”  He pulled her close and kissed her gently.  “Listen...about what I said to your mom at Thanksgiving dinner...I’m really sorry about that, you know?  I was raised better than that, and I know I shouldn’t have let her get to me like that, but…”

            Jessica put a finger up to his lips to quiet him.  “Stop, okay?  I know you don’t normally treat people that way, but we both know my mother isn’t normal.  She takes delight in tearing people down...even her own children.  I guess it makes her feel like she  has control over something...control that she doesn’t otherwise have because of her bipolar disorder. I don’t really know.   But to hear you stand up to her like that to defend me...it makes me feel so…so cherished.  To know that you won’t let anyone put me down just fills me with so much love...so much pride...that a man like you would love me like that...it’s the most amazing thing.  My father and my brothers were quite impressed with that, and if my sisters in law weren’t already married, I think I’d have to keep an eye on them…”

            “Of course I love you.  You’re smart, and funny, and beautiful...you’re just so...I don’t know how to explain it.  You’re so wonderful…” 

            He kissed her again, thrilled as he felt her body respond to him.  “Jessica…”, he whispered.  “...let’s go upstairs…”

            “Why?  I think this sofa is just fine for what I have in mind.”  She pulled her lover over so he was on top of her.  “Show me how much you love me, James…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

             Which he had done with relish several times that afternoon.  It seemed he’d never get tired of Jessica’s soft moans, or of hearing her scream his name as she clung to him, digging her nails into his back in her ecstasy.  His girlfriend had repaid his efforts by initiating a quickie in the shower this morning before they rushed to get ready for work.  Today was unusual as she was working for Dr. B because Clark was out of town, and she was anxious to be on time.

            All in all, it had been a wonderful weekend.  Still, he was uncomfortable with the memory of Eleanor’s disdain for him as he stood up to her.  _I may not have the Maxwell money, but I’m not a pig, either.  I’m a good man, with a good job, no matter who my father is…_

            That had been Jessica’s point, too.  She loved him just the way he was. 

            He smiled to himself as he found a fresh box of doughnuts on the counter in the break room.  He checked it over carefully, halfway expecting Karen to announce that she’d brought them especially for him.  However, she and Bower were an item now, so it seemed the coast was clear.

            Munching on his delicious prize as his latte dripped to a finish, he mentally ran through his to-do list for the day.  He needed to pick up his dry cleaning, and he needed to do some Christmas shopping on his lunch hour.  He chuckled as he thought about the trip he was planning to the lingerie store near the diner to pick out an extra special gift for his extra special girlfriend. 

            On a more serious note, he needed to check over some case files before they went on to the DOJ, and he had a budget meeting this morning with Stark at 10:00. 

            Then there was the Vacchio case.  It was still as cold as a witch’s tit, and there had been very little progress made towards arresting a suspect.  It really bugged Aubrey that the case was at a dead end, especially since had been one of the first cases his division had undertaken after he’d been appointed SAC. 

            Last night at dinner, he and Booth had discussed their joint case over dessert.  The Homicide SAC was frustrated as well, and the two men had decided that perhaps a second look at each other’s paperwork might be a good thing, since even the gifted forensic scientists working the case had come up with very little new information that might be helpful in cracking it wide open.  Aubrey made a mental note to send the Major Crimes file over to Booth’s office that afternoon and his fellow SAC would do the same with Homicide’s information.

            “Oh, hey, Aubrey.”  Genny Shaw came into the break room and poured herself a cup of coffee before turning to her supervisor.  “Enjoy your long weekend?”

            “Yeah, it was nice.  How did Friday go?  Anything I need to know?  Anything interesting happen while I was out?” 

            “Nothing out of the ordinary.  It seems that most of the bad guys in the area were still experiencing the after effects of their tryptophan overload.”

            “Well, that’s good news.”  Glancing at his associate, he frowned slightly.  Her normally cheerful demeanor was absent this morning.  “Seems like maybe you’re experiencing a bit of a turkey lull yourself.”

            “I’m fine, really.  Just a bit of a let down after the holiday.”  She stirred some sugar into her coffee before quietly turning to leave.  “See you later…”

            “Hey, Genny, wait a minute.”  Sprinkling some cinnamon on top of his latte’, Aubrey hurried to join her.  “Wasn’t Hunter invited for Thanksgiving dinner at your mother’s house?  How did that go?  I bet he and Danny hit it off, right?  I mean, Hunter’s a good guy…”             

            “He’s a great guy.”  Sighing as she took a sip of her coffee, she avoided looking at Aubrey while they walked down the hall together.  Shrugging a shoulder, she bit her lip. “I just don’t know if things are going to work out between us.”

            “Look, you know I try not to meddle in my coworkers’ affairs, Genny…”, Aubrey began.

            Rolling her eyes at him, Genny tried to smile.  “Really? That’s news to me. When did that start?”  She turned toward her office.  “I’ve got paperwork to look over, Boss…”

            Undeterred, the SAC followed her to her office, standing in the doorway as she sat down at her desk.   “So dinner was a flop?”

            “Yeah.”  Sighing, Genny sat back in her chair and stared at the ceiling.  “My mom really likes Hunter, and not just because she thinks I need to get married.  I mean, she can see what a good guy he is, but Danny...well, let’s just say Danny has his doubts...big doubts...about Hunter.  My kid refused to even sit down at the table for Thanksgiving dinner because Hunter was there.  Instead, he pitched a fit, and I had to send him to his room to calm down. Hunter felt really awkward and he got up to leave, but I asked him to stay and eat, so he did, but we didn’t have a lot to say to each other for the rest of the day.  He left right after we had dessert. The whole thing was so embarrassing.”

            “Yeah, I imagine so.  Did Danny say what was bothering him?”  Aubrey came into Shaw’s office and sat down across from her.  “He’s not afraid of Hunter, is he?”

            “Actually, I think he may be afraid of him, in a way.  You know, Danny’s only eight years old, and for as long as he can remember it’s been him, my mom, and me.  We don’t have any other relatives.  Danny’s father was killed in a car accident when the little guy was still a baby.”

            Grimacing slightly, Genny ran her finger around the rim of her cup.  “I haven’t dated anybody seriously in a long time.  I really thought Hunter was gonna be the one, Aubrey, but Danny says he hates him.”  She puffed out a sad sigh.  “I don’t know what to do.  I love Hunter, but I love my son, too, and it feels like he should be my first priority.  Does that mean I have to give up dating altogether so I don’t upset him again?  How do I decide which side to take?”

            “That’s a tough one, Shaw.”  Quietly sipping his coffee as he thought over the thorny problem, Aubrey wondered if maybe he should’ve minded his own business after all.  “You know, I was an only child myself.  It was just me and my mom from the time I was thirteen, after my dad left.  That can be scary for a kid, wondering about what might happen to you if something happens to your mom.  I bet Danny’s just worried about what’s gonna happen if Hunter sticks around.  It’s like there’s a new guy in his territory, trying to steal his mom from him.”

            “I understand all that, but what should I do about it?  I know Hunter’s feelings were hurt, but he called me Sunday and we talked things over.  He says he loves me, and he doesn’t want to give up on us being together.  He wants to try to work things out between Danny and him, but I don’t even know how to begin to do that.  Danny’s smart, and he’s gonna think that Hunter is up to something.”            

            “Well, maybe just take it really slow.  Maybe the three of you can go get ice cream or go to the park together...low key things like that until Danny gets to know Hunter better.”  Aubrey scratched his chin as he thought through the problem.  “If all else fails, I guess I can talk to Danny if you want.  You know, man to man….only child to only child.  Maybe if he finds out things worked out for me he’ll feel better about you and Hunter being together.”

            “Yeah, maybe, but I don’t want to impose.  You’ve got your own life to live outside of work, Boss.  You shouldn’t have to worry about me, too.”  Genny sniffled a bit as she turned to her computer.  “We’ll figure it out…”

            “Genny...you’re my friend as well as my coworker.  If there’s something I can do to help you be happy, as your friend, it’s my responsibility to make it happen.” 

            Seeing her embarrassed grimace, Aubrey stood up to leave.  “After all, as the SAC, I have to be concerned about the morale of the agents in my division.  If I can make morale better, that’s what I’m gonna do.  Happy agents are better agents...at least that’s what Hacker always says…”  Aubrey’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.  “...although, just between you and me, he’d make everyone happier if he took a position somewhere else, like maybe Boise, Idaho...”

            Genny couldn’t help but giggle.  “Well, if it works out, and you have the time, you can talk to Danny.”  Nodding at her computer, she smiled.  “I really do have to look over some files here…”

            “Okay.”  Taking another sip of his coffee, Aubrey walked to the door.  “Talk to you later…”

            Leaving Genny’s office, and turning toward his office down the hall, Aubrey stopped short as he saw the familiar figure of a tall redhead standing in the way.  _Shit….what’s Karen doing here?_

            He changed direction and went towards the bullpen, hoping she hadn’t seen him, but he heard her shrill voice call after him, and he knew he’d been caught.  Sighing softly, he reluctantly turned to face her.  “Hey, Karen.”

            “I’m glad I caught up with you, Aubrey.”  Quickly walking over to him, Karen smiled as she pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose.  “I was just wondering if you know where Steve is.  He was supposed to get back from Wisconsin yesterday, but he never called me to let me know he’d made it home safely.  I know he’s supposed to be back at work today, but I haven’t seen him yet.  Since you’re his supervisor, I thought maybe you’d seen him.” 

            “Nope.  Of course, it’s not like everybody has to check in with me as soon as they arrive, and I was in Shaw’s office for a few minutes, so I may have missed him.”  Aubrey glanced around the bullpen, hoping to see the wayward agent.  “When he comes in, I’ll have him call you, okay?”            

            “Or maybe I could just wait here for him...if you don’t mind, that is.  I really missed seeing him over the holiday.  He must’ve been lonely since we were apart for so long…”  Karen twisted her hands a bit as she tried to smile.  “I talked to him twice at his parents’ house, but he was always so busy that he couldn’t really talk.  I told him I would be up waiting for his phone call when he got home last night…”

            Running his hand over his face, Aubrey sighed softly.  “Well, I’m sure I don’t know why he didn’t call you as soon as he got home, Karen.  Maybe his flight was delayed by weather and he got home later than he thought he would, or maybe his phone is broken.” 

            He grimaced slightly as another thought crossed his mind.  _Or maybe it’s because you were too busy trying to hump my leg at Booth’s house to answer your phone when he tried to call._

            “I guess so...you’re probably right.”  She nodded, evidently trying to convince herself that was true.

            “Anyway, I guess you can wait around here for Steve if you want.  I imagine he’ll be here soon.” 

            Karen smiled, mollified.  “Thank you, Aubrey.  You’re right...I’m sure my Steevie Weevie missed his Sugar Booger…”

            Aubrey didn’t have the stomach for their baby talk.  Glancing at his watch, he tapped his foot nervously and began bouncing on the balls of his feet.  “Listen, Karen, I’d love to chat some more, but I have to be in a meeting in a few minutes, and I’ve got to go by the men’s room first.  You know how it is when you drink a lot of coffee…”

            “A meeting?  Who will you be meeting with?  Do you need a profiler?”  Karen was suddenly very interested in the new topic.  “Maybe it’s something I need to sit in on.”

            “I don’t think so.  It’s just budget crap.  I’ve really got to go, so I’ll talk to you later.”  He turned to dash to the restroom, but called to Karen over his shoulder.  “I won’t forget to tell Steve to call you…”

            “Thank you.”  Slightly anxious, Karen shrugged as she slowly walked toward the elevator.  “I have an appointment, but I’ll be back later.  Tell him to call me right away…”

            “Okay…”  Hurriedly pushing the restroom door open, Aubrey dashed over to the first urinal and undid his fly.  Sighing in relief as he finished his business, he relaxed just a bit as he fastened his pants and moved to wash his hands.  Reaching for a paper towel, he was startled to hear someone whispering his name behind him.

            “Psst...Aubrey.”

            “What the Hell?”  Startled, Aubrey turned toward the voice, swearing profusely under his breath as he cracked his knuckles on the paper towel dispenser.  “Son of a bitch!  Steve? Is that you?  Why are you hanging out in the bathroom?  Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

            “Is she gone?”  Steve stepped out of a stall and looked over Aubrey’s shoulder.  “She isn’t waiting for you outside, is she?”            

            “She who?”  Seeing the panic on Bower’s face, the SAC suddenly understood.  “You mean Karen?  She was in the bullpen a few minutes ago, but I think she said something about having an appointment, so she may be gone by now.”

            “Oh, thank God…”  Steve sighed in relief.  “I thought she’d never leave…”

            Smirking a bit as he folded his arms across his chest, Aubrey raised his eyebrows at Steve.  “Are you really hiding from her?  In the bathroom?” 

            Steve’s only response was to stare at the floor.  Trying not to laugh out loud, Aubrey leaned against the sink.  “You are...you’re hiding from Karen.  Come on, Steve...you’re a highly trained FBI special agent.  You’ve faced down danger more than once, and you’re telling me that you’re actually afraid of Karen Delfs.  Come on...what happened to _‘Stevie Weevie_ and _Sugar Booger’_ , and you two being crazy about each other?”

            Steve suddenly became animated as he began a loud rant about Karen’s behavior.  “Crazy is the right word, alright.  You have no idea how crazy she is, Boss...I swear she’s been stalking me.  I mean, we’ve dated off and on since right before the Jeffersonian Halloween Gala, and we’ve had a lot of fun.  I mean, the sex was fucking amazing...she’s up for anything…last week before I left she surprised me with these red crotchless panties--”

            “Moving on…”, Aubrey said quickly, not wanting to lose his breakfast.

            “Yeah, but now I think she wants a lot more than just a good time, okay?  It’s like she wants to spend every minute with me...I mean, every single...fucking...minute…” 

Steve puffed out a frustrated sigh.  “It’s like I can’t even go to the bathroom by myself, you know?  And then once I’m in here, I’m afraid to leave.  It’s really aggravating.”

            “Yeah, I know.”  _Boy, do I know._ Trying to look sincere, Aubrey nodded in agreement.  “That’s rough, man.  Who knew you were such a chick magnet?  I guess you need to dial back the charm.”

            “That’s not even the worst of it.”  Glancing toward the door, Steve dropped the level of his voice to a low whisper.  “I gotta break up with her…”

            “Wow.”, Aubrey gasped.  “I did not see that coming.  Hey, I really don’t need to know about that, okay?  That’s too much information.”  Aubrey shuddered as he reached for the door.  “Time for me to get back to work.”

            “I gotta tell someone!”, Steve whined.  “Just listen for a minute, okay?  When I went home to see my parents for Thanksgiving, I ran into an old girlfriend from my high school days, and somehow we managed to pick up where we left off.”

_‘Oh...I have a bad feeling where this is going…’_  Aubrey thought with a slight grimace. “An old girlfriend, huh?”

            “Yeah.”  Steve pulled out his phone and showed Aubrey her picture.  “See? This is Mitzi. Cute, right?”             

            Aubrey managed to keep a straight face as he saw a selfie of Bower standing with the woman in question. _Cute?  Um...I guess...but not Steevie Weevie’s usual type…that’s for sure.  “_ Yeah...nice.”

             “Anyway, to make a long story short, she’s moving to DC in about six weeks.  We’re gonna get married as soon as she finds a job, which probably won’t take long, since she’s a nurse…”

            “Jesus, Steve.  You are so screwed.”  Disgusted with Steve’s philandering, Aubrey shook his head at the agent.  “If you think Karen is crazy now, just wait until she finds out that not only are you’re dumping her because you’ve had another girlfriend on the side, but you’re getting married to boot.  I don’t think you’ll be able to find anywhere to hide around here.  She’ll be stalking both of you.  Maybe you should transfer to the city where your fiancee lives instead.”

            “I thought about that, but they’re closing FBI offices in Wisconsin and transferring agents all over the state.  I’d be better off staying here, except for being stalked by that crazy woman…”  Steve cringed as his phone rang to the tune of Ginuwine’s _‘Pony’_

            “Oh, shit...it’s Karen again…what am I gonna tell her?  Should I break up with her over the phone?  That’s too crass, isn’t it?” 

            Sending the call to voicemail, Bower put his phone in his pocket as he pleaded with his supervisor.  “Can’t you help me figure out how to handle this, Aubrey?  You know her better than I do...and I’ve got to tell her sooner or later...maybe you can talk to her...”

            “I can’t help you with that, Steve.  I’m afraid you’re on your own with that one.  However, you can’t stay in the restroom all day, either.  You’ve got work to do.”  Aubrey glanced at his watch.  “I’ll expect you back at your desk in fifteen minutes.”

            “Come on, Aubrey.  Have a heart.  Don’t tell her where I am...please?  I’m begging you…”, Steve groaned.  “Can’t you send me out on a case or something?  I’m desperate…”

            “Fourteen minutes.  I’ll see you back at your desk soon.”  Laughing to himself, Aubrey stepped out of the restroom and headed back to his office.

**oooooooooo**

            Sauntering down the hall after his budget meeting with Deputy Director Stark, Aubrey passed through the bullpen before entering his office.  He nodded with satisfaction as he saw his name and new title on the door before he went in and sat behind his new desk. It still gave him a little thrill when he realized that this was _his_ office, and _he_ was the person in charge.  It was a bit daunting to be at the forefront of such an important division, but he’d been learning some valuable skills on the fly and was feeling more confident every day. 

            Of course, having Booth as his mentor had been a great help as well, and Aubrey was grateful that he’d chosen to stay in DC to take this promotion instead of going across the country to work with someone he didn’t know as well.  It was nice to have an experienced guy like Booth on his side as he learned what was expected of a Special Agent in Charge.            

            Getting up to look out his office window, Aubrey gazed across the distant skyline.  He had another reason to be thankful for staying in DC, and that reason made his heart sing.  He was so thankful that he and Jessica were finally on the same page, and he couldn’t wait to see where they’d go from there.

            “Excuse me, Agent Aubrey…”  A junior agent stood nervously in the doorway.  “This just came for you...special delivery.”

            “Okay, thanks, Juarez.  Just put it on my desk.”  After the woman left, Aubrey absentmindedly picked up the large envelope and opened the flap.  Looking inside, he found a folded piece of paper. 

            “Why would anybody go to so much trouble just to send me a note?”, he muttered to himself.  “Why not just send an email?”

            Curious, he sat at his desk and unfolded the paper, smoothing it out on his desk as he began to read.

_Agent Aubrey:_

_If you want more information about who murdered Louis Vacchio, pay a visit to your father.  He made the plans.  He knows who pulled the trigger.  Just ask him._

            Aubrey felt like his blood turned to ice water as he stared at the brief note.  He’d accepted that his father was a convicted felon, but it had never occurred to him that his father might be the sort of criminal who could arrange hits on federal employees from his jail cell.

            “Oh, my God.  I can’t believe it.”  Swearing softly as he looked through the trash can, he found the envelope and inspected it closely.  “No postmark or stamps, so this must’ve been delivered by a special courier of some sort.  I need to check the log sheet downstairs.” 

            He turned his attention back to the note.  “This looks like ordinary copy paper.  No watermark...typed, with no signature...why would anyone send me an anonymous tip like this by special courier?  That seems to be overkill.  Someone went to great lengths to keep this note from being traced back to them…”

            He sighed as he watched the agents working in the bullpen right outside his door.  Anyone of them was fully capable of investigating who’d sent that note to his office, and they could all be trusted to be discreet when it came to the connection between Aubrey and his father.  However, he knew there was only one person he could rely on completely.  He hesitated slightly, worried that he might be overreacting over a simple piece of paper, but finally he placed the call.

            “Booth?  I need to talk to you as soon as possible...like today...yeah, it’s real important.  Maybe after lunch, say about one? Yeah...okay, thanks.” 

            Aubrey ended the call and sat back in his chair, wondering how he’d be able to concentrate on work for the next few hours. After placing the folded note in the inner pocket of his jacket, he opened the Vacchio file on his computer and began to go through it again, looking at it from a new perspective.             

            Was his father responsible for Louis Vacchio’s death?  Even though it was difficult to believe, the idea made sense, especially considering that Vacchio was investigating fraudulent securities trades.  Aubrey shook his head as he read through the file again. Of course it made sense.  His father was a scheming, lying bastard who’d sell his soul to make a buck.  He wouldn’t bat an eye at having someone killed if it served his purposes.

            Slumping back into his chair, he chewed his lip as he tried to process this new revelation. How was he going to be able to face his girlfriend if his father was involved in a conspiracy to commit murder?  She’d always said that she knew he wasn’t his father, but this...this would probably be a deal breaker.  Maybe Eleanor was right.  Maybe Jessica needed to find herself a man who wasn’t the son of a convicted felon.  She deserved someone from a good family, not the son of a cold blooded monster.

            He couldn’t put her, or her family, through the shameful ordeal of being connected to someone like himself...the son of a murderer.  If the allegations in the note were true, Aubrey knew he’d have to give Jessica up for her own good.  It would probably kill him to lose her again, but he could not expose her to that kind of pain.  He knew her well enough to know she’d put up a fight to stay with him, but he couldn’t let her ruin her chances at a good career or a happy life that way.

            Anger, fear, hatred, loss...all of those emotions crowded into Aubrey’s brain as he contemplated the future investigation of his father’s involvement into Vacchio’s murder and what it would mean in his own life. 

            “He couldn’t be satisfied with ruining my childhood.  He’s got to fuck up my future, too.”  Brushing away tears of frustration, he choked back a sob.  “God damn that man…”

            Suddenly the walls of his office felt like they were closing in on him.  He was lightheaded, needing some air...needing to get away.  Shutting down his computer, he picked up his jacket and quickly left his office, stopping by Bower’s desk on the way to the elevator.  “I’m taking an early lunch, since I need to run an errand.  If anyone needs me, give me a call.”

            Bower cleared his throat as he nodded over his shoulder.  “Um...you have a visitor, Boss…”

            Aubrey’s stomach did a flip as he saw his girlfriend’s expectant smile.  _Shit...just the person I did not want to see right now.  I can’t tell her what’s going on...I’m not even sure I know myself..._

            “Uh, hey...Jess.  I didn’t expect to see you here today.  I was just leaving…I’m in a hurry.”  Aubrey hurriedly brushed past her and started across the bullpen toward the elevator.

            “Wait a minute...don’t you even want to know why I’m here?”  Shocked and very annoyed by her boyfriend’s abruptness, she stood staring at him.  “I know you’re busy, Aubrey, but I need your help.  Some bastard deliberately slashed both back tires on my Jeep while it was parked in the Jeffersonian parking garage.  Triple A is going to tow it to the tire place for me so I can get them replaced, so I was wondering if maybe you could give me a ride over there, and then I can drive it back to work.  It’s close...it’ll only take a few minutes...”            

            “Nope...I can’t.”  He stopped and slowly turned to face her, nervously tapping his foot as he avoided eye contact, hoping she wouldn’t notice how upset he was.  “You really should’ve called first, Jessica.  I’ve got to be somewhere in about ten minutes...um...it’s an appointment.  You know...a meeting...with someone...it’s something I can’t get out of… it’s too late to call and say I can’t make it.  Sorry.” 

            He chewed his lip as he averted his gaze.  “Hey, I know...maybe Angela can take you over there.  Her hours at the Jeffersonian seem to be flexible…”  Trying to shrug off Jessica’s surprised expression, he quickly strode to the elevator and entered the car, ignoring her angry glare.  “I really need to get a move on.  I’ll talk to you later...maybe tonight?  Call me after dinner, okay?  Good luck with the Jeep.  I’ve gotta go.   Bye…” 

            The elevator doors closed in front of him, leaving a dumbfounded Jessica and a stunned Steve Bower to stare at each other in disbelief.

            “That was weird…”, Bower muttered softly.  Realizing that Jessica had heard him, he quickly turned back to his computer monitor.

            “You’re right, Steve.  It was very weird.  It’s not like Aubrey to behave that way, is it?”  Pondering the situation, Jessica took out her phone to call Angela.  “I mean, I probably should’ve called him first, but still...he just gave me the brush off, didn’t he?” 

            “Yeah, he did.  He must be crazy to ditch a cute little thing like you.”  Steve turned to wink broadly at the anthropologist, offering up a wolfish smile.  “Bet I could make you forget about that skinny little putz soon enough.  What you need is a real man...someone who could really make you squeal...someone like me...”

            “Drop it, Steve.  I’m definitely not that desperate.”, Jessica snarled, shuddering in disgust.  “You’re just lucky I didn’t tell Aubrey why I _‘accidentally’_ kicked your shin at the diner, or you’d be looking for a different job.”

            Steve merely shrugged her comment.  “There’s no reason to be hateful about that playful little nudge under the table, Honey.  I’m just trying to be friendly...I wanted to let you know that there are other options out there if you get tired of that beanpole.” 

            The agent’s flirtatious tone changed dramatically as he heard Karen’s shrill voice in the hallway by the elevator.  “No big deal…I didn’t mean anything weird, you know?  That was a mistake, okay?  Let’s keep that between you and me.”  He paused, pasting on an artificial smile as the profiler entered the bullpen.  “Hey, Sugar!”

            Rolling her eyes, Jessica crossed her arms across her chest.  “Whatever, Steve.”, she muttered loud enough for him to hear.  “Just keep your hands and your feet to yourself next time, okay?”             

            Nodding at Karen, the redhead scrolled through her list of contacts.  Still unsure about what had just happened to make her boyfriend act so strangely, she sighed softly as she called Angela to made arrangements to get a ride to pick up her Jeep.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Trying to calm his roiling emotions, Aubrey silently rode the elevator down to the parking garage, feeling nauseous as he remembered how happy he’d been when he’d come to work this morning. 

            Now he wondered if he’d ever be happy again.


	34. The Bump In The Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey has received some unsettling news, and now he has to decide how to handle the situation. Read on to find out how that works out.
> 
> Note: a bit of spice toward the end...just FYI.

            Angela slowly pulled her van into the driveway on the side of the Hoover.  Humming a Christmas carol, she tapped the steering wheel as she waited for Jessica.  Finally she caught sight of her friend coming out of the building’s side door.

            Honking the horn slightly, Angela waved to get the young woman’s attention.  Shrugging tentatively as she waited for a car to pass, Jessica quickly walked over to the van and opened the door.  After settling into her seat, she turned to the driver.

            “Thanks for picking me up, Angela.  Aubrey was busy…”  Biting her lip, Jessica turned toward the passenger window.  “We’re going to Howard’s at 15th and Delaware, just a couple of blocks up.  I’m glad I have Triple A.  All I had to do was call them, and they arranged for a tow to the shop.  The man I talked to said they could get it fixed easily, although I have to buy four new tires because it’s been 30,000 miles since I replaced them on my Jeep.  Someone slashed the back two, and they can’t be repaired.”

            “Wow, that’s terrible.”  Angela glanced at her friend, wondering if she was getting the whole story.  “Well, I don’t mind giving you a ride over there.  It’s not like it’s that far.”

            “Yeah.”  Jessica sighed audibly.  “I probably could’ve taken a cab.”

            Pursing her lips slightly as she pulled her van out of traffic, Angela glanced at Jessica.  “I suppose you stopped by the Hoover to see if Aubrey would take you over to the tire shop?”

            “Yes...”  Jessica rolled her eyes as she adjusted her seat belt.  “...but he said he was too busy to help me with my car.  He had something he had to do...” 

            Hearing the sarcasm in Jessica’s voice, Angela laughed softly.  “Well, maybe he had an appointment of some sort, Sweetie.  Special Agents in Charge have a lot on their plate, you know, with all the paperwork involved in the nuts and bolts of running the division, and then they have to work on cases, too.  Sometimes they’re not in a position to just drop everything to run an errand.” 

            “I get that, and I knew he might be busy.  That wasn’t the problem, really.  I mean, I guess I should’ve just called him first, but I wanted to see him...I wanted it to be kind of like a surprise for him...me showing up like that.  I figured he’d be glad to have his girlfriend drop by.”

            Jessica fidgeted with her hair, pushing a strand behind her ear.  “He was acting really weird, though.  It was like he didn’t really want to see me...like he couldn’t wait to get away from me. It almost felt like he was unhappy to see me.  It really kind of hurt my feelings.”  Raking her teeth over her trembling lip, she tried to hide her agitation.  “He wouldn’t even look at me, Angela.  Even that pig Steve Bower commented on how weird Aubrey was acting after he dashed out of the bullpen.”

            “I’m sure he didn’t intend to hurt your feelings, Jessica.”  Angela said.  “He probably just has something on his mind…”

            “We had such a good time together over Thanksgiving weekend...and this morning, too, but now he’s giving me the brush off for some reason.  I don’t know what’s going on with him…it’s crazy...”

            Angela reached over to pat Jessica’s hand.   “I think you may be overthinking this, Sweetie.  I’m sure there’s a logical explanation, okay?  Listen, you know Aubrey loves you, right?”  Seeing Jessica nod, the artist continued.  “There are a lot of reasons he could be preoccupied, but that doesn’t have anything to do with how he feels about you.”             

            They sat at a stoplight, waiting for the signal to change.  “When Hodgins is in the middle of hatching another batch of his dermestid beetles, he rarely has time to talk to me, except to say ‘goodbye’ in the morning and ‘hello’ in the evening, but I know he loves me.  In Aubrey’s situation, it’s probably something to do with a case, and it might be that he can’t tell you anything about it.  Sometimes they have strict protocols about that.” 

            “I guess you’re right.”  Jessica nodded slightly as she turned to her friend.  “I’ll call Aubrey later and see what’s going on.  It’s probably nothing…”  Unconvinced, Jessica checked her messages to see if he’d called, but there were none.  “I know he’s been working on several different things, and Director Stark has been pushing him and Booth to do something about closing the Vacchio case.  I guess I can give him the benefit of the doubt this time…”

            “Good.”  Angela smiled at the younger woman.  “Now tell me...do you really think someone deliberately slashed your back tires in the Jeffersonian’s parking garage?  Who would do that?”

            Jessica’s face twisted in disgust as she thought about the culprit.  “I think it was probably Gerald Maxwell.  He’s had it in for me for quite a while now, especially after what happened to him at the Gala.  He’d just love to cause me some grief.”

            Angela shook her head in surprise. “That would be pretty stupid, though, right?  Surely he knows that there are security cameras on all levels of the garage.  The museum doubled up on them after Hodgins and Brennan were kidnapped by the Gravedigger.  Why would he risk his internship?” 

            Jessica thought about last week’s confrontation in the locker room, but decided that she didn’t need to drag anyone else in her drama.  “In case you haven’t noticed, Angela, Gerald isn’t the brightest guy in the world.  Anyway, he probably thinks his dad can get him out of trouble even if he’s been caught on tape.” 

            “Well, Harold Maxwell may be a big wig, but he won’t be able to fix it if his son is caught committing a crime against a fellow intern, okay?  Anything that happens at the Jeffersonian is federal.  If he tried interfering with his son’s case...if there is one, that is...Caroline would just flick him away like a bug.”

            Pulling out her phone, Jessica looked at the pictures she’d taken of her tires.  “It looks like _‘whoever’_ did this damage used a box cutter of some sort.”

            “Maybe we should have the garage return at least one of the tires to you after they take them off of your car.  I’m sure Hodgins won’t be satisfied until he gets to look at one of them to see if he can figure out exactly what happened.”

            Jessica nodded as she checked her phone again, hoping to find a message from her boyfriend.  “Yeah...that’s a good idea.  Howard’s is up there on the right…”

**OoooooooooOoooooooooo**

            It was one o’clock on the dot when Aubrey knocked on Booth’s office door.  “Hey…”

            “Oh, hey, Aubrey.”  Booth waved for his friend to come in.  “I’ve only been back from lunch for a few minutes.  Just checking my email.”  He leaned back in his office chair.  “What’s up?”

            “I...um…”, Aubrey began nervously as he came into the office and sat down.  “I got this note, and I wanted you to look at it...I want to know what you think.”  He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his jacket pocket and laid it on Booth’s desk. Seeing the question in Booth’s expression, he nodded.  “Go ahead...read it.”            

            Frowning slightly, Booth quickly perused the note.  “Jesus…”, he muttered softly.  “Not good…”

            “Yeah.”  Aubrey rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he spoke.  “I mean, I always knew my old man was a cold, heartless bastard, but I never pegged him as someone who’d arrange a murder…”

            Folding up the note, Booth grimaced slightly.  “So what are you gonna do?  It seems like you might have to recuse yourself from the investigation of the Vacchio case if your father is involved.”

            “So you think maybe someone thinks I’m getting too close and they’re trying to get me to let it go?”  Aubrey drummed his fingers nervously on the desk.  “I guess I need to go see him and get this straightened out…”

            “Nope.”  Booth held up a finger to interrupt his friend’s angry retort.  “Listen, I know you wanna go charging in there, doing the interrogation so you can get at the truth, but that’ll just complicate matters, okay?  So here’s what we’re gonna do.” 

            Booth pulled up a map on his computer.  “You’re gonna turn the investigation of the Vacchio case completely over to my division on a temporary basis, just until we find out what’s going on with your dad.  The prison he’s in is about a three hour drive from here.  So tomorrow morning, I’ll go over to West Virginia and interview him.” 

            Aubrey sighed dejectedly.  “C’mon, Booth.  I don’t want to give up on the Vacchio case just because my dad might be involved…”

            “It’ll only be until we find out for sure that he’s involved.  Anyway, I’ll need to take someone with me in the morning.  What do you think?  Can Shaw go?  We’ll be back late, and she’ll need to find someone to pick up her kid, so that might not work.  What about Bower?”

            “No way.  I’m going with you in the morning.”  Aubrey sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.  “I can keep my cool when we see Phillip Aubrey…”

            “You’re gonna be able to keep your cool when we ask your dad whether or not he arranged to have Louis Vacchio killed?  I don’t think so…”  Booth was grim as he stared at his friend.  “You know that going with me is a bad idea, right? If you’re involved in this investigation, and we figure your dad is involved...if his defense attorneys ever found out what’s going on, our case against him will be totally fucked up…”

            “Do you really think I’d let that jackass Bower go with you to talk to my dad?” Aubrey was livid. “That guy can’t keep a secret to save his soul.  Pretty soon this shit about my dad be all over the office…”

            “And how do you think we’ll keep it from Stark if I let you go with me?  He’d have both our asses...we both might end up without a job.”  Booth sighed softly as he studied his friend’s anguished expression.  “Okay, listen...let’s do it this way.  You’re gonna tell Shaw that she’s going with me in the morning, right?  Then, tomorrow morning, she’s gonna tell me that she can’t go, because some sort of problem came up with her kid, so I’m gonna have to get you to fill in for her on an emergency basis, okay?  Stark might just buy that…at least I hope he does.”  Turning toward his computer, Booth pinched his lips together.  “I swear, Aubrey, if you screw this up, there will be all sorts of Hell to pay...”            

            “No way I’d do that to you, Booth.  Thanks...I appreciate it, you know?”  Aubrey was visibly relieved as he leaned forward in his chair.  “So we’ll leave about 7:30 tomorrow morning, right?”

            “Yeah, I guess so.  I’ll call the pen and tell them we’ll be over there between 10:30 and 11 to see the guy.  We should be back tomorrow evening in time for dinner.”

            “Great.  Thanks again, Booth…”, Aubrey began.  “It’s great having a friend like you on my side…”

            “Enough of that shit, okay?”  He handed the folded note back to Aubrey.  “Better get the techs to dust that note for prints.”  Seeing Aubrey’s hesitation, Booth tried to reassure him.  “They won’t care what the note says, okay?  Just tell them to run the normal tests on it.  That’s what they get paid for.”

            “Right.”  Aubrey stood up to leave.  “I’ll meet you here at 7:30 tomorrow morning.  Maybe I’ll even bring some of your favorite doughnuts.”

            “Yeah, okay.  See you tomorrow.”  Booth watched Aubrey leave, hoping that he wouldn’t regret his decision to let the younger man go with him in the morning.

**OoooooooooOoooooooooo**

            “I’m glad you waited for me, Angela.”  Jessica exhaled slowly as she got back into the minivan.  “I can’t get my Jeep back until later this week or even Monday.  Since it’s an older model, they don’t keep that tire size in stock.  They’ll have to order the tires from Atlanta.” 

            “That sucks, Sweetie.”

            “Yeah, it does.”  Exasperated, Jessica tugged on her seatbelt and fastened it.  “Howard said once they get the tires, it’ll only take a couple of hours to put them on, but it may take some time to get them, especially since the weather is supposed to get bad over the next few days and with the holiday season starting soon.  That prick’s timing when he destroyed my tires couldn’t have been worse.”

            “No problem, Sweetie.  Do you want me to take you back to the Jeffersonian?”  Angela started the van and put it in gear.  “I don’t mind.”

            Jessica checked the time on her phone.  “It’s three, and I had planned to stay until four.  Actually, Angela, would you mind taking me home?  I’m gonna text Dr. B and tell her that I’ll be in early tomorrow to make up my time.  Clark’s gone to some sort of Viking seminar in Canada this week, so I was helping her by taking measurements in bone storage this morning.”

            “Of course I don’t mind.”  As she pulled the van out into traffic, Angela winked at her passenger.  “Maybe you’ll have some extra time to call your favorite FBI agent…”  Seeing Jessica’s blush, Angela giggled.  “Don’t worry...I won’t tell anybody you’re playing hooky.  Your secret’s safe with me…”

            “I just don’t see any reason to go back to work for 45 minutes, that’s all.”, Jessica stammered.  “Plus, I’d have to try to catch a cab, and…”

            “I get it.  I understand completely.”  Angela nodded as she checked her rearview mirror.  “It makes perfect sense to me.”

            After a short drive, the minivan pulled into a parking place in front of Cho’s Korean grocery store.  “Here we are.  Hey, do you want me to come pick you up in the morning?  I’m sure Hodgins won’t mind…”             

            “No, thanks.  I need to get to work earlier than normal tomorrow, so I’ll just take a cab or ride the Metro…”  Jessica fished her keys out of her purse.  “I appreciate the offer, though.  Oh, here...let me give you some gas money…”

            Angela chuckled as she shook her head.  “Don’t worry about it, Sweetie.  Maybe you can buy me lunch one day.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

            “Bye.”  Giggling to herself, Jessica quickly walked up the three flights of stairs to her apartment, looking forward to the phone call she’d be making that evening.

**OooooooooooOoooooooooo**

            After leaving Booth’s office, Aubrey dropped by Genny’s office to explain the plan for her supposed ‘trip’ the next day before going into his office to clear his desk.  There were reports to sign and files to examine, but he worked quickly through the stack of papers, and things were finally finished by 5:30.

            The bullpen was deserted as he waited for the elevator that would take him down to the parking garage.  Usually on an evening like this he’d be looking forward to spending some quality time with his girlfriend, but he figured tonight was going to be very different.  He wondered if she was still angry with him for pretending that he had to leave in a hurry.  He hadn’t heard from her all day, and he knew that getting the silent treatment from his normally chatty redhead was not a good thing.  He found himself wishing that she’d yell at him, just so things could get back to normal.

            Back to normal...he shook his head as he pulled his SUV out of the Hoover’s parking garage.  Would things with Jessica ever be normal again?  His beautiful anthropologist was an amazing woman, but would she be able to look past the fact that his father was a murderer?

            Too tired to think straight, Aubrey stopped by one of his favorite Chinese restaurants on the way home.  He dropped the takeout boxes off in the kitchen before quickly going upstairs to change into a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt.  He hurried back downstairs to fix a dish of food for Skinner before opening the moo goo gai pan and spooning some out on a plate, along with some fried rice, three egg rolls, a side of General Tso’s chicken, and a large helping of sweet and sour pork. 

            “There we go.  All set.” 

            He picked up his bottle of beer and carried it and his plate into the family room, where he plopped down on the sofa.  After taking a swig from his beer, he pointed the remote at his television, hoping to find some old movie to take his mind off his troubles. 

            “Jesus…really?”  It seemed the only movie available on cable that evening was _Star Trek V: The Final Frontier._ “Well, under the circumstances, that seems appropriate, doesn’t it, Skinner?” 

            Skinner meowed as he sniffed the bite of food Aubrey offered.  “The worst day of my life should end with the worst Star Trek movie ever made.” 

            As Aubrey took another bite of his rice, he heard his phone ring.  “Shit...of course it’s in the kitchen, right?” 

            He put his plate down and moved quickly to answer it, only to find that he’d missed a call.  After checking his messages, he looked up just in time to see his cat steal a piece of meat from his plate.  “Get outta there…”             

            Settling on the sofa again, he sighed. The call he’d missed had been from Jessica.  He was torn, trying to decide if he should call her back, when the phone rang again, startling him out of his indecision.  “Hello?”

            “Hey, Superman.  What’s going on?”  Jessica smiled as she imagined Aubrey scratching his belly while he took a sip of his beer.  “What’s for supper tonight?”

            “I went by Hop Ling’s and got the Happy Family sampler.  You know, so that I’ll have dinner tonight and then leftovers for lunch tomorrow.”  He cringed, mentally kicking himself as mentioned lunch.  He really didn’t want to lie to his girlfriend, but…

            “Hey, maybe I can come by and share some of it for my lunch.  We haven’t had Chinese in a long time.  I think it’s because someone I know would rather have spaghetti and meatballs.”

            “With good reason, right?  Of course, with Chinese food, supposedly a guy’s hungry again in few hours or so.  I might like that schedule better.”  Aubrey laughed quietly as he took another sip of his beer. 

            “That might be fun.”, Jessica said, laughing as she fixed a salad for her dinner.  “Although I’m not sure the FBI would be happy about you excusing yourself every three hours.” 

            As she sat down to the table, she switched her phone to her other ear.  “Anyway, I know it’s kind of late, but I wondered if you’d want to come over here to spend the night so that you can give me a ride to work in the morning.  My Jeep is in the shop.”

            Aubrey hesitated slightly as he thought over his options.  On any other night, he’d be racing over to Jessica’s apartment to make up for their earlier misunderstanding, but tonight...tonight he didn’t know if he deserved her love and attention.

            “You still there, Superman?” 

            He stared blindly at the television.  “Yeah...sorry.  I’m just got a lot on my mind right now.”  _Like if you’re gonna still want me when the truth comes out._

            He cringed inwardly, wondering if this would be the last night he’d spend with Jessica.  “I’ll be there in an hour, okay?  I need to do a couple of things here first.”

            “Okay.”  Jessica hesitated slightly before she continued.  “Don’t feel like you have to come over if you don’t want to…”

            “No, I want to.  See you soon.” 

            He quickly hung up the phone and sat back on the couch, turning the problem over in his mind for a few minutes, wondering if he was doing the right thing.  Was he going to go visit the woman he loved or was he just using her to relieve some stress after a bad day?

            “Maybe this is a bad idea.”, he mumbled to himself.  However, there was no way to back out of going now...not without making up another lame excuse.

            He finally got up and scraped his dirty plate into the sink and put the leftover food in the refrigerator.   Checking the time on the microwave, he shook his head.  “I need to get going.”

            He went upstairs to his bedroom and quickly pulled a sweatshirt on over his tee shirt before taking his ‘to go’ garment bag from the closet.  Checking to make sure he had a clean shirt to go with his suit and tie, he trotted down the stairs and out to his car, all the while trying to convince himself that he was doing the right thing. 

_Come on...what’s the big deal...she loves me.  She’s expecting me.  She’s gonna be glad to see me…_

            When he got to Mr. Cho’s grocery store, he quickly parked and then jogged up the three flights of stairs leading to her apartment.  He knocked on the door, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for her to answer.

            “Oh, there you are.”  Jessica wore a wide smile as she opened the door to him.  “I wondered what was taking you…”

            He threw his garment bag on the couch before interrupting her with a passionate kiss.  “I told you I had things to do...but I’m here now.  Isn’t that what you wanted?” 

            Still breathless from the kiss, she nodded.  “Yes...I was just surprised it took you so long to get here.”

            “Well, now that I am here, what I have in mind won’t take very long at all.  C’mere.”  He pulled her close, practically crushing her against his body.  “God...I want you so bad…”

            She pushed away from him and looked into his eyes, startled by the ferocity she saw there.  “Really?  Because it sure didn’t seem that way this afternoon when I came by the Hoover.  It seemed like you couldn’t wait to get away from me.”

            “What the fuck, Jess?  I mean, did you drag me over here tonight just to start a goddamn argument?  Because you could’ve done that over the phone.” 

            Jessica was confused at her boyfriend’s uncharacteristic bad attitude.  “I…no...I mean, of course not...”

            His eyes darkened with anger as he stroked her breasts.  “I thought you had something else in mind...like having my hard cock between your legs.” 

            He dragged his fingers over her most sensitive areas, pleased to find that she wasn’t wearing any panties under her sleep shirt.  “C’mon...you’re already so wet for me.  Let’s stop talking and get down to the business at hand.”  He nibbled her earlobe as she bucked her hips towards him.  “You know you want me…”

            “Yes...yes, I do.”  She pushed his sweatpants and boxers down over his bulging erection.  “I do want you…” 

            Wrapping her arms around his neck, she clung to him as he picked her up.  Wrapping her legs around his waist as he pushed her back against the wall, she thrust her hips against him as he quickly entered her.  She pulled him closer as he repeatedly pushed into her, mewling with pleasure as she felt the raw power of each raging thrust.  Finally, the wave of pleasure crested around her and she was carried away with the thrill. 

            “Oh my God…”, she panted.  “That was...amazing.” 

            She lay her head against his chest, expecting him to caress her gently as he usually did when they came down together.  Instead, he backed away from her as he pulled up his sweatpants, avoiding eye contact with her as he ran his hand through his dark hair. 

            “Listen, I’m really tired, Jess.  I know it’s kind of early, but do you mind if we get some sleep?  I’ve got a big day planned for tomorrow…” 

            Confused by the weird vibes she was getting from her boyfriend, Jessica nodded in agreement.  “Sure, if that’s what you want…”  She reached out to take his hand, but he pulled away from her.  “Is everything alright?  You seem really jumpy, Aubrey…”

            “I’m fine.  Like I said, I’ve been busy, and I have a lot on my mind, okay?  Don’t worry about it.”  He moved toward her bedroom.  “Are you coming?”            

            “Yeah.  Let me just lock up.  I’ll wake you up about six, okay?  So you can take me to the lab?” 

            “Yeah, that should work.  See you in the morning.”

            After checking the door and turning off the lights, Jessica walked quietly into her bedroom, somewhat surprised to find Aubrey was already snoring softly under the sheets.  Sighing to herself, she brushed her teeth and turned off the lamp on her side of the bed before joining him under the covers. 

            She stared at the darkened ceiling, wondering what was going on with James. He hadn’t said good night...and he hadn’t told her he loved her.  Something was up, and she didn’t like it one bit.

**OoooooooooOooooooooo**

            Panting heavily, Aubrey awoke with a start from a bad dream.  He glanced at his phone...2 AM.  Taking a few seconds to get his bearings, he remembered he was in Jessica’s bedroom, and he felt sick to his stomach as he remembered how he’d treated her just a few hours before.

            He rolled over, wanting to reach out and put his arms around her as she slept, but his guilt stopped him.  He was disgusted with himself for using his girlfriend as if she was a sex toy.  She deserved so much more than that from the man she was with…

            The man she was with...would that still be him tomorrow?  How much longer would she be willing to put up with his shit? 

            He rolled onto his back and crossed his arms over his chest tightly, staring at the ceiling.  The thought that she might leave him and find someone else was almost enough to kill him.  However, he’d closed himself off from her once again, so what choice had he left her?  She needed someone who could give himself fully, and it seemed he was not going to be able to do that for her. 

            He brushed away a tear as he realized the awful truth.  He’d become just like his father, using the people who loved him for his own selfish purposes.  Aubrey had sworn to himself that he’d never be that man, and yet, that was exactly what he’d done.  He was a goddamn no good bastard, just like his old man, and Jessica would be better off without him.

            He turned away from Jessica, and tried to go back to sleep.  It was going to be a busy day, and he needed to be on his toes if he was going to successfully deal with Philip Aubrey.  Closing his eyes, he silently wept as he tried to come to grips with how he’d fucked up his life.

**OoooooooooOooooooooo**

            The phone’s alarm sounded loudly from Jessica’s nightstand.  Groaning softly, she reached over to shut it off before turning toward her boyfriend, but he wasn’t lying next to her, and the sheets were cool to her touch.  She sat up in bed, trying to figure out where he was, when she heard sounds in her kitchen.

            Stepping into her slippers, she tied her flannel robe around her sleep shirt before checking on her boyfriend.  He wore his suit pants and a pale blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up as he stood at the stove, stirring something in a skillet.

            “Morning, Superman.”, she began, trying to sound cheerful.  “You’re up early.”            

            “Yeah.”  He grunted softly without looking at her.  “I didn’t sleep very well last night.”  Reaching for the plates on the counter, he spooned some scrambled eggs onto each of them.  “I was really restless for some reason.”  He bit his lip, knowing what that reason was, but not wanting to share it with his girlfriend yet.  “I think the Vacchio case is getting to me.”

            Jessica came into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him from behind.  “I know you’re frustrated, but I’m sure you and Booth will be able to clear it up soon.”  She lay her cheek against his back, listening as his heart hammered softly.  “You’re good at your job, James…”

            “Tell that to Director Stark.”  He pulled away from her and carried the plates over to the table.  “He’s been busting my balls to get that case closed, but I literally don’t have a clue about how to do that.”  Sitting down, he stabbed at the eggs angrily.  “It seems like every time I get close, I run into a brick wall.”

            Jessica poured two cups of coffee and sat down next to him.  “What does Booth say about it?”

            Thoroughly irritated, Aubrey glared at her.  “What the hell does that mean?  Are you saying I don’t know how to do my job?  I do not need to run to Booth every time something gets difficult on a case, okay, Jess?  I’m a good agent…”

            “Okay...sorry.”  Jessica rolled her eyes at his outburst.  “Someone’s got his pants in a wad this morning.”  She tilted her head as she watched him eat his breakfast.  “Seriously, James...what’s going on?  What’s bothering you?”

            “Nothing, okay?  Just leave me alone.”  He took a long drink from his coffee cup before shrugging off her questions.  “Look, I can give you a ride to the lab this morning if you want, but I’m gonna be tied up at work all day, probably until at least six or seven this evening, so you’ll need to get a ride home from someone else.”

            Jessica puffed out an exasperated sigh.  “Now you tell me...it would’ve been nice to know that little tidbit of information last night, okay?  That way I could’ve made arrangements with Angela to get a ride home…”  Seeing Aubrey’s angry scowl, she rose from the table and put her plate in the sink.  “Never mind.  Don’t worry about taking me to the lab.  I don’t want you to go to any more trouble for me.”  She pulled out her phone and made a call.

            “What the hell are you doing now?”, Aubrey demanded as she turned away from him.

            “Calling a cab.  Considering the shitty mood you’re wearing this morning, I don’t want to go anywhere with you.  I’ll get to work and back home on my own.  I don’t need your help.”

            “Well, that’s just great.  Of all the inconsiderate...I thought you wanted me to give you a ride to work this morning.  That’s why you asked me to come over last night, right?  So I could help you get to work?”  Aubrey raised his voice as he picked up his plate.  “So I went to all this trouble to come over here, and now you don’t need me?”

            “I thought you’d want to come over to see me, but obviously I was mistaken.  I’m sorry I wasted your time.”  Jessica stood with her arms crossed over her chest as she struggled to control her anger.  Inhaling deeply, she spoke carefully.  “I think you’d better leave...now.  I need to get ready for work.”

            Jessica’s chilly tone of voice was like a slap in the face to Aubrey, bringing him to his senses.  “Listen, Jess...I’m sorry.  I’ve just been under a lot of pressure lately…I didn’t mean it...”       

            “We both know that something else is going on, but for some reason you’ve chosen to hide things from me again instead of telling me the truth.  If you don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s bothering you, then I have nothing more to say to you.  You need to leave, Aubrey.”  Jessica held up her hand to interrupt his sputtering denial.  “Go...now.”

            “Jessica…”  He reached out to embrace her, but she pulled away from him.

            “Don’t.”  She turned to leave the tiny kitchen.  “I assume you can see yourself out…”

            “I’ll call you this evening…”  Aubrey picked up his jacket and got ready to leave.  “Okay?  As soon as I can after I get home, I’ll call you.”

            “Don’t bother...not unless you can tell me the truth.”  With that, Jessica marched into her bedroom and slammed the door.

            Feeling thoroughly defeated, Aubrey sighed as he left the small apartment and walked down the stairs to where his SUV was parked.  He climbed in and started the car, glancing up at the window of Jessica’s apartment, wondering what she was thinking.  He felt certain she’d never talk to him again.

            Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he cursed his damned insecurities.  Why couldn’t he tell Jessica everything?  Why did he insist on running away from the woman he loved?  What was wrong with him?

            And then it hit him like a ton of bricks.  It was all about self-preservation...about who was in control of things between them.  He wasn’t willing to give up having complete control over his life or his relationships.  That was it, wasn’t it?  He’d picked a fight with Jessica so she’d be angry enough to end things with him...so that he wouldn’t have to tell her about his father.

_Self-destructive...that’s what I am.  I didn’t trust her enough.  I was afraid she’d hurt me, so I hurt her first…_

            Groaning as he glanced at the dashboard clock, he fought to regain his composure as he pulled out of the grocery store’s parking lot.  A bad day was about to get much worse.

            He was going to a federal penitentiary to visit his father.

**OoooooooooOooooooooo**

            Jessica sat on her bed and sobbed, wondering what she had done to cause her boyfriend to shut her out of his life once again.  Sniffling as she wiped her eyes, she tried to calm down enough to get dressed for work.  She felt certain that Aubrey wouldn’t be calling her again anytime soon, but she would adapt, just like she always did. 

            She squared her shoulders as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.  She wasn’t going to be the one to give in this time.  Aubrey had been the one to shut her out, and he’d have to be the one to invite her back in.  She wasn’t going to beg him to come back to her.  She didn’t need him in her life.  She could handle things on her own without him.

_If he wants to come clean, I’ll listen, but until then...I’ll have to get by on my own..._

_...without my best friend..._


	35. Adventures in West Virginia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter and the next take place on the same day a la 12.11. Next chapter will have Jessica's actions while Aubrey is in West Virginia. This is a very long chapter, but it flows together so well that the decision was made not to split it.
> 
> So sit back, get comfortable, and enjoy the ride as Booth and Aubrey take a road trip to work on the case.

                The next morning was chilly and gray as the agents prepared to make the trip to the Federal Penitentiary in Hazelton, West Virginia.  Booth grumbled to himself as he pulled the SUV out of the Hoover’s parking garage.  A cold front had moved through, and yesterday’s pleasant weather had been replaced by a wintry mix which was rapidly making the streets of DC a slushy mess. 

                “Jesus…” He swore softly as he turned on the wipers.  “Goddamnit...it’s really coming down hard, isn’t it?  Looks like it’s sleeting…I hate driving in this shit.”

                Aubrey shrugged as he stared out the car’s passenger window.  “The weather forecast didn’t say anything about freezing stuff.  It was supposed to be rain only…”

                “Yeah, well, I guess someone forgot to tell the clouds.”  Booth pointed at the tiny grains of ice bouncing off the window.  “That’s definitely sleet.”  Sighing heavily, he checked his mirrors before cranking up the car’s heater.  “We’ll probably get over to West Virginia okay today, but it may be difficult getting home.  I guess we’ll have to play that by ear...but hopefully the traffic on the interstate will keep the snow from sticking, and we won’t have any problem with the roads this afternoon.” 

                “Maybe.”  Aubrey took a sip from his coffee mug.  “I guess we can wait until tomorrow to go to see my dad, if you want…”

                Shaking his head as he checked the oncoming traffic, Booth glanced at his passenger.  “Nah, we might as well go today and get it over with. We’ve got nothing else to go on with the Vacchio case, and Stark is becoming a pain in the ass about it, right?   Anyway, I know you don’t want to put this off any longer if you don’t have to, and there’s no guarantee the weather will be any better tomorrow.”

                “Yeah, that’s true.”  Aubrey sighed as he turned to his friend.  “Hey, I really appreciate this...you going with me and all.  I really don’t want this shit about my dad spread all over the Hoover, you know, and I know I can trust you to be discreet.  Besides...I wanna keep my cool when we talk to him, and you being there in the room will help me with that.”

                “Don’t worry about it, okay?  Part of the job, right?  Hey, hand me one of those doughnuts…”  As he reached into the box that Aubrey offered, Booth was surprised to find there was still a dozen available to choose from.  “Um...you feeling okay today, Aubrey?  I mean, I can understand if you’re a little nervous, but…”

                Scoffing as he took a doughnut for himself, Aubrey was quick to offer an explanation.  “I’m fine.  I was just being polite, you know...respecting my elders and all…letting you have the first choice from the box.”

                “Hey, I ain’t that much your elder, Buddy boy…” 

                “What...twelve years?  I’d say you’re getting up there, Booth…a little long in the tooth...”

                “I’m not old...I’m experienced, okay?”  Booth grinned slightly as Aubrey laughed nervously.  “Just wait...someday you’ll be my age, and you’ll be mentoring some kid who thinks you’re old…”

                “Whatever…”

***/*/*/***

                Thirty minutes had passed, and Booth had been studying his friend furtively as they drove along Highway I 270 N in silence.  The normally chatty Aubrey had barely spoken two sentences since they’d left DC’s city limits, and he’d only eaten three doughnuts.  Booth’s gut was beginning to nag at him.  Something was very wrong…                 

                Turning the windshield wipers up to high, Booth glared as he looked up at the sky.  “Damn sleet and snow…”  He adjusted the defroster as he tried to clear a spot on the windshield with the back of his hand.  “It’s getting slippery, too.” 

                “Do you want to turn around and go home?”, Aubrey asked, hoping he didn’t sound anxious.  He really wanted to get this day over with as soon as possible, but he didn’t want to whine.

                “Nah.  We’re almost halfway through Maryland, and it’d take us a couple of hours to get back to DC, so we might as well keep trucking along this way.  If the weather gets too bad we can probably find a place to stop.”  Booth smiled slightly at Aubrey’s quiet sigh of relief.  “Yeah, I know you want to get this over with today.  Why don’t you call the warden over at Hazelton and tell him we might be late for our appointment to see your dad?”

                “Yeah, that’s a good idea.  Don’t want my dad out of his cell any more than he needs to be.” 

                As he waited for Aubrey to get off the phone, Booth made his decision.  Something was bugging his friend, and they needed to get things squared away before they talked to Phillip Aubrey, or neither one would be able to concentrate on the difficult task ahead of them.  Clearing his throat as Aubrey ended the call, Booth began his not so subtle interrogation.

                “So...this is gonna be awkward, isn’t it?  I mean, you made a big deal about never talking to your dad again after he was arrested, and now that’s exactly what you’re gonna do…”  Smirking at Aubrey, the older man shrugged as he focused on the highway in front of them.  “But that’s no skin off your ass, right?  The guy’s just another source of information, right?”

                “Of course that’s right.  I’m a professional law enforcement agent, in charge of my own division.  I know what I’m doing, and I can handle this situation.  Just another day at work…”  Aubrey exhaled softly through clenched teeth.  “I guess that’s not exactly the truth, Booth.  I _am_ a bit nervous about going to see my dad.  He’s so good at twisting a person’s words around to use against them…I mean, what if I get flustered and then he gets the upper hand?”    

                “Well, we’ll tag team him, and between the two of us, he won’t know what hit him.  If you want, I can be the good cop, and you can be the bad cop.” 

                Seeing Aubrey’s weak grin, Booth nodded to himself.  _I don’t think it’s his dad that’s making him upset…_  

                “I think it’s snowing harder now.  It’s definitely gonna be a problem to get back home this evening.”  He turned to wink at his friend.  “I hope Jessica won’t mind sleeping by herself tonight.  We may be stuck in West Virginia for a day or two…”

                “I’m pretty sure she’d be sleeping by herself no matter when I got home.”, Aubrey said softly.  As he suddenly realized Booth had heard him, he turned to stare out the passenger window, avoiding Booth’s stare.  “Things are...kind of rough between us right now…”

                “What did you do to fuck things up this time?”, Booth sputtered angrily.  Seeing his friend’s guilty expression, he shook his head.  “I thought you two were finally on the same page.”  Sighing audibly, he glanced at his passenger.  “Let me guess...you didn’t tell Jessica about this whole new deal with your dad, and she figured out you were holding out on her again…”

                “...and we had a big argument this morning because she thinks I don’t trust her, but I do…”, Aubrey began plaintively, choosing not to mention the events of the night before.  “I do trust her.  It’s just…”

               “No, you don’t.  You don’t trust her at all.”  Booth was thoroughly frustrated with his friend as he stared straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel with clenched fists.  “You were afraid that she’d find out your dad may be a murderer, and that she’d leave you.  You’re a fucking idiot, you know that?”                

                “What?  Now wait just a goddamn minute, Booth…”

                “No, you need to listen, okay?  You’re a moron.  Do you really think she’s gonna dump you because of your dad?  She already knows he’s a crook…”  Booth groaned with exasperation as they came up on a slowly moving sand truck.  “I mean, I’m sure she’s not gonna be surprised by anything your dad might be accused of…”

                Aubrey was shaking with anger as he turned to Booth.  “I don’t want to lose her, Booth...but what person in their right mind is gonna want to be with someone whose parent is a murderer?  I didn’t tell her, because the thought of being without her just makes me crazy…”

                “But if you don’t tell her the truth, you’re gonna lose her anyway.”  Booth grimaced slightly as he passed the truck ahead of him.  “And as for who’d want to be with someone whose parent is a murderer?  I’m one of those people.  I’d wanted to be with Bones for years before we finally got together, even though her dad is a career criminal...even though I know for sure that he murdered at least one man, and probably more.  I didn’t care one damn bit, because I loved Bones so much.  Whatever Max did, good or bad...whether Kirby deserved what he got or not...it didn’t matter.  It could never change how I felt about her.”

                “Yeah…”, Aubrey began.  “I can see that…”

                “Besides…don’t you have a minor in religious studies?  I guess you didn’t actually learn a whole helluva lot about the Bible, did you?”  Booth rolled his eyes as he pretended to be disgusted.  “Early in the Old Testament, children were punished for their parents’ mistakes, but in Ezekiel, there was a new word from the Lord...that children should be punished for their own mistakes, but not for those of their parents.”  Clearing his throat, he quoted the verses he was referencing.

_“Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself._

                Surprised to get a Bible lesson from Booth, Aubrey nodded as he watched snowflakes fly past the passenger window.  “Ezekiel 18:20.  Yeah, I remember.  I’m kinda surprised you know what it says in Ezekiel.  It’s not an Old Testament book that most people read…”

                Booth inhaled slowly to steady his nerves a bit.  “I know about that book of the Bible because of Aldo Clemens.”  

                “But he was--”

                “Aldo wasn’t always a drug addict, Aubrey.  He was a priest at one time, remember?” Forcing himself to be calm as he thought about his deceased friend, he continued quietly.   “Anyway, I’d gone to see him one night, all upset because I knew I wanted a life with Bones, but my dad...my dad was an ugly, violent drunk, and I was so afraid I’d turn out like him...but when Aldo read that passage out of Ezekiel to me, it was a huge comfort...which is weird, because it’s one of the strangest books in the Bible, you know?  That guy Ezekiel saw all sorts of weird shit in his visions...”

                “It is weird.  Ezekiel’s visions were just crazy....”  Aubrey paused, thinking over what Booth had said.                 

                Booth shrugged as he checked his mirrors.  “Jessica is pretty smart, Aubrey, even though for some reason she loves you.  She’s not going to punish you for something your dad did.  Listen, you don’t hate her because her mom is mentally ill, do you?”              

                Aubrey looked at Booth like he was crazy.  “Why the hell would I do that?  It’s not Jess’s fault that Eleanor is the way she is...and she doesn’t know I told you that, by the way, so keep it to yourself.”

                “Of course you don’t, Aubrey, because you know that she had nothing to do with that, and I haven't even told Bones about her mother because it’s not my place.  As for you and your father, Jessica knows you had nothing to do with the bastard and his criminal record.”

                Aubrey nodded as he considered what his friend had said.  “I guess you’re right.  When Jess and I had our big fight this morning, she was really angry at me...she told me to leave...practically kicked me out of her apartment, and now I don’t know where I stand with her.  I don’t know if she’s going to be willing to take me back, or if she’s breaking up with me again...and it’s killing me.  What if I’ve fucked everything up?  What am I going to do, Booth, if she won’t talk to me anymore?  What if she won’t forgive me?”

                “Here’s what you’re going to do, alright?” You’re going to see if you have any cell service, and then you’re going to call and apologize for being such a fuck up, and then you’re going to tell her the truth...everything...about your dad...and how he might’ve set up the murder of Vacchio… and about anything else you can think of that you haven’t told her, and then you’re going to beg her for another chance.”

                “You mean now?  While you’re sitting here listening to me?  No way…”  Aubrey shuddered at the thought of spilling his guts to his girlfriend as his friend eavesdropped.  “I can’t…”

                “Like I’ve never had to make a phone call like that myself, right?  Go ahead...maybe I can give you some pointers on how to convince her to forgive you…”

                “Oh...look at that...no bars...I guess we’ll just have to wait until we get to Hazelton.”  Chuckling slightly, Aubrey sighed with relief as he showed Booth his phone.  “Too bad...I guess you’ll have to be a voyeur some other time…”

                “We should be in Hazelton in about an hour if the roads don’t get too much worse.”  Booth smirked at his friend.  “Are you sure you don’t need some pointers on what to say to get back on Jessica’s good side?  We’ve got plenty of time for me to coach you on what to tell her”

                “Yeah, I’m sure…”.  Turning to look out the window, Aubrey muttered to himself.  “At least I hope I’m sure…”

**Oooooooooo**

                “Okay, listen…”, Booth began as they pulled up to the gate of the federal penitentiary.  “I’m going to be the lead on this interrogation.”  He handed his badge to the guard on duty before turning to Aubrey.  “You’re going to be the observer.  You have got to keep your cool.  If you feel like you’re going to lose your temper, get up from the table and walk around the room for a bit to blow off some steam.” 

                Nodding to the sentry, he took his badge back and entered the enclosure.  “However, I’m going to also need you to listen for any details I might miss, okay?  You know more about the whole securities thing more than I do, and I’m going to need your expertise.”

                “Yeah, okay.  I’ll be calm.”  Aubrey bit his lip nervously.  “God, Booth, my dad makes be so angry, but I’m a trained professional.  I can do this.”                

                “I know you can, buddy.”  Booth glanced at his friend as he parked the car in the snow covered lot.  He was hopeful that his suggestion for Aubrey to pay attention to the details of the case might be enough to keep the younger man from focusing on his anger.  Grabbing his phone, the agent sent a message before he got out of the car.

                Aubrey craned his neck to see what was going on.  “Who are you talking to?”

                “You sure are nosy…”  Booth was annoyed as he turned to Aubrey.  “I’m talking to my wife, Aubrey.  She sent me a text warning me about the shitty weather they’re expecting for this area, and I want to let her know that we arrived safely, okay?  Now, let’s go see the warden.”

                They walked into the one story building that contained the prison’s offices and stopped to introduce themselves to the receptionist.  After peering carefully at their badges, she called her boss.

                “Warden Brinton?  Special Agents Booth and Aubrey are here to see you, sir…yes, sir.”  She hung up the phone and smiled politely.  “He’s ready for you...second door on the left.”

                The two men walked down the hall to the door with the word WARDEN painted on it.  Booth knocked and the men entered when they heard a muffled, _‘Come in.’_

                Warden Bill Brinton was a short, roundish man, with a jovial smile and a booming voice.  “Welcome to Hazelton, gentlemen.”  He grinned as he shook hands with the agents.  “This is a red letter day for us, you know?  We don’t get too many visitors out in this neck of the woods.  That’s why they put the prison out here, because it’s so isolated.   I have to say, I’m surprised you made such good time as bad as the weather is.” 

                Aubrey grimaced slightly as he nodded toward Booth.  “He’s used to driving in snow, so getting here wasn’t that bad.”

                “Can I offer you something to eat?  A bottle of water or a cup of coffee?”

                “We’re fine, thanks.”, Booth replied politely, feeling put off by the warden’s jolly attitude.

                 “Not to be rude, Warden Brinton, but we’re anxious to get this interrogation over with, so we can get our case closed as soon as possible.  Is everything ready?”, Aubrey asked, wanting to get their visit over with as soon as possible..

                “Yes, it is.”  The warden read through a file folder before handing it to Booth.  “Phillip Aubrey has been a model prisoner since he’s been here.  He even volunteers to help some of our less educated prisoners learn to read.”  Brinton was very curious about the coincidence of one of the agents and the prisoner having the same last name, but the agents’ intense demeanor made him keep his questions to himself.  “Anyway, it looks like everything is in order here…”

                “Thanks.”  Pursing his lips, Aubrey shook his head at the thought of his father doing something altruistic.  _He must be recruiting them to do his dirty work._  “Hopefully, he’ll be cooperative.  I don’t anticipate that we’ll need to talk to him for more than an hour or so.”

                “The interview room is down the hall there.  I’ll call the guard and have him bring the prisoner over.  It’ll take just a few minutes.”  Smiling faintly, the warden nodded as he placed the call.  “All set.  Please check in with me before you leave...security protocols and all that…”

                “I understand.”  Booth glanced at his agitated friend, concerned about all the nervous energy he had pent up inside.  “C’mon, Aubrey.  Let’s get this over with.”

***/*/*/*/***

                Aubrey was fidgeting with a paperclip as he and Booth waited for his dad to show up in the interrogation room.  “I don’t know if I can do this, Booth...I feel like I’m going to puke…”

                “You’ll be fine.  Just pull the trash can over by your chair.”  Booth winked at Aubrey’s pointed glare.  “Look, part of being a Special Agent is learning how to handle these extremely emotional situations...you know that.  It could be anything...a child abduction, a grisly murder...any sort of terrible crime, and it’s going to take an emotional toll on you, but you can’t let that stress show in the interrogation room.  Just keep your cool, okay?  We’ll get this done and go home…”                

                He was interrupted by the prison guard knocking on the door before he escorted the prisoner in.  Waving his hand, Booth dismissed the guard.  “Just wait outside, please and we’ll let you know when we’re done.”   Shrugging, the guard silently turned and left the room as Phillip Aubrey sat down at the table.

                “Well, this is a surprise.”  Phillip ran a hand through his white hair as he continued in a snarky tone of voice.  “When they told me some feds were coming to interview me, I had no idea it’d be you two.  Did you come to see me for Christmas, James?  That’s awfully nice of you.  I mean, I suppose it’s too much to expect that you might come see your old man more often, especially since you know exactly where to find me now…”

                Sensing Aubrey’s increasing tension, Booth held up his hand to interrupt.  “Let’s just get down to business, okay?  We need to ask you some questions, Mr. Aubrey.  Your name has come up in the course of a murder investigation…”

                “Well, ain’t that something?  I may be a smooth operator, Agent Booth, but even I can’t murder someone while I’m in prison.”  The older man snickered as he watched his son drum his fingers nervously on the table.  “I think James is just giving you a load of shit because he’s looking for a reason to get back at me.”

                Ignoring the man’s jab at Aubrey, Booth removed a page from a folder.  “Do you recognize this man?”  Booth slid a picture of Louis Vacchio across the table.

                Phillip Aubrey’s expression was impassive as he glanced at the photograph.  “Louie?  Yeah, of course, I do.  He works for the SEC…he was after me before I left the country.” 

                He pushed the picture back toward Booth as a small wave of shock crossed his face.  “Was he the guy who was murdered?  Gee...that’s too damn bad.”  He tried to cover his surprise with a show of sarcasm.  “I guess things finally caught up with him.  He was probably fucking around with the wrong people…”

                Aubrey angrily slammed his hand on the table.  “Of course, an asshole like you would blame the victim for his own murder.”  He puffed out an exasperated sigh.  “We got a tip that it was you who ordered his murder.  We need to know who you sent to do the job.”

                Running his hand over his face, Booth turned toward his friend and gave a slight shake of his head.  “What Agent Aubrey means to say, Mr. Aubrey, is that we have some information which indicates that you might know who did the job.  We’re not saying that you had anything to do with it...we don’t have any indication that it was you personally who ordered the hit...”

                “I appreciate you guarding my reputation, Agent Booth, unlike my son.  It seems he’s forgotten the basics of his religious training, hasn’t he?  Isn’t one of the Ten Commandments _‘Honor Thy Father’_?”

                “There’s also one about not stealing, you piece of shit…”, Aubrey sputtered before he felt Booth’s hand clamp down on his arm.

                Chuckling softly, Phillip shook his head.   “Even if I know who’d put the hit out on poor old Louie, why should I tell you, Agent Booth?  What’s in it for me?  Surely you must know that I can’t turn over such valuable information for free.”                

                Pushing his chair away from the table, Aubrey began to pace the room.  “I don’t believe this...you have a chance to do the right thing for a change...to put a murderer away...and you want to know what’s in it for you?  What is wrong with you, Dad?”

                The older man shrugged nonchalantly.  “I never did like Louie, and I don’t really care that he’s dead.  We were always on the opposite side of the law anyway...you know, with him trying to figure out ways to make it look like I was cheating people as I took care of their money, and me trying to run a profitable business.  So if I’m gonna finger someone for his murder, I need to get something in return to make it worth my while.”

                Clearing his throat, Booth pointed to the chair next to him, and Aubrey reluctantly sat down.  “Let’s see here, Mr. Aubrey...”  The agent looked through some more pages in the folder.  “It looks like you already have a lot of privileges here at Hazelton.  I guess we try to get you moved to a minimum security prison, or maybe we can see about getting your parole hearing moved up.”

                “Is there any reward money?  If so, I want it put in an account for me, so I’ll have a little nest egg when I finally get out of this hell hole.  I’d also like a cell to myself...no roommate, and I’d like more computer time, and more access to a phone…”

                “We’ll see what we can do, depending on what information you give us.”  Booth closed the folder and directed a steely glare at the man sitting across the table from him.  “Or, instead, I can personally make sure your parole hearing gets delayed multiple times over the next ten years, and that you never get to use the phone or a computer while you’re waiting. I’ll make sure you get a cell with some badass gang member who wouldn’t give a damn about picking off a rich old guy like you.  Maybe you’ll get the privilege of playing _‘Drop the Soap’_ with some 6’4” hairy assed gorilla one night.  I might even recommend that you get moved to Leavenworth and put into solitary.  Of course, maybe you’d like a change of scenery.” 

                Seeing the anger on the older man’s face, the agent straightened his tie with a snarky grin before sitting back in his chair, crossed his arms, and smirked.  “So what do you think?  Can we come to an agreement?  You share what you know with me, and you get to maintain the rather pleasant status quo that you have right now…but it’s up to you. You’ve got about five seconds to decide…” 

                When Phillip remained silent, Booth and Aubrey both rose from the table and moved toward the door.  “Thanks for your time, Phil.”  He nodded to the guard.  “Might as well take this nasty bastard back to his cell.  C’mon, Aubrey...let’s go see if there’s a place to scrounge up some lunch in this godforsaken town…”

**Oooooooooo**

                Booth and Aubrey were waiting for their lunch in _Pammie’s Place and Hot Spot._ It was a typical small town restaurant, complete with red vinyl tablecloths and menus encased in grease splattered plastic.  They sipped their coffee as the waitress took their order.

                “I’ll have a burger and fries, and a piece of apple pie.”  Booth handed his menu back to the young woman.  “You can put us both on the same ticket.”

                Aubrey’s eyes lit up at Booth’s announcement.  “I’ll have the double stacked chili cheeseburger with extra pepper jack cheese and extra jalapenos, an extra large order of onion rings, and a large chocolate milkshake.  Oh, and a piece of pie for me, too...make mine cherry if you’ve got it, and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it, please.”

                “Coming right up.”  She gave them both a shy smile as she walked away.

                Aubrey glanced outside.  “Man, look at the size of those flakes, Booth.  Have you heard anything more from Dr. B?  Is it snowing in DC?”

                “I don’t know.  It looks like our reception is bad here...I don’t have any bars.”  He showed Aubrey his phone.  “What about you?  Have you texted Jessica yet?”

                “Yeah, but I haven’t gotten a response either.”  Grimacing slightly, Aubrey turned back to the window.  “I’d rather talk about the case anyway.”

                “Yeah.”  Booth stirred a packet of sugar into his coffee.  “Your dad has it real good in that prison, with it being medium security and all.  I’m surprised he didn’t cave in when I mentioned Leavenworth.”

                “He’s right, though...he never does anything for free.  I imagine if he’s tutoring guys on how to read, it’s because he’s quid pro quo with the warden for something.  He got extra privileges or extra computer time in return for helping those guys...something like that.”

                “You’re probably right.”  Booth was interrupted as the waitress arrived with their meals.  “I was really hoping to get this shit done in a hurry so we could get home at a decent hour, but it doesn’t look like it’s gonna work out that way…”

                Aubrey sighed heavily.  “I’m sorry, Booth.  I shouldn’t have dragged you into this mess…’

                “Will you stop with all the apologizing shit?  It’s my case, too, okay?  And sometimes with cases like these, things are uncomfortable.  At least we’re not stuck on the side of the road somewhere, right?”  Seeing Aubrey nod sheepishly, Booth poured some ketchup over his fries.  “Good.  Now, tell me...what are you getting Jessica for Christmas?”

**Oooooooooo**

                After pushing an inch or two of accumulated snow from the SUV’s window, Booth drove back to the prison to confer with the warden before he and Aubrey left for DC.

                “Let’s see if we can get the warden to lean on your dad a little bit.”  He knocked on the doorway of the warden’s office.  “Warden Brinton? 

                The warden looked from his computer and smiled pleasantly.  “Ah, Agents...please come in.  You boys left while I was on D Block.”

                “We’re sorry we missed you before we went to lunch, but we checked out with your assistant.”, Booth replied.  “Hey, I’d like your guards keep an eye on Phil for us.  You know, maybe they see if anything weird is going on with the guy?  Just enough to show him that we mean business, okay?”

                “Perhaps that won’t be necessary.  I was actually just about to call you boys.”  Warden Brinton chuckled at his visitors’ surprise.  “While you were gone, Mr. Aubrey reconsidered his position and would like to speak with you, if you have time.”

                Booth and Aubrey looked at each other, shocked at the sudden change.  “Hmm…what a surprise.  I guess we’ve got time.”, Aubrey responded.

                “Excellent.  I’ll have the guard bring him around.”

***/*/*/*/***

                “I’m kind of surprised, Booth.”  Aubrey sat back in his chair as he thought things over.  “I didn’t think he’d give in so easily.”

                “Well, you know...maybe he likes it here and doesn’t want to go to Leavenworth after all.”

                Their conversation was interrupted as the guard brought a suitably humble Phillip Aubrey into the room.  As he dismissed the guard, Booth focused his glare on the older man.  “How’s it goin’, Phil?” 

                “Hello, Agent Booth.”  A meek Phillip Aubrey sat down at the table,.  “I’ve talked things over with Warden Brinton.  He says that there’s no way he can block my transfer if you decide to send me to a maximum security prison somewhere.”

                “So I take it you’ve reconsidered?”, Booth asked. 

                Studying the table in front of him, he continued.  “Yes.  I’ve decided to assist you.  I’ll tell you what I know, and maybe you could arrange for me to stay here at Hazelton.  After all, you might need me to testify.  It isn’t much, but I think it’ll help you close your case.

                The two agents looked at each other and tacitly nodded in agreement.  “Let’s hear it.”, Booth growled.  “Everything you know…”

                “Okay.”  Phillip nervously scratched his chin.  “I’ve heard some gossip here and there...some rumors that got spread around a couple of months ago.  The guy I heard it from had it on pretty good authority from his brother, who’s on the outside.  There was a big deal made over it because it was a turf war…”

                “Who the hell was it?”, Aubrey roared.  “Quit stalling and tell us.”

                Phillip sat back in his chair and chuckled softly.  “Relax, James.  You’ve always been an anxious boy.  Your poor mother was always anxious too, even when she didn’t need to be.”

                “The name, Phil.”, Booth interrupted.

                Philip exhaled slowly.  “It was Vinnie Sipoletti.  In addition to being a securities trader, he’s an enforcer for the Corzone family.  Being a hitman is sort of a hobby for him, and working in securities is a good cover.  No one would ever expect a guy in a thousand dollar suit to be a murderer for an organized crime family.” 

                The older man shuddered as he continued.  “The Corzones tried to get into securities trading as a way to launder their dirty money.  They contacted me, but I said no way.  I may be a crook, but I’m not that stupid. Once you’re involved with the mob, they own you, right?  Anyway, I guess they found someone else to do their dirty work for them...a junior partner at the company where Vinnie works.  It seems Vinnie sort of recommended the guy. Unfortunately, the kid wasn’t very good at his job, and his mistakes alerted Louie that something was up.  Vinnie couldn’t get the kid’s mistakes covered up in time, and poor Louie, being the goddamn do-gooder that he was, had to look into it, and sure enough, he found out the trader was crooked.” 

                Biting his lip, Phillip clenched his fists as he tried to control his emotions.  “The trader...Joe Rota...apparently committed suicide, but I have my doubts about that.  The guy was a devout Catholic...he wouldn’t have jumped off that bridge to kill himself.  I think he had a push.”

                “So you’re saying that this guy...this Vinnie Sipoletti...killed Vacchio because the guy ran afoul of the mob when he began to investigate fraudulent securities trading?  No way, Dad...Vacchio knew his killer…”, Aubrey exclaimed.  “We have forensic evidence to prove that…”

                “You’re right.  Vacchio did know Sipoletti.  They were brothers in law.  Vinnie is married to Louie’s sister.  Poor Louie never suspected a thing.  He and his wife thought Vinnie had a really good job as a securities trader.  I guess, in a way, Louie was right…but he didn’t have any reason to suspect what Vinnie does for a part time job.”  Phillip Aubrey laughed at his son’s look of disgust.  “You take everything too seriously, James.   A man needs a hobby, after all...at least one that doesn’t involve silly science fiction and computers.”

                “A hobby?  That’s rich…”, Aubrey muttered to himself as he tried to keep his emotions in check as his father was pressing his hot buttons.

                 The older man turned to Booth.  “So what do you think?  Good enough information?”                 

                “We’ll see.  We have to check it out first.”  Booth turned to his friend, who was barely controlling his emotions.  “C’mon, Aubrey.  Let’s go home.”

                The two men got up and were about to knock on the door when Phillip spoke up.  “Oh, James?”

                Aubrey turned to look at his father.  “Yes, Dad?”, he replied in a tone devoid of emotion.

                “Say hi to Jessica for me.”.  Philip wore a snarky smile as he noticed the hard expression in his son’s eyes.  “That’s her name, isn’t it?  Frankie told me about her.  Cute girl...really smart too, he said.  Better watch out for those redheads, though, Son.  They’re usually wild in bed.  Enjoy it while you can.”

                Aubrey walked back and slammed his hand down on the table in front of his father.  “You will never mention her name again, you piece of shit.”

                “Come on.”  Booth grabbed his friend’s arm, afraid of what would happen next.  “Let’s get out of here.”   Knocking on the door, he waited until the corrections officer arrived.   “Guard...come take this son of a bitch back to his cell.”

**Oooooooooo**

                 Five minutes later, Aubrey and Booth were walking back towards the warden’s office.  Inhaling softly, the younger man shook his head.  “I don’t know.  What do you think, Booth?  Was my dad telling us the truth?”

                The two agents stopped to talk things over on the way.  Booth leaned against the wall, his expression grim as he thought things over. 

                “Maybe.  I mean, we didn’t really have any reason to think it was a mob hit, but in some ways, that does make sense.  We’ll have to check into Sipoletti when we get back to DC.  In the meantime, let’s see if we can get the warden to lean on your dad a little bit.”  He knocked on the door of the warden’s office.  “Warden Brinton? We’ve finished talking to Phillip Aubrey...he was somewhat more helpful this time.”

                “Good.  I was hoping that he’d see that it was important to tell the truth.  Was his information pertinent to your investigation?”

                “It gave us a lead, but we still have to check into it.  Well, thanks for all your help.  I guess me and Agent Aubrey will head for home…”

                “Oh...I’m afraid there’s a small issue with that plan.”  Brinton grimaced as he pointed out the window.  “As you can see, the snow has really picked up, and most roads are snow packed, so they’re closed until tomorrow morning.  I’m afraid you’re stuck here in Hazelton for the night.”

                “I wonder if we can make it to Morgantown.”  Aubrey grimaced as he looked up hotels in the area on his phone.  “I’d say there aren’t any places to stay within thirty miles of here.”

                “There are a couple of motels in Bruceton Mills, but US 119 and Hwy 68 are both closed unfortunately…”

                “The population of this town is what...80?  Is there even a motel anywhere close to this town?”  Booth was furious as he stared out at the snowy parking lot.  “That’s just fucking great…”

                “We do have some spare beds in the prison infirmary…”  Seeing Booth’s angry expression, Brinton hastily continued.  “...however, I think it would be better if you two came home with me to stay the night.  I only live about five miles up the road.  It’s a fairly level drive, so you should be able to make it in your SUV…”                

                “We don’t want to put you to any trouble, Warden.”  Aubrey jammed his hands in his pockets before pulling his phone from his breast pocket and starting sending a text message.

                Booth, however, disagreed.  “I think we’ll have to take you up on your offer, Brinton.  The FBI reimburse you for your expenses, of course…”

                The warden smiled happily.  “No problem. We’ll enjoy the company.  We don’t get many visitors, you know.   Let me just call my wife to let her know we’re having guests for dinner…”

                While the warden placed his call, Aubrey finished his text message and pressed SEND.  “There.”

                “Did you send another text to Jessica?”

                “I did, but I’ve also sent a message to Genny asking her to do a check on Vinnie Sipoletti and Joe Rota.”  Aubrey looked as his phone and growled.  “It’s still sending….there, it went through.  Not much she can do tonight but maybe she can find something tomorrow.”

                “Good idea.”

***/*/*/*/***

                Booth’s SUV followed Brinton’s Jeep down the narrow two lane road leading from the prison to the warden’s house.  Visibility was poor as the strong wind blew the snow in crazy swirls as it fell. 

                Peering through a clear spot on the windshield, Booth shook his head.  “I’m glad we don’t have to drive to Morgantown in this blizzard.”

                Aubrey snickered as he watched Booth struggle to keep the SUV under control.  “This isn’t even close to blizzard conditions...not like what they have up in Syracuse…”

                “Yeah, well as far as I’m concerned, it’s a blizzard.”, Booth growled.  “Listen, I know you aren’t too keen on staying at the warden’s house, Aubrey, but it’s one of those _‘any port in a storm’_ cases, okay?  It’s too dangerous to drive very far in this weather.”

                “I know.”  Aubrey gave his friend a sidelong glance.  “I know you’re gonna think this is silly, but for some reason I just don’t trust Brinton.  I can’t put my finger on it, but something strikes me as odd about him.  Should’ve asked Shaw to check him, too, while I had the chance.”

                “Maybe it’s because he likes your dad, and you think that’s crazy.”  Grinning at Aubrey’s grumblings, Booth shrugged.  “You’re going with your gut, aren’t you?  And you may be right, but we can’t do anything about that right now, since we need a place to stay for tonight.  Let’s see how the evening goes, and then, if we need to, we can run a check on this guy when we get back to DC.”

                “Right.”  Even though he was unconvinced, Aubrey knew Booth was correct...they couldn’t run any background checks on anybody this evening.  “I hope the roads clear enough tomorrow so that we can make it home.  I didn’t plan on being gone this long, and I didn’t leave out much food for Skinner.”

                “Trust me...we’re going home tomorrow, even if I have to rent a snowplow.  I don’t like being away from home any longer than I have to be.  Okay...this must be the place.”  Tapping the brakes so he wouldn’t skid, Booth turned onto a driveway that led up to a small house.

                The red brick of the home was picturesque against the white yard.  It appeared that the lot was about an acre, and there were no neighbors nearby.  “They really are out in the sticks, aren’t they?”, Aubrey asked. “Although I guess everyone who lives in this area is out in the sticks.”

                “True.”  Grimacing as he stopped the SUV, Booth sighed as he considered how they’d have to trudge through several inches of snow up to the house.  “Looks like we’re gonna have wet feet...unless you want to sleep in the car…Jesus, I hate to ruin these shoes...”                

                “It looks like Brinton wants us to go through the garage.”  Aubrey pointed to the warden, who was waving at them from the garage doorway.  “I guess you could take off your shoes and run up there in your socks.”  Seeing Booth’s annoyance, Aubrey grinned.  “Okay, let’s go.”

                The agents finally made it up to the back door of the house.  After shedding their shoes and brushing the snow off of the cuffs of their slacks, they entered a warm, cheerful kitchen. 

                “Gentlemen…”, Warden Brinton began, “...I’d like you to meet my lovely wife, Nancy.  These are the fellas I was tellin’ you about, darlin’...Agent Booth and Agent Aubrey.”

                “Welcome to our home!”  Nancy was bustling around the kitchen as she prepared the evening’s meal. 

                Aubrey began to sniff the pleasant aromas like a hungry hound.  “Wow...something smells wonderful…”

                Nancy pulled what looked like biscuits out of the oven.  “I hope you don’t mind having vegetable soup this evening.  I assumed hot soup would be just the thing for a day like this.”

                “Yes, ma’am, it would.”  Booth nodded politely as Mrs. Brinton nattered on about the soup.  “If you don’t mind, ma’am, I’d like to wash up…”

                “Oh, let me show you where everything is.”  She led the agents down a short hallway.  “Here’s the guest bath…”  She paused as she opened another door.  “And here’s where you’ll be sleeping tonight.”

                “It’s...um...very nice.”  Aubrey cringed as he looked around the plump lady of the house.  The room was furnished with white and gold French Provincial style, complete with gilded bunk beds.  A riot of different shades of pink seemed to scream from the walls and various posters hung around the room.

                “I hope you’ll be comfortable.  This is actually my daughter’s room, but she’s going to school in Morgantown, living on campus, so you might as well use it.”

                “Thank you.  I’m sure we’ll be very comfortable.”  Always the gentleman, Booth nodded slightly before disappearing into the bathroom.

                Aubrey walked back into the kitchen with his hostess, pausing to check his phone.  “That’s weird...it says I’ve got no signal…”

                The warden laughed softly.  “Down here in the hollow, we don’t get cell reception.  We’ve got a landline instead.”  He paused as Booth joined them.  “The Feds put a satellite dish in at the prison, so we can watch television, use cellphones, and surf the internet.  However, it’s very expensive to have that luxury here at the house, and I don’t make enough with my federal government salary to pay for it.” 

                He pointed to a large plastic phone sitting on a side table in the family room.  “You guys wanna call your wives and tell them what’s going on?”

                “Yeah, I guess so.  We don’t want them to worry.”  Booth dialed Brennan’s cell number, waiting as they were connected.  Finally he began to speak loudly in to the receiver.  “Bones?”

_“Booth?  I can hardly hear you.  What are you doing at this number?  Is everything alright?”_

                “Yeah, we’re fine, but the weather turned out to be really shitty over here.  The highway department closed the roads because of all the snow, so me and Aubrey can’t make it back to DC tonight...No, we’re not staying in a motel.  We’re staying with the warden and his wife...Yeah, I’m sure we’ll be back tomorrow...Yeah, the reception is bad...I can barely hear you.  Anyway…”, Booth said, speaking louder.   

                Wearing an ornery big brother smirk, he glanced at Aubrey, who was still trying to get his cellphone to work.  “Listen, Aubrey doesn’t have any service, either, so will you please deliver a message to Jessica for him?  Yeah...tell Jessica he loves her, and he’s sorry.”

                Grinning at the glare he was receiving from his friend, Booth quickly got ready to end the call.  “Yeah, tomorrow.  Give Christine and Hank a kiss for me, all right?  Love you...bye…”

                “Really, Booth?”  Hoping he wasn’t turning scarlet, Aubrey quickly rose and walked down the hall to the bathroom. 

                “Is Agent Aubrey okay, Agent Booth?”  Mrs. Brinton moved briskly around the kitchen as she set the table.  “He seems flushed.  I hope he isn’t catching a cold after getting his feet wet.”

                “Nah, he’ll be fine.  He’s just trying to figure out a serious relationship.”  Booth bit his lip to avoid telling his hostess that wet feet didn’t make people catch a cold.  “The soup smells good.”

                Nancy smiled as she dished up some big bowls for the men.  “Dinner is served.”

**Oooooooooo**

                After two big bowls of vegetable soup, several cheese muffins, and two slices of chocolate cake, Aubrey was comfortably full as he offered to help Mrs. Brinton with the dishes. 

                “It was a great meal.  The least I can do is help clean up.  I do it all the time at my girlfriend’s house.”  He hesitated slightly at the word girlfriend, wondering if it still applied to his relationship with Jessica.  “I can dry…”

                Mrs. Brinton gave him an indulgent smile.  “Thank you, Agent Aubrey, but I’m just going to load everything into the dishwasher.  Why don’t you and Agent Booth go make yourself comfortable in the living room?”

                Warden Brinton folded his newspaper and lay it aside as the agents came into the room.  “Sorry that we’re not more entertaining.  Nancy and I tend to be homebodies, especially since I have all the stress involved in running the penitentiary.  Perhaps I could see if there’s a ballgame of some sort on television for you…”

                “That’s alright.  Don’t worry about it.”  Booth picked up a magazine and thumbed through it.  “It’s nice to have a quiet evening, isn’t it, Aubrey?”

                “Um...yeah.”  Aubrey buried his nose in a book.  “I’m getting tired anyway.  I’ll probably go to bed soon.”

                There was a long, uncomfortable silence, broken only by the sound of the dishwasher running in the kitchen.  Finally, Brinton cleared his throat.  “Phillip told me that he’s your father, Agent Aubrey.  I’m sure it must be distressing for you to see him in such an unhappy situation.”

                “He’s getting what he deserves.”, Aubrey growled as he closed his book with a thud.  Standing up abruptly, he turned to Booth.  “I’m going to turn in.”

                “Yeah, me, too.  Maybe we can get an early start tomorrow.  G’night, Brinton.”

                “Good night.”  The warden smiled to himself as he watched his guests move down the hall.  Maybe soon he’d be able to do some poking and prodding…

***/*/*/*/*/***

                “God, I hate going to bed without brushing my teeth.”, Aubrey groused.  “I’m going to have a real bad taste in my mouth tomorrow morning.”                

                “Don’t you travel with a go bag?  Here…”  Booth tossed a toothbrush to his friend.  “That one’s new.  I always keep a change of clothes and basic toiletries in the car.”

                “I do, too, in my own car...but who knew we’d have to spend the night in Tiny Town?”  Glancing over his shoulder at the bunk beds, Aubrey smirked.  “Let’s flip a coin for the top bunk.”

                “No way.  That’s gambling.”  Booth grinned as he stripped down to his tee shirt and boxers.  “I get the bottom bunk because I’m your elder.  You said so yourself, remember?”  Seeing Aubrey roll his eyes, Booth laughed.  “Tell you what...you can use the bathroom first, okay?”

                After brushing his teeth, Aubrey stripped down to his boxers before climbing up to the top bunk and pulled back the frilly pink checked comforter.  “If I fall out of bed tonight, I’m filing for workers comp.”

                “Whatever.  Good night, Aubrey.”  Booth switched off the light and got into the lower bunk.

                Soon a plaintive voice sounded from the upper bunk.  “Booth?”

                A heavy sigh came from the darkness below.  “What?”

                “Do you really think Jessica will ever get over being mad at me?”

                “Will you ever get over being a jackass?  When you do, she’ll probably get over being mad at you.”

                “But I couldn’t tell her about my dad.  After listening to Jessica’s mother at Thanksgiving...it was awful, Booth.  Her mom already doesn’t approve of me because of my dad, and if Eleanor found out he arranged a murder, she’d be insufferable.  I don’t want Jessica to have to listen to her mother constantly bitch about what a lousy boyfriend I am.”

                “But from what I understand, Jessica isn’t too concerned about what her mother thinks, right?” 

                “Yeah, she told me that.”

                “Your girlfriend has put up with a lot of shit from you, buddy, and I don’t think this little glitch is going to change her mind.  I mean, she may make you drink some more of that nasty monkey ass juice, but think about it, okay?  You had to talk her out of coming home immediately from Scotland when your dad came to town…”

                “I didn’t want her to fail that course Dr. B pulled strings to get her in, Booth…”

                “Yeah, but she also took a flight home less than two hours after her final exam concluded, not even knowing if she passed, just to get home to you…”

                “There was never any question about her passing it, Booth.”, Aubrey replied proudly.  “She’s a genius...literally.”

                “Remember why she made those nasty monkey ass juice smoothies in the first place for you, Aubrey?”

                The younger agent sighed.  “Because she was worried about how much junk food I ate.”

                “You dragged your feet for months before you guys even hung out together.  She waited six months for you to ask her out on a date, and six months after that just for you to get the balls to finally kiss her.”

                “I was just being careful, Booth…”

                Booth stared at the top bunk as he made his next point.  “...and she even took you home to meet her family for Thanksgiving, right?”

                Aubrey groaned softly. “I’m not sure that was a good idea.  Her mom basically thinks I’m worthless…”

               Rolling over onto his back, Booth stared at the bunk above him.  “Didn’t you tell me Sunday night that her brothers and father liked you a lot for standing up for her and the family?  Jessica was quite proud of you when it came up at dinner.”

_‘She thanked me a lot last weekend.’_ Aubrey thought as he cracked a smile before it quickly faded away.  “Yeah, they do, and she was, wasn’t she?”

                “Look, you’re going to owe her a heavy duty apology, and she may be mad at you for a couple of weeks, but I’m pretty sure she’s going to take you back this time.  I tell you what, though...you can’t make a habit of being a selfish jerk, or she’ll decide she’s had enough of your stupidity.  So, tomorrow, as soon as you can, you call her and tell her you’re sorry, okay”

                “Okay.”  Sighing softly, Aubrey tried to get comfortable in the narrow bed.  “Good night, Booth.”

                “Night, Aubrey.”

**Oooooooooooooo**

                The next morning, sunshine glistened off the snow covered lawn as Aubrey and Booth got ready to leave.  Fortified with huge stacks of pancakes and hot coffee, Booth had scraped the ice off the windshield and was warming up the car as Aubrey used the warden’s phone to call Shaw.

                “So did you find anything?”, Aubrey asked quietly when he saw no one was listening.

                “Yeah, we got some good prints off that note.  When I ran them on AFIS, they came back to a Joe Fuller, a securities broker at Histavark Securities.  He isn’t expected at work until 10:30 because he has a dentist appointment this morning.  After I stop and check on Jessica at the lab, I’m going to pick up Hunter to come with me, because the SEC is also looking into that company.  I figure he’ll know what to look for and he’ll be able to ask the right questions.” 

_Why does Genny need to check on Jessica?’_  Aubrey wondered.  “Anything else?”

                “Your source was right regarding Joe Rota.  There was a man with that name who worked for Histavark as a new securities trader.  Seven months ago, he was found lying in Rock Creek below the Duke Ellington Bridge.  There was a cursory autopsy and his death was ruled a suicide.  I have a call into the DC Medical Examiner’s office get a copy of the autopsy.” 

_‘_ “What about that other thing I sent to you?”

                “I’m going to run his name and see what I can come up with before I leave here...unless you would rather take the first guy and I talk to Sipoletti…”

                “No, that’s okay, Genny.  I can finish up where you leave off.  Just leave what you find on my desk before you go.”  Aubrey said.  Anxious to get on the road, he wrapped up the call.  “We’re heading back now and I’m hoping to be back by early afternoon. You and Hunter be careful.”

                “Will do, Boss.  You two drive careful, too _.”,_ Genny said before ending the call.

                Hanging up, Aubrey came out onto the porch and thanked Mrs. Brinton again for her hospitality.  “We’ll have the Bureau cut you a check for our expenses.”  He shrugged slightly as he squinted in the bright sunlight.  “It won’t be a lot, but maybe it’ll help with the cost of feeding us.”

                “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”  Warden Brinton eyed Aubrey with interest.  “Maybe next time you visit your dad at the prison you can stay for dinner.”

                Not wanting to be rude, Aubrey pasted on an artificial smile.  “Yeah...maybe...”  He turned as he heard Booth honk the SUV’s horn.  “Well, gotta go.  Thanks again.” 

               Pulling the car out to the driveway, Booth waved at the couple before he drove away.  “That was kinda weird, wasn’t it?  I’m glad we didn’t have to stay there longer.  From what it said on the radio, I think the roads are cleared off well enough for us to get home easily.”

                “Good.” 

                They rode in silence for several miles, both men appreciating the snow covered landscape as they drove out to the main highway. 

                “Look at that.”  Booth pointed to some cars that appeared to be stuck in a snow drift.  “I guess it’s a good thing we weren’t out driving around in the blizzard last night.”

                “Yeah.”  Aubrey checked his phone once more, but he still didn’t have any service.  “I hope Dr. B told Jessica where I was last night.”

                “I’m sure she did.  Bones is good about stuff like that.”

                “I didn’t tell Jess where I was going yesterday…God, that was so stupid.  I was just so tied up in knots, though...”

                “I know.  Like I said, you’re in deep shit, but I think she’ll forgive you.  Enough about that, okay?”  Booth checked his mirrors before he continued. “Let’s talk about the case.  To your knowledge, has your dad ever had contact with any sort of criminal organizations?  Does he have any ties with the mob?”

                “Not that I’m aware of.  It wasn’t really his style.  He was always more of a lone wolf.”

                “Yeah, that’s what I thought, but he seemed to know a lot about what was going on with Vinnie Sipoletti.  It struck me that he’d learned a lot about the guy just from listening to rumors and gossip…”

                “True…”, Aubrey mused.  “I wonder exactly who told him that stuff…”

                The agents spent the next hour of their trip discussing all the possible iterations of Phillip Aubrey’s possible connections to various organized crime families. 

                “I don’t know, Booth.  It’s just hard to imagine…”  Aubrey was interrupted by the insistent chiming of his phone.  “Hey, I guess I’ve finally got service.” 

                He scrolled through multiple texts, disappointed to find that none were from Jessica.  “She must _really_ be pissed at me…”, he muttered to himself.  Checking further, he was surprised to find that he’d missed five calls from Genny Shaw.  “That’s weird.”  Frowning, he cued up his voice mail to listen, wondering what was so important that she’d call multiple times.  “Oh, my God…”

                Hearing Aubrey’s startled gasp, Booth glanced at him in surprise.  “What’s wrong?  You’re white as a ghost…”

                “It’s Hunter Geren...you know, Shaw’s boyfriend?  They went to question a suspect...he’s been shot, Booth, and it sounds bad.  He’s at Washington General.  How quick can you get us there?”

                “I don’t know…”  He grimly turned on the SUV’s flashing lights and siren.  “Let’s find out…”

                “Yeah…”  Nodding in agreement, Aubrey closed his eyes and silently prayed as the car quickly sped up.  “Please let us get there in time…”


	36. Chaos in DC

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now we come to Tuesday with Jessica. While Aubrey is in West Virginia, how does she cope after their fight?

                At 9:00 Jessica examined the remains in front of her, giving laser focus to her task and keeping her emotions in check.  She wanted to use her work to forget her pain, but it kept coming back.

                Twenty four hours earlier, she had been content.  She had spent the weekend with the man she loved.  They were together and happy.

                Now, she didn’t know what they were _.  ‘Did she dump him?  Would he ever call her again?’_

                Then the 64,000 dollar question _.  What was he keeping from her?_

                When they talked in the Mall two months ago, they’d made a pledge to be open with each other with no more secrets.  But he was keeping something from her…something big.  She could feel it.

                However, she wouldn’t beg to be let in.  James Aubrey had to come to her.  She was strong, self-reliant, and prepared to be on her own.  She had hoped that she would end up with Aubrey, but last night and this morning showed her to be wrong…again.

                Whatever it was, she hoped it was worth it to him.  She had to deal with him shutting her out the first time around, but she wouldn’t do it again.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Brennan came into the Bone Room and found her intern silently working.  Going over her work, she was alarmed when the young woman didn’t engage in her traditional stream of conscious chatter.  As she inspected the bones further, she heard what sounded like a sniffle.  Turning, she was alarmed to see the intern’s jaw tremble before she wiped her eyes.

                “Ms. Warren, are you alright?”

                Startled, she turned and saw her mentor.  “Sorry, Dr. B, I didn’t hear you come in.”

                “I have been here for approximately ten minutes.  You seem upset.  Do you need a few minutes to compose yourself?”  

                Embarrassed, Jessica took a breath.  “I’m sorry…”

                “Your apologies are not necessary, Ms. Warren.”, Brennan replied, not wanting to push the intern if she didn’t want to talk.  “As long as your distress doesn’t interfere with the investigation it isn’t a problem.  However, if I can be of assistance, feel free to ask.”

                Jessica smiled.  “Thank you, but I’m fine.”

                The two women worked in silence for the next ten minutes until a phone buzzed.  Realizing it was hers, Brennan removed her gloves and checked it, nodding as she read the text message.  “Booth and Aubrey arrived in West Virginia safely.  I’m very relieved.”

                This got the redhead’s attention.  “West Virginia?”

                 “Yes, Booth told me last night that they had a lead in the Vacchio case and they needed to drive up there today.  There’s also a winter storm warning so they may not be back until late tonight.”  Brennan sent a reply before putting the phone in her pocket.  “Didn’t Aubrey tell you?”

                “No…he only said he would be working late today.  I didn’t know he was leaving town.”, Jessica said quietly before going back to work.

                “That’s strange.”, Brennan said.  “I don’t understand why he wouldn’t tell you.”

                “I don’t know either.”, Jessica said as she picked up a rib.  “I’ll probably never know now anyway.”

                Brennan chose to tread carefully, knowing she was limited in her abilities to pick up on a person’s emotional subtleties.  “Ms. Warren, you seem quite distressed.  May I assume that you and Aubrey had a fight?”                

                “You could say that.”, Jessica said. 

                “Would it help to talk about it?”

                Jessica put the rib down before inhaling to hold back her tears.  “Aubrey was so…distant…and angry last night…we had a big fight this morning…we broke up…well…I don’t know if we did…he’s keeping things from me again, Dr. B…I don’t know what I did wrong…I….”

                Brennan could see the young woman was unable to control her emotions..  “Ms. Warren, go to my office.”

                “What?”

                “You’re in obvious distress and you’re no good to me in this state.  I’m going to pull Dr. Wells from Modular Storage to finish this examination and then we’re going to talk or just sit quietly in my office until you get control of yourself.”

                Jessica was mortified.  “I’m sorry, Dr. B—“

                “I don’t want your apologies.  I just want you to compose yourself before you tell me why you are upset.  Now go to my office, Ms. Warren.”  Brennan noticed the intern remained.  “That’s not a request, Ms. Warren.”

                Feeling like she was being punished, the redhead took off her gloves and walked out, but not before being seen by Angela.  “Jessica, what’s…”

                Stopping when the young woman walked briskly across the lab, the artist came into the Bone Room, where Brennan was putting the rib back.  “Bren, what happened?”

                “I don’t know…but I will find out.  Please ask Dr. Wells to finish this examination, Angela.”

                “Sure, Bren…do you need me for anything?”

                “No thank you, Angela.”, the forensic anthropologist said.  “Whatever has her so upset, I’m sure she would appreciate discretion.”

                Brennan walked into her office and saw her intern completely break down.  Not sure if she should give the young woman her privacy, Brennan held back for a moment.  Before she could make a decision, Hodgins wheeled up.

                “Dr. B, I just got a call from Genny about a body dump in Maryland by the Antietam National Battlefield.  She’s sending Agents Bower and Haggerty to meet you.”

                “Agent Bower is—“

                Hodgins held his hand up.  “She knows, Dr. B.  She said she would’ve taken it but Aubrey is out of the office today and her other agents are swamped.  She figured that you’d make sure Bower would behave himself and if he didn’t, she asked that you call her personally.  She said you have her number...”

                Brennan considered for a moment.  She only worked with the best agents and Agent Steve Bower was definitely not one of them.  However, she knew that any concerns that she took to Aubrey and Agent Shaw would be handled.

                “That is acceptable, but Agent Bower will be better than competent or I’ll complain to Aubrey and Agent Shaw personally.”

                Hodgins nodded.  “Okay.  Also, with the storm and the terrain probably going to be nothing but mud, I can’t go with my wheelchair.”

                Brennan thought of something.  “With the weather—“                

                “Angela and I will take Christine and Hank home with us, Dr. B.”, Hodgins said.  “Do you have a preference on who you take in my place since we have both Jessica and Oliver here today?”

                Thinking of the young woman in her office, Brennan answered readily.  “I’ll take Ms. Warren.”

                The entomologist thought of something.  “Shit, I forgot.  Jessica took a cab to work today because her Jeep is still at the shop.  Angela was going to take her home—“

                “If we’re late, I’ll take her home.  Her neighborhood is on my way.”

                “Thanks, Dr. B.”

                Brennan watched her friend wheel away before looking back into her office.  She was glad to see Jessica was calmed down and wiping her eyes.  Walking in, she got her intern’s attention.

                “Ms. Warren, a body has been found at the Antietam National Battlefield.  Please change into appropriate clothing, make sure your kit is stocked, and I’ll meet you with Dr. Boyd at the van in fifteen minutes.”

                The redhead nodded, glad there was something to distract her from her horrible morning.  “Of course, Dr. B.”

                Jessica got up and walked briskly into the locker room.  Knowing fifteen minutes meant fourteen with her mentor, she quickly took off her coat and changed into her jumpsuit over her pants.  She slipped her boots on and after thirty seconds of struggle, managed to secure the lock on her locker.

                “Can’t wait until the new digital locks come next week.  This lock sucks.”

                Racing to the evidence room, she used her badge on the new reader and when prompted, punched in her code.  Going inside, she found her kit, opened it, and made sure it had everything she needed.  Satisfied, she secured it and walked quickly towards the garage, noting that the rain downpour she had come to work in had progressed to a sleet mix.  As she got to the entrance, she realized she hadn’t grabbed her wallet.

                “Oh well.  Dr. B likes to drive anyway.”

* * *

 

                Two and a half hours later, the three women arrived at the crime scene.  Much like DC, the national park and the nearby town of Boonsboro were in the middle of a torrential downpour mix of sleet and rain.  The body dump itself was a muddy mess except for the immediate area surrounding the body, which was merely soft due to the tent set up to cover the area.

                Brennan, Jessica, and their interim pathologist were directed to the remains.  The redhead saw Agent Jill Haggarty questioning a witness and was glad.  She transferred to Major Crimes in October from the Minneapolis field office and Aubrey said he was pleased with her work so far.  Then she saw the second agent and shuddered.

                _‘Great…get to work a scene with the FBI pervert.  He better stay away from me.  I’m not in the mood today.’_

“Ms. Warren, when you’re done daydreaming, get over here!  There is work to do!”

                Hearing Dr. Boyd’s abrupt tone, her cheeks turned red while rushing over to the scientists.  Laying down the tarp so the three women could work, Jessica was then startled by Brennan.

                “Dr. Boyd, I’m not sure how things work at the FBI laboratory, but at the Jeffersonian we do not speak to our interns that way.  Please keep that in mind for the time you are with us.”

                Jessica bit her lip as the blonde woman turned red with embarrassment.  _‘Thank you, Dr. B.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                An hour later, when the rain stopped for a few minutes, Jessica walked the immediate vicinity of the scene, checking for any evidence while her mind was racing.

                _‘He hasn’t called me all day…but I shouldn’t be surprised.  I told Superman not to call unless he could tell me the truth.  Obviously he lied about going to West Virginia, so whatever caused him to do that…I hope it was worth it.  I won’t beg for him…he has to come to me…he has to come clean with everything.  I thought he was different…’_

Jessica stopped for a second.  James Aubrey was different…or else they wouldn’t have become such close friends.  Or else she wouldn’t have lost her heart to him.

                _‘Not going to cry again…not going to cry again…if Aubrey can ignore me then I can ignore him.  Simple…’_

                “Hey, Jessica…fancy meeting you here.”

                The redhead groaned at the voice.  Turning around, she was greeted by Agent Bower, who gave her a wolfish smile that made her nauseated.  “Yeah…imagine that.  I don’t have time to chat, Agent Bower.  Dr. B needs me to examine the scene for any evidence to take back to the lab.”

                “My boss was in a pretty foul mood this morning before he left with Agent Booth, and you’re a bit quiet as well.  Did you two have a fight?”, Steve asked in a snarky tone.  When Jessica merely continued with her work, the agent continued.  “Your boyfriend was a dick yesterday, too, when I asked him for a favor with Karen.  Can you believe that scrawny kid turned me down flat, saying it was up to me to deal with it?  Some boss he is...always acting like he cares about his agents, but in reality he doesn’t give a flying fuck.”

                Fed up, Jessica turned around.  No matter how she felt about her Superman at that moment, she wouldn’t let anyone disrespect him, especially one of his subordinates.

                “Agent Bower, dealing with your girlfriend isn’t Aubrey’s job...it’s yours.  Also, that _‘scrawny kid’_ is not only my boyfriend, but also your supervisor at the FBI, and you will treat him with the respect he’s earned _._   Don’t disrespect him again or you’ll regret it.”

                Bower squared his shoulders, not accustomed to a woman being so hostile with him.  “Yeah, he has a higher rank, but I’ve been with the Bureau longer…and somehow he gets the hotter women, too.  Go figure...”

 _‘Wow, Karen really got the pick of the litter with this asshole.’_ Jessica thought as she rolled her eyes at Bower.  “The reason Agent Aubrey has a higher rank than you is because he earned his promotion through hard work, an obvious intelligence you lack, and he’s good at his job.  He also gets the cuter girls because he’s a gentleman who respects them, not a sexist asshole like you.”

               “Aw come on, Sweetheart...just relax a little bit.  It’s obvious that you’re a little tense and your boyfriend isn’t around to help you.  What about tonight you and I get together...say I follow you to your place after work and I make you feel really good…”

                The redhead was about to the end of her rope.  “You’re a pig, Agent Bower.  The only thing you can make me feel is the urge to vomit.  Now, leave me alone.” 

                Bower reached for her hand and began caressing it.  “You know, if you would get to know me better, I can make you forget that beanpole--AHHHH!”  He yelled when Jessica bent his fingers back. “Son of a bitch!”

                The redhead’s eyes hardened as she enjoyed seeing the older man in pain.  “If you make one more pass at me, I’ll tell Karen about all the times you hit on me.  Next, I will inform Dr. Brennan that you have been acting in an improper manner towards me before I file a sexual harassment complaint against you at the FBI.  Finally, I’ll let Aubrey deal with you, personally.  If you are still breathing by the time he gets done with you, you can kiss your career goodbye..  Get me…Sweetheart?  Now fuck off!”                

                Bower’s face twisted in pain as he held his fingers.  “Sure, Jessica…I was just being friendly…and letting you know there are options out there besides Aubrey.  You could definitely do a lot better.”

                The man turned around to walk away, but slipped in the mud and fell on his ass.  Jessica bit her lip to contain her laughter but put on a serious face when she saw Dr. Brennan standing to the side of the scene.

                “Agent Bower, your carelessness has possibly contaminated evidence.  Now, we’re going to have to take your clothes to check for trace.”

                “Wait, you mean…what the fuck am I supposed to wear?”

                “Well, I’m assuming you have undergarments on.  We do have a couple of the jumpsuits in the van, but your clothes are coming with us.”  Looking around, she found someone from the Jeffersonian.  “Mr. Thomas, please take Agent Bower to the van and assist him in removing his outer clothing as evidence.”

                Brennan turned back to her intern.  “Ms. Warren, please continue to search the outer area.”

                “Yes, Dr. B.”, Jessica said.

                When the older woman walked away, Jessica’s momentary pleasure was gone as her mind raced back to Aubrey.  Suddenly, she got a bad vibe about her boyfriend that scared her.

                Shaking it off, she forced herself to continue with her task.  He may not even be her boyfriend anymore, and she was probably just emotional from their confrontation this morning.

* * *

 

                It wasn’t until almost 3:00 that the women got on the road back to DC.  As they were leaving the scene, Brennan spoke up as she drove.

                “Hodgins called a short time ago.  With the rain turning into sleet from the falling temperatures, the Jeffersonian closed the museum and he was sending the employees home then as well so people can get home safely.  He wanted to warn us so we didn’t panic when no one was there when we arrived back.”

                “That’s nice of Curly.”, Jessica said as she cataloged the evidence they’d collected on the laptop inside the Jeffersonian van.

                Brennan kept her speed at no more than 40 miles an hour down the two lane highway as the rain and sleet pelted the van with force.  “I am estimating our arrival back at the lab around 5:30 because of the inclement weather.”

                “No shit, Ms. Likes to Hear Herself Talk.”, Dr. Boyd muttered from the passenger side, still smarting from being chastised by the anthropologist at the scene earlier.

                Brennan turned to the pathologist.  “While I do enjoy the cadence of my voice, I felt that perhaps you may have had plans to alter, Dr. Boyd.”

                “Well, my apologies if I spoke out of turn.  I didn’t realize the obvious needed to be stated.”, the other woman said with a snark.

                Brennan’s fire was up. “Your belligerent attitude is uncalled for.”

                “I’m not being belligerent.  Unlike others, I’m not in awe of the amazing Dr. Temperance Brennan. Now, I’m warning you not to talk down to me again like I’m one of your interns, Dr. Brennan.  People treat me with respect at the FBI and I demand the same from you.”

               The anthropologist refused to take the bait.  “First, I’m actually very amazing because I’m the best forensic anthropologist in the world.  Second, respect is something that has to be earned, Dr. Boyd.  If you want respect, it’s not earned by treating our interns and other employees like second class citizens simply because you are having issues adapting to the way we do things at our facility.  Since you seem unsatisfied with working with our lab, perhaps Dr. Hodgins should call the FBI lab tomorrow to request a replacement.”

                The pathologist’s mouth dropped in shock before struggling for an answer.  “Excuse me...you have no right--”

                “But I do, Dr. Boyd.  You’re not here because you are the best pathologist the world but because you applied to be our temporary pathologist.  You were probably chosen because of the Jeffersonian’s relationship with your employer, along with your acquaintance with Harold Maxwell, something I learned about from Amanda Marshall recently.  Now, there are several other highly talented and qualified medical examiners who would welcome the chance to work with our scientists.  Now, please let me concentrate on the road.”

                Jessica snickered from behind her mentor, happy that someone told off the arrogant pathologist. Since Day One, the woman acted like the lab was lucky to have her.  More than once, she’d challenged Hodgins, always countering with how things were done at the FBI and refusing to adapt to their procedures.  Something told her that this woman would not make it to March...thank God.

                It was then it occurred to her that she had never heard her phone ring or beep a message today.  Reaching for her phone, she realized she didn’t have it.  After checking her pockets, she realized that she’d left it in her lab coat in her locker in her haste to get ready to leave.

                _‘Why am I so worried about my phone?  It’s not like Aubrey is going to call me after I yelled at him this morning.’_

                “Ms. Warren, due to the weather, if you like, I could offer you a ride home tonight instead of you taking the Metro train or calling a cab.”

                Realizing she was being spoken to, the redhead looked up and smiled.  “I would appreciate that very much, Dr. B,  but what about your kids?”

                “Dr. Hodgins and Angela are taking Hank and Christine home with them, so I can stop for them after taking you to your residence.”

                “Well, thank you.”,  Jessica said.

                “You’re welcome, Ms. Warren.”

                Brennan returned her full attention to the road and the hazardous conditions.  While she didn’t want her intern to go home alone in the dark and inclement weather, she also wanted to try to help, as her introspective behavior was very unlike her normal personality.  Obviously, she and Aubrey had a fight earlier that day.  When Booth sent a text letting her know he arrived safely, he indicated his friend was in a similar mood but didn’t go into detail.

                Booth wouldn’t say anything if it would break a confidence, Brennan knew.  Whatever happened between the intern and Aubrey cut deep for both of them.  Hopefully the young couple would remember the advice they’d been given by their mentors... to trust their friendship.

                Just then, Brennan saw the map for Washington DC disappear from her phone, replaced by a call from Booth.  Pulling the van over to the side of the road, she grabbed the phone from the dash mount and answered.  “Hello?  “Booth?  I can hardly hear you.  What are you doing at this number?  Is everything alright?”

                Brennan put her finger in her ear.  “You’re staying in West Virginia…well, your safety and Aubrey’s is more important.  Are you staying in a hotel?...you’re staying where?...oh all right…will you be back...a message…yes, I’ll tell her…Booth, you’re breaking up….”

                “I love—“,  Brennan said in a loud voice before pulling the phone from her ear.  “—you.”

                Hanging up, she turned to Ms. Warren.  “Aubrey and Booth are staying in Hazelton, West Virginia tonight.  It seems the sleet and rain mix progressed to freezing rain before it began to snow heavily.  The cell reception in the area was sub-par at best.  My husband was calling from a landline but I could barely hear him.”                

                “That’s good.  I’m glad they’re not going to try driving back in this stuff.”, Jessica said, relieved that perhaps her bad vibe was just a false alarm.  _‘Why does Hazelton, West Virginia sound so familiar to me?’_

                “Aubrey’s phone didn’t have any service, either.  Booth said he wanted you to know that he loves you…and he’s sorry.”

                “Good…good to know.  Thanks.”,  Jessica responded, slightly embarrassed.

                Feeling tears well up again, the redhead took a deep breath and looked out the window to gain composure.  She’d already broken down twice today, and she would be damned if James Aubrey would cause her to do it again, especially in front of Dr. B..

                “Booth also said the warden was letting them stay at his house tonight because the roads leading to nearby Bruceton Mills are closed due to the weather.  He reassured Booth and Aubrey that the West Virginia Department of Transportation should have the roads cleared by morning.  ”

 _‘Warden’s house?  Why would Aubrey and Booth visit a….’_  Jessica thought.  Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.  Hazelton, West Virginia.  An unincorporated town less than ten minutes from the Maryland and Pennsylvania borders.  Home of nothing…except one thing.

                 Federal Correctional Institution, Hazelton, a medium security prison.

                It was also the current home of Philip James Aubrey, her boyfriend’s father, who was currently serving a 10 - 17 year term for 92 counts of securities fraud and insider trading along with a concurrent 18 month sentence for jumping bail and going to Croatia after his original sentencing in 1997.

                Jessica closed her eyes as anger mixed with frustration and sadness.  _‘He lied to me about his father…again.  Damn it, James!  You promised to stop protecting me from your father!’_

It wasn’t protecting her, though.  He still didn’t trust her…not fully.  He trusted her fidelity to him and his body.  However, he held that small part of himself back…because he was afraid of being hurt by her.

                She felt for the man who was still in pain from his father’s abandonment after almost twenty years.  She felt for the man who’d lost his mother, the person who stayed behind and sacrificed for him.  She felt for the only man she knew she would ever love…her best friend.

                But her best friend still didn’t trust her completely…and it cut to the bone.  The last twenty four hours finally made sense.  Something had happened with his father that had shaken him to the core, so he’d avoided her until she called him. Instead of making love, he’d fucked her hard to bury the anger inside him.  Worst of all, instead of letting her help him, he’d picked a fight to make her angry…all to avoid telling her about his father.

                She didn’t know which emotion was stronger, the sadness for her lover’s pain, or the anger for making her hurt in order to maintain his distance.  Taking a deep breath, she composed herself.  He said he loved her, so he was possibly planning to talk to her when he returned.  She would give him a chance to come clean.

                If he didn’t, Jessica had some choice words for him.  Then, she would have to decide if her love for him was enough for her to forgive his lie.

                These thoughts occupied her for the leg of their return to Washington DC.

* * *

 

                They arrived back at the lab at 5:25, which was deserted due to the early lab closure.  After Dr. Boyd stomped to the autopsy room, Jessica and Brennan put the equipment back and quickly stocked it for the next time.

                “Ms. Warren, I’m going to change in my office.  After you do the same and grab your personal belongings, you can meet me there when you’re ready.”

                “Yes, Dr. B.”

                The redhead wearily walked back to the intern locker room, exhausted from the day.  She still didn’t know what she would do about Aubrey.  She wanted to trust in the friendship like Dr. B said a few months ago, but her boyfriend’s lack of trust was heart crushing and she wasn’t sure she could get past that.

                Turning the corner towards her locker, Jessica walked in and immediately stopped as she saw her combination padlock dangling from the strike.  Coming up closer, she saw the cut was clean.  Getting a chill, Jessica ran to the nearby bathroom stalls and grabbed toilet paper.  Putting it on her hand to avoid contaminating any evidence, she pulled out the lock.  Slowly, she opened the locker and trembled at what she saw.

                Her melon colored raincoat had a slash through the back.  On the door, the pictures she had of her family and Aubrey were ripped off.  She found the pieces sitting on the bottom of the locker along with her phone, which had been crushed.

                Then she saw her purse was missing.  Her wallet with her driver’s license…and the keys to her apartment.

                Feeling nauseated, Jessica looked around before backing away slowly and walking out quickly.  Rushing to her mentor’s office, she found Brennan coming out of her private bathroom.

                “Dr. B, someone broke into my locker and trashed it.  My purse is gone, my phone is destroyed.  My pictures…my coat…”

                Brennan immediately took charge.  “I’ll call security while you make a list of what is missing, Ms. Warren.”

                “Yes, Dr. B.”,  Jessica said shakily before sitting on the couch.  A minute later, she was surprised as Brennan held out a lined coat for her.

                “It’s one I keep in my office in case I’m caught unprepared for inclement weather.”

                Jessica took the clothing and put it on, appreciating the gesture.  “Thank you, Dr. B.”          

* * *

 

                Forty minutes later, the women were in the garage heading home when a guard got their attention.  Turning around, they saw the woman holding up a bag with a large cut in it.

                “My purse!”

                “Yeah, we found it in a garbage outside the lab, covered by trash.  Can you do a quick review to see if there’s anything missing?”

                Quickly going through her purse, Jessica saw her wallet, which looked intact.  Opening it, she saw all her cash was there, but she didn’t see her Mastercard, credit union debit card, and driver’s license.  Pushing her wallet aside, she saw what remained of the cards cut up on the bottom of her bag.  Finding her contraceptives, she got a shiver as the last week and a half of her pills were pushed out of their foils.  Composing herself, she saw her stuff was all there in her bag…except one thing. 

                Her keys were missing.

                “My keys…and some of my birth control pills are gone.  My debit card, credit card, and my driver’s license are cut up at the bottom of my purse.”

                “That is very...unusual, Ms. Warren.”, the guard said.  “Well, I’ll update the report.  Are you scheduled to be here tomorrow?”

                “Yes. “, Jessica said.                

                “We will keep you posted.  Night, ladies.”

                The anthropologists watched the guard walk away.  Brennan looked over at her shaken intern.  While quiet and upset this morning, now she looked absolutely terrified.  Leading her to her Prius, she unlocked the door for her passenger.  When they were secured, the two left the Jeffersonian for the trip to Jessica’s apartment. 

                “Ms. Warren, do you have any idea who may have done this?”

                Emotionally drained, Jessica shook her head.  “No…I just can’t think right now.  I think I just want a beer and maybe some quiet time.”

                Stopping at a light, the older women turned to her intern.  “The theft of your birth control pills is unusual.   Are they usually in your purse?  I’ve kept mine in my medicine chest.”

                Jessica gulped.  “It’s easier…because I’ve stayed nights with Aubrey so that way I’ll have them when I need them.”

                Brennan nodded as she alternated between looking at Jessica and the road.  “Ms. Warren, may I make a suggestion?”

                “Of course, Dr. B.”

                “With the keys to your apartment missing, I would suggest staying elsewhere.”

                Jessica laughed.  “I would try a hotel but my credit card is cut up as well as my ID.  I can’t stay at Aubrey’s…even if I wanted to, he’s never given me a key to his house.”

                “I see.”,  Brennan said.  “We will go to your apartment to pick up some things…and then if you wish, you can stay with me tonight.”

                Surprised, Jessica turned to her mentor.  “Dr. B, I couldn’t—“

                “Yes, Ms. Warren, you could.”, the anthropologist said firmly.  “Even if nothing has been taken, whomever took your property now has access to your apartment, and you’re taking a risk sleeping there alone.  However, my home is away from our road, and it has the latest security features, including a video doorbell.  I’m trained in karate and I also carry a Sig Sauer .237 pistol in my purse.”

                “I don’t want to impose…”

                “You’re not imposing.  I’ll just ask Angela to bring the children home after dinner since we may be delayed once again.”

The redhead had another thought.  “But what if someone…is there…”

                “Excellent point.  Perhaps you should call Agent Shaw to see if she minds meeting us there.”

                Jessica reached for her phone but remembered why she didn’t have it.  “I don’t have my phone…”

                The elder anthropologist pulled over.  Getting her messenger bag from the back seat, she pulled her phone out.  Finding her in her contacts, she handed the phone to her intern.  “I have her cell phone number.  When you are done, call your landlord.”

                Jessica wiped a tear from her eye as she took the phone.  “Thank you, Dr. B.”

                “Of course, Ms. Warren.”, Brennan said.  _‘Then perhaps you and I can talk about what happened with you and Aubrey.’_

Jessica held the phone until there was an answer.  “Genny?  It’s Jessica.  Listen, I need a favor.”

The Prius and its passengers made its way through the nation’s capital, dodging the rain and sleet in the air.

* * *

 

                Forty minutes later, the anthropologists arrived at the Korean grocery store.  Parking, the two women made their way inside, where Genny was in street clothes talking to a young man who Jessica recognized as Mr. Cho’s grandson.

                “Grandfather is out of town, but I have the keys.  I called the locksmith to change the locks tomorrow.”

                “Thank you, William.”

                “All right everyone, I’m going first.”, Genny said.  “When we get inside, you all will stay outside until I tell you it’s okay to go in.”

                After everyone nodded, the four went through the back to the other entrance to the apartments.  Going up the three stories, they arrived on the landing without incident.  William bent down to unlock the door but stopped.

                “William, what’s wrong?”, Jessica asked.

                The young man struggled.  “The key is stuck…”

                Brennan looked down and shined her light on the door knob.  “There’s some kind of substance in the keyhole.”

                “Great...now I can’t get into my apartment…”, Jessica lamented, trying not to cry..

                “Jessica, do you still have that security bar Aubrey got you this summer?” Genny asked.

                The redhead considered.  “Yes, plus another one I bought for the floor.”

                “Good.”  Genny said before kicking the door open.  “Stay out here until I say it’s all right.”

                As the petite agent entered the dark apartment, all three waited outside with William holding his head in his hands.  “Grandfather will kill me about the door…”

                “I’ll replace it, William.”, Jessica said, thankful of her trust fund.

                _“Clear.”,_ Genny yelled from the apartment.

                Everyone walked into the small but neat apartment.  Jessica looked around, trying to find if anything was missing, but all looked as it should have.  Her focus went to the wall where almost 24 hours earlier, Aubrey had held her in place as he screwed her brains out.  Wiping a tear away, she was focused on that wall until her thoughts were jolted.

                “Jessica, do you want to check all the rooms to see if anything is missing?”,  Genny said.  “Be careful in case there may be evidence.”

                The intern checked the other rooms first but found them to be as she left them this morning.  Going into her bedroom, she turned on the light and looked around.

                The basket in her closet that contained dirty clothes seemed all right.  Her bed was still made from this morning.  A bookshelf that held her dissertation research materials looked as it should.  Walking in carefully, she turned to her dresser drawers and saw they weren’t lined up correctly.  Coming closer, she saw that they were sealed closed with the same substance that was in her door lock.

                “The son of a bitch went through my drawers and sealed them shut.”, Jessica said with a sardonic laugh.  “I guess I’m glad the idiot missed the laundry basket of clean clothes in the living room.”

                Genny finished sending a message on her phone.  “Jessica, I’ve just sent a message to Hodgins to send a team over from the lab.  Since everything started over at the Jeffersonian, this burglary and anything else connected can be treated as a federal case.”

                The redhead turned around.  “Genny, I can process my own bedroom--”

                The agent stepped forward.  “No, you can’t, because if we find something, it could be compromised, especially if you know the person.  Now, I’ve got a team on the way to process the scene.”

                “Agent Shaw--”

                The agent turned to Brennan.  “Dr B, I’ll supervise them myself.  I just need to call Hunter and cancel our plans tonight.”

                Jessica squeezed her eyes shut.  “Genny, I’m so sorry…”

                “No worries, Jessica.”,  Genny said as she got out her phone.  “Now get some stuff to take to Dr. B’s.  We’ll process the place and secure your apartment.  I’ll make sure the lab gets the dresser and door though.  Perhaps if we ID that goo crap we’ll have an idea who did this.”

                As Brennan talked on her phone in the living room, Jessica grabbed her travel bags.  After making she had everything she needed, the two women walked out of the apartment as Wendell arrived with a Jeffersonian team.

                “Mr. Bray…”,  Brennan started.

                Wendell hugged his friend, who was struggling to maintain her composure.  When he let Jessica go, he turned to their mentor.  “I will collect everything.  I promise.”

                The woman walked down the stairway and headed out for the Prius.  As Brennan started the motor, Jessica thought of something.

                “Dr. B, can we make a stop before going back to your house?”

* * *

 

                Ninety minutes later, Brennan and Jessica arrived at the Mighty Hut II.  Getting out of the vehicle, Jessica got her stuff.  “Dr. B, thank you for making that stop for me.”

                “I assure you, Ms. Warren, that it was no trouble.  I’m sure Aubrey will appreciate you feeding his cat.”

                “I gave him extra food so he would have enough until Aubrey gets home tomorrow. I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.”

                Brennan unlocked her front door and the two walked inside.  Entering the main area, they were greeted by Angela, who was cleaning up the kitchen.  Seeing the two, the artist walked up and hugged the redhead.  “How are you doing, Sweetie?”

                “I’m doing.”

                “Ms. Warren, I talked to Dr. Hodgins while I was waiting for you at your apartment.  We agreed that you should have the afternoon off tomorrow.”

                “But don’t you need me?”

                “Yes, Ms. Warren, but you will need a new phone as well as needing to cancel your credit cards,  and you’ll need to obtain a new driver’s license, and replace...things. By the time you get home tomorrow evening it will be too late and these things should not wait.”

                “But I have no vehicle…”

                “I’m taking you tomorrow, Jessica, or you can take the minivan.”

                “Thank you…”, Jessica said before she was interrupted by a force running into her.

                “Jessica! Aunt Angela said you are spending the night tonight.”, Christine said.

                “I am, Christine.”, the redhead said as she bent down to take the hug offered.

                “Where’s Uncle Aubrey?”

                Holding the nausea in, she forced a smile.  “He’s working, Sweetie.  You get just me tonight.”

                Observing the redhead’s eyes holding back tears, Brennan moved in.  “Christine, let Ms. Warren through so she can put her belongings in the guest room.”

                Angela grabbed her coat and hugged Brennan.  “See you ladies tomorrow.”

                “Drive very carefully Angela.  It took us over an hour to get here from Aubrey’s house.”

                “I will.  Good night.”, Angela said before walking out the door.

                “I’ll show you the guest room.”, Christine said while tugging on the redhead’s hand to Jessica’s bemusement.

                ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                As Brennan got Christine ready for bed, the child asked her an important question.   “Mommy, why does Jessica look so sad?”

                Brennan considered what to say.  “Jessica has a really tough today, Sweetheart.”

                “Is that why she’s spending the night with us?”

                The anthropologist nodded.  “Yes, Christine.”

                “She should ask Uncle Aubrey to tell her jokes.  That’s what he does when he sees that I’m sad, or he plays Candy Land with me.  Is she going to marry Uncle Aubrey?”

                Brennan knew not to be surprised by her daughter’s inquisitive nature, but she was this time.  “I don’t know, Christine.  Maybe someday.  However, we don’t ask people things like that Christine, remember?”

                The young blonde got into bed and got under the covers.  “But Mommy, isn’t that what people who love each other do?  You married Daddy and Aunt Angela married Uncle Hodgins.  I want her to be my Aunt Jessica.  She makes Uncle Aubrey smile.  She smiles a lot when she is with him, too.”

                “They do, don’t they?”  Brennan admired her daughter’s simplistic view of life, fearful of the day when she had to face real life.        “Now, I believe it is time for a story.  What would you like me to read to you tonight?”

               The blonde little girl looked at her mom earnestly.  “Can I have Jessica read me a story tonight?  I want to make her smile. ”

                Brennan smiled at her child’s simple request.  “It’s _‘May I’_ , and I’ll ask her.”

                The anthropologist got up and walked down the hallway.  Entering the living room, she hurt when she saw the intern crying as she sat on the couch.  “Ms. Warren?”

                Startled, the redhead turned to her mentor and wiped her eyes.  “Sorry, Dr. B.  Been a bit of a rough day.”

                “I know.  My daughter has asked if you would read to her tonight.  She saw you were upset and wanted to make you feel better.”

                Jessica had her first genuine smile in hours.  Standing up, she wiped her eyes again.  “I’ll go wash my face and read to her.  To be asked is an honor.”

                “Then when you’re done Ms. Warren, we will talk.”,  Brennan said to herself when the redhead disappeared from view. 

                Jessica came back out into the main area about thirty minutes later.  “She went out like a light during the second story, Dr. B.”

                “Excellent.”  Brennan turned around.  “I was about to make a cup of tea and heat up some leftover cream of broccoli soup in the refrigerator, and I’ll probably slice an apple.  Would you like to join me?”

                Jessica realized that she hadn’t eaten since they had made a quick stop on the way to Boonsboro.  “Yes, I would.”

                The older woman pulled out tea bags.  “Chamomile all right?”

                Jessica smiled.  “That...sounds perfect.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Fifteen minutes later, the two women were sitting at the center island sipping their hot drinks and eating their soup, chatting quietly about the weather.  Seeing the young woman relaxed, Brennan went into interrogation mode.

                “Ms. Warren, we never did discuss fully what happened with Aubrey this morning.  You said something about keeping things from you and possibly being broken up with him.  If it’s not too personal, perhaps I can help...if you’d like to discuss it.”

                The redhead ran her finger up and down her mug before playing with the tag.  “I don’t know if anyone can help me, Dr. B.  I don’t even know what’s wrong…”

                “Well...push it on me and let’s find out.”

                Jessica was momentarily confused before realizing what the woman was trying to say.  “Well, it started yesterday when I came to the FBI after taking my Jeep to Howard’s…”

                Brennan listened, waiting patiently as Jessica stopped intermittently to let tears fall down.  By the time she got to her fight with Aubrey, the young woman was almost beside herself.

                “What did I do wrong, Dr. B?  Why does Aubrey lie to me about his father?  I know his dad is an asshole.”, Jessica asked through her tears.  “Why do I make my boyfriends push me away…”

                As a scientist, Brennan considered all the sides.  However, she recognized Aubrey’s actions immediately.  Seeing the young woman in front of her devastated and blaming herself for something that was out of her control, Brennan knew that she needed to step in.

                “You don’t make Aubrey push you away, Ms. Warren.  He’s scared.”

                The redhead wiped her tears away.  “Of what?  I’m not going to leave him again.  I love him...so much...more than my own life...I want my life to be with him.  I’ve told him that.”

                Brennan contemplated.  “It’s hard to understand, Ms. Warren, unless you have experienced what Aubrey and I have…”

                Jessica thought for a moment.  “Are you referring to your parents being criminals?”

                “Yes, Ms. Warren.”  Brennan thought as she contemplated her words.  “Aubrey and I share not only the experience of criminals for paternal units, but also the dubious distinction of being abandoned by our parents.  Aubrey and I were both at impressionable ages when we were separated from our parents.  I was shuffled between foster homes while Aubrey had his mother, who he was close to, but he didn’t have a father to help guide him when he needed one the most.”

                “It doesn’t matter to me that his father committed several crimes, Dr. B.  It’s not who Aubrey is.  He’s so much better than that piece of crap.”

                Brennan didn’t want to break a confidence, so she chose her words carefully.  “A couple of years ago, we had a case involving hedge funds which...upset him, as it brought up bad memories.  After the case was closed, Aubrey and I met for a drink at Founding Fathers because Booth thought it was best that I talked to him.  Eventually the subject of our parents’ crimes came up before evolving into our experiences of losing our parents.”

                Jessica maintained her silence as her mentor continued to talk.

                “When my parents left without a word, it...broke me.  I wondered for years what was...wrong with me.  I figured I was unlovable and I didn’t want to experience that pain again, so I closed myself off emotionally.  I didn’t have a true friend until the day I met Angela.  Her patience helped me...but it was Booth that showed me what true friendship was...before love.  However, it scared me because...what if we tried to be together and it failed?  I would lose him again.”

                “He adores you, Dr. B.”, Jessica said.  “The way Booth looks at you...it’s beautiful.”

                “Well, after some...difficulties, we decided to be together.  Christine was an unexpected surprise.”, Brennan said with a smile.  “It was hard to adjust to being part of a unit after being alone for so many years.  I found myself pushing Booth away because...I was so used to controlling things like my emotions...my life.”

                Jessica nodded.  “I know that feeling…”

                Brennan nodded.  “However, Booth was patient with me, although it was difficult for him because he felt rejected and left out.  He also had his own issues with vulnerability and love due to his difficult relationships with both his parents.  We eventually worked through it together and became a family, including finding a home to live as one that Booth….with help, rebuilt from nothing but the wood frame.”

                The redhead smiled as she thought of what was now Aubrey’s house.  “It’s a wonderful home, Dr. B.  It’s perfect to raise a family in.”

                “It was.”, Brennan said before continuing.  “Things were a bit rocky when I took Christine with me and went on the run with my father after I was framed for murder by Christopher Pelant.  Booth felt abandoned and when I got back...we tried to be like before but we couldn’t.  Once we talked about our feelings, the awkwardness eventually worked itself out.  Then...we got engaged.”

                Jessica didn’t like Brennan’s tone.  “Dr. B...you make it sound so ominous.”

                “We were working another case involving Pelant and the systematic executions of federal agents.  I knew Booth wanted to be married, but because I was scared to, we lived together, although it went against his religion.  Realizing that there were no guarantees in life, I decided to stop being scared.  So, I went out to buy some jerky and met Booth in the courtyard, where I asked him to marry me.”

                “That’s so cool, Dr. B.”

                “It was.”, Brennan said before sipping her tea.  “But later that night...Booth broke the engagement.  He said he didn’t think we should do it...it meaning marriage.  It devastated me because I never got a reason why.  I didn’t know until later it was because Pelant threatened to kill innocent people.  For reasons that are private, that is something that would devastate Booth...possibly even destroy him.”

                Jessica bit her lip.  “Dr. B, not that I’m not grateful to listen, but what does that have to do with Aubrey and me?”

                Brennan groaned internally, frustrated that she still had issues with empathy and understanding the right thing to say.  “I’m sorry, Ms. Warren.  I meant that to show an example of how to overcome but I see it didn’t have the intended effect.”

                Taking a deep breath, she continued.  “From what Aubrey told me that night at the bar, his mother never recovered from his father’s abandonment.  When she died...he was alone...much like I was when my parents left.  To avoid the pain, he put his time into building his career and being the best...much like I did.  He moved to various FBI field offices--”

               “Detroit was his first field office.” , Jessica said.  “He loved Detroit because some of the crimes had the international aspect due to being so close to Canada...then he was transferred to the New York field office.  Careerwise it was good, but personally, he hated it because not all of his childhood memories there were pleasant.”  The redhead considered for a moment before speaking again.  “He told me it wasn’t until he came here and became close to you all that he felt part of a family again.”

                Brennan smiled.  “When I asked him that night about whether there was someone in his life, he blushed and confessed that he thought of you frequently after the Hayes Robertson case but he was...nervous.  It’s why he didn’t ask you out right away.”

                “My history with men...isn’t the greatest, so I became more comfortable with casual relationships...and having my freedom.  After I broke up with Sweets, I wasn’t very keen on work relationships outside of one night stands and I made sure it was obvious.”, Jessica said as she sipped her tea, not noticing how cold it was.  “However, I began looking forward to Aubrey’s visits to the lab.  After we became friends...I didn’t go on another date...or sleep with another guy.  I know now that...I was waiting for him to ask me out.”

                “Ms. Warren, he was...glowing when we talked about you that night, but he seemed anxious, much Iike I was with Booth.  I counseled him to take his time and when he was ready, to start a friendship.  He blushed again and I told him to go slow if he needed, but not to let the past keep him from being happy because friends made the best lovers.”

                “I shot him down when he actually flirted with me during the Hodsell case, but...he took it in stride.  I couldn’t stop myself from asking him to meet me at Founding Fathers when we concluded the case.  After that, we hung out a lot, but it took him almost six months and a background check for him to finally ask me out on a real date.”,  Jessica said with a chuckle.  “It took him six months after that, a bloodied nose, and a car that almost hit me for him to kiss me for the first time.”

                “Booth and I had to blackmailed by Caroline to kiss under the mistletoe.”,  Brennan said, keeping the pool hall kiss to herself..

                Jessica cracked up.  “No way, Dr. B.”

                “Way, Ms. Warren.  Like I’ve previous said, Booth had fears, too.”, Brennan replied with a smile.  “His childhood was not a good one with a father who was an alcoholic, abusive, and possibly also suffered from PTSD from his time in Vietnam.  His mother left the family when she couldn’t tolerate the abuse anymore.  When he was twelve, he and his brother Jared moved in with his grandfather Hank.  Eventually, we realized that to be together we had to work on what held us back.”

                “Aubrey and I have done that.  We had a long talk, Dr. B, remember?”

                “Yes, I do.  However, I don’t think Aubrey is the only one scared of the future.”

                The older woman’s words struck a nerve in the redhead.  “I want a future with Aubrey and he wants one with me.  We’re in no rush to get married or anything like that.  I have nothing to be scared of, Dr. B.”

                “I think that’s incorrect, Ms. Warren”, Brennan said.  “I’ve noted more than once that while you usually are an optimist.  However, you seem to prepare yourself for the worst with Aubrey, almost as if you are expecting to be disappointed somehow.”

                “I don’t--”

                “Ms. Warren, you do.  You’re assuming that you and Aubrey broke up this morning, but those words never came up from what you told me.  You’re assuming that he never wants to speak to you again because you told him how you felt about being shut out.  You were in my office two weeks ago afraid to ask him to come to Thanksgiving dinner with your family because you were afraid of moving too fast after you reconciled.  While you were apart, you assumed that he was involved with Karen Delfs because you were too afraid to be honest with him.  You assumed when he told you he was serious about you that he was talking about marriage.”

                The words cut through Jessica as she realized that her mentor was right.  “Dr. B...what do I do?”

                “Ms. Warren, when Aubrey returns, you both need to sit down and really talk.  The one you had after that Star Trek convention last month was a start, but you need to reconcile your fears before you can proceed with any talk of a future together.”

                “Star Wars, Dr. B.”, Jessica said patiently.  “Don’t ever mix those two fandoms up.  It’s could start a fight.”

                “Of course.”,  Brennan said with a small smile.  “After you do that, I want you to remember what I told you when you came to me before about Aubrey.”

                “Trust our friendship?”, Jessica said.  “It seems like I haven’t been…”

                “Yes you have, Jessica.”, Brennan said, shocking her intern with the use of her first name.  “You could have decided to end your relationship after his lack of acceptable behavior last night, but you didn’t.  You obviously love him and even I can see how much Aubrey loves you.  Sometimes, it seems easier to just walk away from the complications of friendship and love.  However, life is empty without both, particularly between best friends who are also in love.  As Booth showed me, sometimes you have to fight for what you want and trust you love and friendship to see you through the bad times.”

                “It’s really scary, Dr. B.”, Jessica confessed.

                “I know.  I don’t believe in faith or fate, but you and Aubrey have a strong friendship and emotional bond.  Use that to help guide you, but I think you two will come out stronger for what’s happened.”

                Jessica looked at the counter for a moment before turning to face her mentor.  “Thank you, Dr. B.”

                The anthropologist was confused.  “For what, Ms. Warren?”

                The redhead smiled.  “For telling me the truth...even when it hurts sometimes.”

                “Of course.  If I didn’t, I would be doing you a big disservice.”, Brennan replied before looking at the clock.  “It’s almost 11:00, Ms. Warren.  We should get some sleep.”

                “Okay.”

                The two women took care of their dishes and walked quietly to the guest room.  “There is a half bath in the guest room that you can use to prepare for bed and you can use my shower in the morning.”

                “Okay.  Good night, Dr B.”

                “Good night, Ms. Warren.”,  Brennan said before shutting the door.

                Getting her overnight bag, Jessica went into the small bathroom and prepped for bed.  After washing her face,she got out her toothbrush and brushed her teeth.  She was halfway done when she realized something.

                “Aubrey probably doesn’t have a toothbrush.  He hates not brushing his teeth at night.”

                Her boyfriend was very particular about his nightly routine and it rarely varied.  _‘PJs...brush teeth...nightly pee...usually like clockwork.’_

                Of course, the redhead knew there were exceptions to Aubrey’s fussiness regarding his nightly rituals...usually due to the two of them being naked together.

                Shaking off the sudden sadness, Jessica finished up and turned off the light.  Pulling the covers back, she enjoyed the feeling of the Egyptian cotton sheets. Closing her eyes, the redhead soon fell asleep in exhaustion.

* * *

 

                Several hours later, Jessica cried in her sleep, moaning softly.  Suddenly, she sat up in a cold sweat.  Taking a minute, she realized it was her phone alarm going off.  Shutting it off, she wiped her face before she heard a knock on the door.

                _“Ms. Warren, it’s time to get up.  I’ve left you two towels in the master bathroom and a washcloth.”_

                Taking a deep breath, she answered back.  “Thank you, Dr. B.  I’m on my way.”

                Grabbing her things, she came out of the bedroom to see Brennan waking up her children.  “Dr. B, would you like help with breakfast?”

                “Yes, if you are able, that would be appreciated.”

                “Okay, I’ll be quick with my shower.”

                Going to the master bedroom, she admired the barn door before entering. Walking into the en-suite bathroom, she marveled at how large it was, bigger than Aubrey’s, with a larger jet tub.  Getting her things, she got in the shower and thought of the vibe that woke her up.

                Aubrey was in danger.

                Shaking her head, she finished her tasks.  “Superman is fine.  You’re just worried because of what happened yesterday is all.”

* * *

 

                At 9:30, Jessica and Oliver were working on separate remains on the platform that came from a battlefield in France.  They worked quietly in tandem until the silence was broken.

                “Um...how is Daisy?”

                Jessica stopped and turned to her fellow intern.  “You are working at the NFL part time, Oliver.  Why don’t you ask her?”

                “I am a busy person, Jessica.  I don’t have time for inane chit chat. When I’m at the NFL, I’m needed for my immense skills, and I have work to do.”

                “And I don’t?”,  Jessica asked in a punchy tone.  Tired and irritated from her fitful sleep, her fight with Aubrey, and what happened last night, she wasn’t in the mood to be nice.  “You are the one who didn’t step up to the plate, Oliver.  Beau did and they’re now married.  Move on.”

                Ignoring Oliver’s mouth dropping, Jessica saw Genny walk in, followed by technicians accompanying her apartment door as well as her dresser into the lab.  As Hodgins indicated where to send the items, someone from Howard’s brought over one of Jessica’s tires as well.

                “Curly, all of this will take up the entire Ookey Room.”

                He was obviously angry as he turned to her.  “Yeah… most of it, but that’s all right.  Whoever did this wanted to mess with you, Jessica.  We take care of our own and we’re gonna get the bastard.”

                As Hodgins wheeled away to follow the evidence, Genny put her hand on Jessica’s shoulder.  “I’m having the security footage from the parking garage sent to my office, but I won’t be able to review it until this afternoon at the earliest.  Aubrey sent me a text last night on a lead I need to follow up on and the lab got fingerprints off the letter he got yesterday, a securities trader named Joe Fuller.”

                _‘Letter?  What letter?’_ Jessica thought before her boyfriend’s name brought the sadness back.  “Okay, that’s fine.  I appreciate your help, Genny.”

                “I have to pick up Hunter on the way.  The SEC has been investigating this guy and his company for a while, and they want a piece of the action.”

                “Okay, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for that lead...and for you and Hunter, too.  He’s really cute.”

                Remembering her talk with Aubrey, Genny smiled.  “Yeah...Danny is having a hard time adjusting to Hunter, but the boss gave me some good advice Monday morning, since he was an only child without a father, too.  I...feel good about Hunter.  It’s scary though…”

                “Isn’t it supposed to, though?  That means it’s real.”,  Jessica said with a smile.

                “Then you hit it in spades because the boss adores you.  The way he watches you when you aren’t looking.  If Hunter looks at me even half the time the way that Aubrey does with you…”, Genny said before looking at her watch.  “Shit, I have to go.”

                Jessica yelled back at the running agent.  “Keep me posted, Genny.”

                “I will.”, Genny yelled as she went out the sliding doors.

* * *

 

                At 11:30, Jessica finished her exam.  Leaving Oliver to do his own work, she removed her gloves and returned the remains to storage.  Completing her notes in the case binder, she also sent a copy of the report to Brennan before putting the case file in the storage room.  When done, she received permission to leave from Hodgins and met up with Angela after collecting her stuff.

                “You really don’t mind taking me to do this stuff?”,  Jessica said.  “The Verizon store alone is going to probably take a while since it’s almost Christmas.”

                “It’s fine.  You need to take care of all this ASAP, Jessica.”

                “Okay.”,  Jessica relented as the women walked out of the artist’s office.  “Can I get a catnip tea at the cart outside on our way out?”

                “Sure.”, Angela replied as Wendell came racing through the lab’s doors.  “Wendell, where’s the fire?”

                “Holy shit!  Guys, check this out!”,  Wendell said as he ran onto the platform.  Getting the big screen they use there, he switched the output to TV and found Channel 7, where a reporter was standing in front of the camera.

                _“It was in this building that thirty minutes ago, shots rang out on the third floor with one fatality and another wounded.  Sources tell us the deceased was being questioned by the FBI agent and an official from the SEC in his office when the shooting took place.  The agent involved in the shooting has been identified as Special Agent Genevieve Shaw.”_

As a picture of Genny showed up on the screen, Jessica panicked.  “Oh, my God...Superman may need me.”

                Reaching for her phone, she growled when she remembered why there was no phone.  “Son of a bitch!”

                It was then that Angela came onto the platform. “Aubrey isn’t going to be able to talk to you while all this is going on, so come on.  Brennan will find out what’s going on and keep us posted.”

                As the two women left the lab, Oliver became annoyed.  “Dr. B, why does Jessica get to leave in the middle of the day?”

                “None of your business, Dr. Wells.”,  Brennan said before walking to her office.  Picking up the phone, she dialed and waited.  “Booth?  What’s going on?”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                As Angela drove Jessica’s mind raced.  The vibe she kept having grew stronger.  She knew it wouldn’t do her any good to flip out, but she wanted to get her stuff as well as a new phone as soon as possible.  She was scared for Genny, but furthermore, she needed to talk to Aubrey.

                She needed to know he was all right.


	37. The Eye of the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Jessica. Someone has slashed her tires and broken into her work locker and into her apartment. What else could possibly go wrong? Read on to find out...

                 In the Verizon store, Jessica looked at the phones distractedly as she waited for someone to be available for her.  She knew she had to make a decision soon as Angela was waiting patiently to get through the busy crowd. 

                _‘Samsung…or LG…Samsung…or LG…’_

                As she wracked her brain to make up her mind, her thoughts kept returning to the events of the last forty minutes.

                Every news and radio station in town was reporting on the incident at Histevark Securities this morning.  Details remained the same...an FBI agent and an SEC accountant were shot at by a person they were questioning.  All that had been disclosed after that was that the suspect was dead and Hunter was being treated at the hospital.  Nothing about Genny.

                _‘Poor Genny…Hunter got shot and she had to kill someone.  Superman told me how they have to go to a review panel and be questioned over and over about their handling of the situation.  I’m sure she had no choice.  I hate violence, and I’ve only shot clay pigeons when we had skeet shooting for PE at the cooperative.  However, if someone has a gun on you or someone you love, you don’t hesitate. You do what you have to do to survive.  The review board will understand.  Superman will take care of her.’_

Aubrey was trained for situations like this as well, and he wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger if it was down to him or the other person.  However, he told her once that so far in his FBI career he never had to kill a suspect...and he hoped that day would never come.

                _‘Okay, back to the phones.  I think I’ll go with the Samsung.’_

Just then Angela walked up to the intern.  “Jessica, I just heard from Brennan.  Hunter is all right.  He was shot in the arm, but it didn’t hit anything major.  They’re just stitching him up now.”

                “How’s Genny?”

                “Booth told Bren that he and Aubrey are back at the FBI with her.  She’s being questioned right now, and then she has to go up to face a review panel within the next few days.  She had to turn in her gun for the investigation but Aubrey’s backing her up all the way.”

                _‘Of course Superman would.  He’s the most loyal person I know.’_ Jessica thought to herself.  “I hope she’s alright…”

                Angela put her arm around her friend.  “It’ll take some time, but she will be.  Now, what phone are you getting?”

                Jessica pointed to the Samsung.  “I’ll get the S7.”

                Hearing her friend’s name called, Angela turned.  “They’re calling you, Jessica.”

                Something finally dawned on her.  “Crap, I don’t know how much money I’ll need up front.”

                “I’ll take care of it, Jessica.  When you find the asshole who did this, you can give them the bill.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Ninety minutes later, Jessica was at her credit union opening her safe deposit box.  Angela watched in amazement as she pulled out her passport, birth certificate, and other items.

                “Jessica…you’re the last person I’ve expected to have one of these.”

                Not ready to share all the details, Jessica told a condensed version.  “My father set this up for me while I was in college.  He said things can get lost in a house and he wanted me to keep things where nothing could damage them…or no one could get to them.”

                Angela sensed there was more to the story, but wisely decided it wasn’t the best time to press for it.  “I guess it’s a good thing you did.  If whoever did this searched your dresser drawers, they were probably looking for this stuff.  Do you think Karen is involved?”

                Jessica took a breath.  Now that she’d had some time and was able to get past her emotions, she knew it could be only one person.  “No, it’s Gerald Maxwell.”

                “You seem sure of that.  Karen could have done this, too.  She’s certainly nuts enough.”

                “True, but Karen has no access to the lab, and even if it was her, I can’t see her being twisted enough to gum up my locks.  What could she gain by searching through my lingerie and other clothes?”

                “Ideas on how to seduce Aubrey?”, Angela cracked.

                Remembering what she and Aubrey had heard Karen talk about at the diner after the Gala, she shuddered and shook her head.  “Let’s just say that I’m positive that my bras and panties are too conservative for Karen...and that’s saying a lot.  Besides, they wouldn’t fit her.”

                Angela chuckled, but sobered when she saw the redhead’s reaction.  “Does Aubrey know about any of this?”

                “No.  I haven’t had the chance to tell him.”, Jessica said as she got her stuff together.  “We’ve both been busy.”

                “Jessica, you need to tell him as soon as possible.”, Angela said.  “If he hears about it from someone else, he’s going to be upset.”

                _‘Like how I found out about his father…’,_ Jessica thought.  “I think Aubrey has other things on his mind right now, Angela, with Genny’s situation.  He’ll have a lot to deal with, being the SAC.  He’s got more to worry about than me and my problems.” 

                “Jessica, you’re going to need help with things and you know he would do anything for you.  That’s what boyfriends are there for, you know?”

                The redhead erupted in anger.  “I can handle this stuff myself, Angela.  I don’t need my boyfriend to pay my bills or clean up my messes!” 

                The artist was taken aback by her reaction.  “I’m sorry, Jessica.  I just meant help you with the little things...I’m wasn’t meaning--”

                “I’m sorry, Angela.  I didn’t mean to snap at you.  You’re helping me and I’m being a brat.”,  Jessica said, mortified over her outburst.  “Now I can’t access my trust fund account until my drawers are unlocked but I can take money out of my savings to give you towards my phone...but I will also need cash for my refill of birth control pills...”

                “Don’t worry about the money, Jessica.  I know you’re good for it.  Now, let’s get your new debit card taken care of before we head over to the DMV.”

                “Thanks, Angela.”

                “You’re welcome.  Now, the sooner we get back, the sooner I can see if I can save that SIM card on your phone.  If we’re lucky, that jackass didn’t destroy it when he trashed your phone.”

                Jessica turned to the artist as they were walking out.  “Do you care if we run back to Verizon first?  They said it would be a while to transfer all my stuff to my new phone and I’m really anxious to check on Genny.”

                “And Aubrey…”, Angela said before putting her arm around her friend.  “Yeah, we can do that.  Come on.”

* * *

                An hour later, Jessica came out of the pharmacy, clearly frustrated.  By the time she got into Angela’s vehicle, she still had steam coming out of her ears.

                “My refill was $52.17.  Urgh…I’m so going to kick Gerald’s ass!”

                Angela was stunned.  “Don’t you have insurance?”

                The redhead turned to Angela.  “I do, but since I filled it less than 30 days ago, the insurance company won’t cover it unless I wait another eight days.  There was nothing the pharmacist could do.”

                “I hope you making a tab to present to that asshole, starting with your tires.”

                “Oh I am, Angela.  I am.”, Jessica said as she looked out the window.

* * *

                At 3:00, the ladies came out of the DMV with Jessica’s new temporary license.  “It sucks that it will take up to two weeks for my new license to arrive.”

                “Mine only took a week when I renewed it a couple of years ago.”, Angela said.  “I’m just glad you had your passport and your driver’s license number, Jessica.”

                “When you fill out as many financial aid forms as I’ve done for school, you learn it’s easier to memorize it than keep pulling it out.” 

                Angela unlocked her van and the women climbed inside.  Angela started the vehicle and pulled out into the street.  “Jessica, Brennan said you barely ate at breakfast and you didn’t eat much when we were at the diner.  Do you want to grab something?”

                “I’m not hungry Angela.”, Jessica replied as she looked at her phone and saw the two text messages that showed up earlier.

                **_Jessica, I love u.  Have things 2 say._**

**_Back in town but Genny & Hunter in shooting & he got shot.  Not sure when we can talk but will call when I can.  Hoover is a madhouse.  Love u_ **

Jessica knew that her phone had been destroyed late yesterday afternoon.  By now everything should have transferred to this phone, and it looked like Aubrey had sent these messages this morning. 

                _‘If he sent me two messages today, perhaps he tried talking to me yesterday...and I didn’t answer him because I didn’t have my phone since that prick Gerald destroyed it.  Superman must think I was ignoring him like a petulant teenager.’_   She pondered for a moment.  _‘I should send him a message...but what do I say?’_

The redhead took a deep breath to hold herself together, an action that Angela noticed.  “Jessica, are you all right?”

                “Yeah...Aubrey sent me a message.”

                “Are you going to text him back?”, Angela asked.

                “No...he’s really busy right now.”

                “You should—“, the artist said before her phone buzzed.  “It’s Genny.  She studied the tapes and has some news.”

                “Let’s head over to the Hoover, Angela.”, Jessica replied, thinking about her dream again.  _‘Maybe I can see Superman and relieve this vibe a little bit.’_

* * *

                Forty minutes later, the ladies arrived in Major Crimes.  The redhead was disappointed when she saw Aubrey’s office was empty.  Walking three doors down, they saw the ASAC in her office going over paperwork, a bandage over her eyebrow. 

                Angela knocked on the door.  “Hey Genny, how are you doing?”

                “Well, I could be better.”, the agent replied, obviously trying to control her emotions.  “But I guess, all things considered, I’m as good as I can be.  It could’ve been so much worse…”

                “I’m sorry for what happened today.”, Jessica said.  “If there’s anything I can do…”

                “I’ll let you know.  The head of the SEC isn’t happy that Hunter was shot and he bitched to Stark.  Aubrey and Booth stood up for me, so my hearing, we hope, will just be a formality.  Unfortunately, I’m riding a desk until it gets called a clean shoot.  I also have to get this incident report and other paperwork to Stark before the end of the day.”

                “Where are Booth and Aubrey now?”, Angela asked as she saw all the activity in the bullpen.

                “They’re both with Stark.  They put out an APB out on the guy Aubrey’s father tipped them off when they visited him in West Virginia yesterday…a securities guy named Vincent Sipoletti.  He’s...or rather was, Vacchio’s brother-in-law and a securities trader at Histevark Securities Trading.” 

                _‘Holy shit...if Superman’s dad is involved in this case it’s going to hit him hard.’_ Jessica thought.  “Aubrey’s dad gave them a tip?”, Jessica asked. 

               “Yeah.  According to Mr. Aubrey, it’s alleged that Sipoletti has a hobby as a part time hit man with the Corzone family, and he was probably the guy who actually killed Vacchio back in September.”, Genny replied. 

               “Wait, what happened today was at Histevark Securities, wasn’t it?”, Angela asked.

                “Yes.  Not only is Sipoletti the boss of Joe Fuller’s supervisor, but he left work after the shooting for _‘meetings’”_., Genny said with the last part in quotation marks.  “Of course, his secretary didn’t know where or when he would be back.”

               “Joe Fuller...he was the guy that...died today, right?”, Angela asked. 

               Genny nodded affirmatively before becoming wistful as she completed more paperwork.  “Hunter is probably getting his ass chewed out right now…SEC guys are supposed to stay out of the line of fire.  None of them carry a gun, not even the agents in the Enforcement Division like Hunter is.”

                “You know, I’m going to get a water from the break room.  Either of you ladies want one?”, Angela inquired.  “You know what, I’ll bring three and when I get back, we can go over what you found, Genny.  Sound good?”

                Jessica and Genny watched the pregnant artist walk away, giving them some privacy.  When they were alone, the agent took a shaky breath.

                “I’m sorry.  You’re here about your apartment and stuff and I’m trying not to fall apart…”

                Jessica shut the door, drew the blinds, and put her arm around her friend.  “Genny, I can’t say that I know what you’re going through…but you did the right thing.  If you didn’t…you and Hunter may not be here right now…Danny wouldn’t have his mother…”

                “They talk about this at Quantico.”, Genny said.  “You go through Hogan’s Alley…you learn to shoot first and think later…you have the lecture about that FBI shootout in Miami in ‘86…all to prepare you for this moment, and you think you’re ready, you know?  And we all go into a situation, knowing it could go crossways at any minute,  but…when it happens, they don’t tell you how you get so mixed up inside…about how you feel when you’ve actually killed someone...but Booth told me that it gets better with time and that it’s okay to feel this way.”

                The redhead didn’t say a word as she sat and listened to Genny.  She knew Aubrey had encountered dangerous situations like this, but he was never this…open to her.  Then she thought about her earlier ponderings.  _What if this was Superman someday having to make this same decision?_

                Her thoughts were interrupted by Genny’s change of subject.

                “As I researched Sipoletti this morning for Aubrey, the fingerprints on the anonymous note the boss got yesterday morning came back as belonging to Mr. Fuller.”

                _‘He got a note and somehow things connected to his father…Superman must have been freaked out...that explains why he was acting weird yesterday.’_  Jessica thought, but kept it to herself.  “Histevark Securities...I’m not sure I’ve heard of them...”

                “They’re based out of Morgantown, West Virginia, but they’re also found in Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and here in DC.  From what Hunter has told me, the name is a combo of the three founders, John Higgins, Alex Stevens, and Andrea Clark.  The SEC has been suspicious of this company for a quite a while, but they don’t have enough evidence to act.  Because Hunter wasn’t armed, I told him that I was to take lead and he was to do nothing more than ask questions.  He agreed, so we went over to their offices.” 

                When Jessica nodded, she continued.

                “Everything seemed normal.  I had Hunter start asking Fuller questions about his job to put him at ease.  He then gave me the lead like he was supposed to as he walked around the office.  When I got around to his prints on the letter, Fuller said he must have touched the paper before someone used it.  There was panic in his eyes, though, and he wiped his brow a couple of times.  The guy was real nervous.”

                Genny went to drink her coffee, but the cup was empty.  Putting it down, she continued.

                “What he said was plausible, and I had nothing else.  I figured he would lead me to whomever was calling the shots, so I decided to tail this guy as well as have Angela pull all this guy’s phone calls.  Of course, this meant I had to send my boyfriend back to his office in a cab, but I didn’t have a choice.  My plan was to play it cool and tell Hunter what was up when we left.”

                The agent’s knuckles were turning white as she thought about her next words.

               “We had just turned to leave when Hunter saw a photograph of what looked like Fuller and some other guys posing together.  He turned and asked him about it and Fuller just…flipped out.  Next thing I know, he reaches into his desk, grabs a gun, knocks his desk over, and starts shooting at us.  Hunter sank to the ground as he grabbed his arm, and all I could think was _‘it’s him or us’.”_ Genny took a deep breath.  “Remembering everything from Quantico, I shot the guy and then ran to Hunter...he was bleeding pretty bad...”

                Suddenly, the ASAC had tears in her eyes.  “Why the fuck am I crying?  I shot someone who would have killed us…”

                Jessica took her hand.  “Because you didn’t just shoot and kill a suspect, Gen.  You shot someone who hurt the man you loved.  It’s not your fault.  You saved Hunter’s life...”

                The petite woman laughed sarcastically.  “That’s what Aubrey said to me at the hospital today…then he said that not only he was proud of my actions, but also to have me as his ASAC.  He had to take my weapon,  but he promised he’d give it back to me as soon as he could.  Hunter will definitely want to stay away from me after all the shit he’s dealt with the last week or so.”

                “I doubt that...”

                The agent turned to the redhead with a sad sigh.  “Jessica, my son hates him,  and he made it obvious at Thanksgiving...he got shot when he came with me to check on a lead because the SEC has an interest in this case.  I doubt he signed up for all this when he asked me out for coffee two months ago…”

                “You don’t know that, Genny.  Have you heard from him?”

                The agent composed herself enough to smile.  “Yeah, when I took him home, he said I better come see him tonight...he wanted to properly thank his hero.  Of course, he was also hopped up on meds…”

                “I doubt he was too stoned to not know his own mind, Genny.  Just remember what I said.”,  Jessica pointed at the other woman’s bandage.  “How did you hurt your head?”

                “When that asshole knocked his desk over, it pushed me back onto a table before I landed on the floor…hit my head onto the edge.  Got eight stitches…looks worse than it was.  They wanted me to stay overnight in case I had a concussion, but I had to get out of there and, anyway, I felt fine.  Aubrey said I could come to work if I left early and stayed with my mom tonight so she could watch me.”

                “After you see Hunter.”, Jessica said with a smirk.  “I’m glad you two are all right, Genny.”

                “Me, too.  Hopefully the boss will be better once he sees you.  He was a bear yesterday when he came in.”

                “How is he today?”, Jessica asked without thinking.

                “Completely focused on work.  Obviously you two had a fight about something yesterday.”,  Genny said with a sly smile. 

                “Well…”, Jessica said as Angela returned with three waters.

                “Okay, ladies…are we ready?”

                “Yeah.”,  Genny said as she composed herself.  Turning to her copy of the surveillance video, it showed a black and white image of where Jessica’s Jeep was.  “Jessica, you parked in an awesome spot yesterday because you were right by the camera.  This is when you’re arriving at 8:00.  Now I’m going to fast forward a few hours…”

                The agent stopped when she reached 10:42 AM.  “Now watch.”

                The screen showed just the Jeep before what looked like a tall figure came into view.  The person looked around before pulling something out of their pocket.  Then they squatted behind the back of the vehicle by each back tire before the figure stopped suddenly before running away.  Thirty seconds later, another figure came onto the screen and stood behind the vehicle.

                “Wait…that’s me when I found my Jeep.”, Jessica said.  “I was running late and left my cooler in my vehicle so I was heading out to get my lunch…”

                “I think you interrupted what was going on, Jessica.  That’s why only the back tires were slashed.”, Genny stated.

                “Damn it.  I would have seen the bastard if I was only a few seconds faster.  It could be Gerald but it’s hard to tell…”

                “Well, it took the fifth time I watched this but I finally caught something.”,  Genny said before rewinding to when the figure ran away.  Pointing to the screen, the agent pointed to something in the upper corner.

                “He dropped something.”, Angela said.  “If it’s still there, we may be able to track it.  Come on, Jessica.”

                The redhead wanted to see her boyfriend, but realized that time was of the essence.  “All right.  Thanks, Genny.”

                “You’re welcome.  If it’s still there, just take it to the lab and keep me posted.”

                The two women ran out and stood in front of the elevator.  “I’m sorry you didn’t get to see Aubrey, Jessica.  Did you two have a fight yesterday?  Is that why you were so upset at work?”

                “We...yes...we had a fight.  I’m still angry at him, but after what happened with Genny…”

                “Do you want to talk about it?”

                Jessica wasn’t ready to pour her guts out again about the fight.  Now that she had a better understanding of why Aubrey was so angry Monday evening and yesterday morning, she wanted to maintain his privacy.  “Not now…”

                Angela decided not to push her.  “Well, let’s get this taken care of and then you can call him now that you have a phone.  Have Wendell search with you so that if we find out you know who did all this, your ass is covered.”

                “Will do.”, Jessica said as the elevator doors opened.  Getting in, they closed and Karen Delfs came out from behind the corner.

                _‘So that little bitch is why Aubrey is all moody and riled up the last couple of days.  She fights with him and makes him vulnerable to getting hurt, because he’s so preoccupied with thinking about her.  Next, that two faced twit didn’t even help my boyfriend after he fell in the mud yesterday at the crime scene and was humiliated by Dr. Brennan when she forced him to give up his clothes.  Now, she’s going to mess with someone else and getting her little friends involved, too.  That little twat has it coming…’_

* * *

                An hour later, Jessica and Wendell were down the garage searching carefully around where her Jeep was parked yesterday.  To their annoyance, they couldn’t see anything around where the object was yesterday.

                “Shit…what am I going to do, Wendell?”

                “We’re going to get this dickhead, Jessica.”, the other anthropologist said.  “I promise you that.”

                “You can’t pull miracles out of your butt, Wendell.”

                The blonde man stopped searching and smiled.  “Hey, I survived cancer and I’ll be in remission for two years as of December 4th.  If I can do that, I can pull a miracle out of my butt for my friend.”

                The two friends laughed.  “Okay, let’s keep looking.”, Jessica said.

                For the next ten minutes, they increased their perimeter before the redhead had a brainstorm.  “Shit, Wendell…what if it was turned into Lost and Found…whatever it was.”

                “Yeah…this is the employee area, so if they find something they’ll…”

                Both looked the gate where the parking attendant sat.  Running over, they moved to the side as a car coming into the parking garage.  When they were clear, they raced to the booth.

                “Excuse me, did anybody turn something in that they found near that spot yesterday or today?”  Wendell said as they pointed towards where Jessica’s Jeep was.

                The attendant was working on a crossword puzzle, not looking at the two anthropologists.  “How the hell do I know?  I just scan badges and let people park here.”

                “Well, can you look?”, Jessica said, frustrated.

                “There’s nothing there and nobody turned in any keys yesterday.”, the attendant said while working on his crossword puzzle.

                The two looked at each other and had the same thought.  _‘Who said anything about keys?’_

Backing away, they stood where they couldn’t be heard.  “He knows something, Jessica.”,  Wendell stated in a matter of fact manner.  “That wasn’t just a random slip of the tongue.”

                “Yeah, and Gerald probably paid him off.”,  the redhead muttered before getting out her phone.  “Time to play a little hardball.”

                “I do like your new phone.  Samsung S7, right?”

                 “Yep...it’s growing on me.” Jessica chuckled before dialing a number.  “Hi, it’s Jessica…I need a favor.”

* * *

                The attendant continued his crossword until an SUV pulled up with a flashing light.  Startled at the siren, he watched as a petite woman got out and stormed over there. 

                “Special Agent Genevieve Shaw, FBI.”, she said before putting her badge away.  “Now, according to these two, you found some keys that you’re reluctant to give up?”

                “Keys?  I don’t know what you’re talking about!”, the guy sputtered, now very nervous.  “Hey, you’re that agent that was on TV today.”

                “Those keys are evidence in a federal case.  I’m going to pull the camera from this booth and across the street.  If I see anything that interests me, I’ll be back and will take you to the FBI.  If you lie, you will be charged as an accessory to destruction of property and burglary—“

                “Shit…okay. I found them over there after lunch yesterday.  I was going to put them in the lost and found box, but when I saw they were for an Alfa Romeo, I said _‘fuck it’_.

                “Because you were going to possibly _‘take it for a test drive’_ later?”, Genny asked.  When the guy hesitated, the agent smirked.  “It’s either that or you have a collection of rich guy car keys.  You be straight with me and I’ll forget why you kept them.”

                “Fine...I see that rich guy driving that thing in here every day and he’s always a dillhole.  So when he came up to me last night demanding his keys that he lost I said no one turned them in.  He growled like a damn dog and yelled something like, _‘that fucking firecrotch’_ , whatever that means.  Then, he said if someone asked me about them to lie and gave me five hundred dollars to keep quiet.”

                Genny pulled her phone and made a search.  When she found what she was looking for, she held it up.  “Is this the dillhole you talked to?”

                “Yeah…how did you know?”

                “Get the keys.”, Genny barked. 

                The attendant pulled them out from his pocket and put them in the evidence bag Wendell held out.  “I’ll get these to the lab ASAP.”

                “Thanks for your help, Genny.”, Jessica said. 

                “You’re welcome.  I was on my way home.”

                “Oh shit...I’m sorry.”, Jessica said.

                “Just be glad I was able to scare this guy.  If more force was involved, I would have to call someone to arrest him since I’m on desk duty until after my hearing.”, Genny said with a smile.  “Now, I’m going home to have dinner with my mom and my son, then I will stop and see Hunter.”

                Jessica watched the agent get into her vehicle and drive away.  She felt guilty for asking her to come after what she went through today.  It was then she was interrupted by a buzz.  Realizing it was from her new phone, she grabbed it.  When she read it, she got emotional.

                **_I’m sorry 4 being a dick.  I love u.  Call u ASAP._**

Jessica thought about what she wanted to say but just as she was about to type it, she was interrupted.

                “Am I going to get fired for this?”

                The redhead looked up and saw the parking garage attendant looking at her.  Giving the man a large grin, she crossed her arms.  “How the hell do I know?  I just work in a federal crime lab and examine evidence.”

                As she was walking away, she got another text from Hodgins.  **_Get in here, Jessica.  Got some news 4 u._**

                Pushing everything else out of her mind, she ran, grabbing her kit along the way, and raced back towards the entrance.  Running up the stairs to the correct floor, she raced through the lab to the Ookey Room.  “Okay…Curly…what do you…have…”

                Hodgins was finishing the dusting of the keys.  When he got a good one, he put them on a tray and gave them to Wendell.  “Take these to Angela so she can see if there’s a match.”

                “Got it.”, the blonde man said before rushing out of the room.

                The entomologist turned to his other intern.  “Okay first, it took awhile to get the stuff from your dresser drawers.  It was a mix of what looked like putty, epoxy, and some sort of gel.  When I got enough for a sample, I pulled the rest off.  Unfortunately ruined your drawers since it was unfinished wood.”

                _‘One unfinished wood dresser to add to my list.  Got it.’_   Jessica thought.  “And…”

                “As I ran the compounds through the Mass Spec, Dr. B was nice enough to pull the drawers out for me.  We were as gentle as we could, but can you tell if they were searched or not?”  Hodgins said while indicating four drawers lined up side by side on a table by the wall.

                The redhead took a peek and the first three drawers, while looking slightly disrupted due to being moved, looked all right.  The fourth one, the top one, gave her shivers.

                It was obvious that the drawer was searched through as her lingerie was all messed up.  Holding down the nausea, Jessica did a quick search and realized that several pairs of her panties were missing.  Doing a mental calculation, she knew that the ones missing weren’t the ones she washed while at Aubrey’s house Sunday because they were in the laundry basket in the living room.

               She wanted to vomit, but held herself together.               “Some of my…underwear is missing.”

                Hodgins realized the implications.  “Jessica…”

                Then she realized what else was missing.  “My checkbook and debit card for my trust fund account is missing, too.  I have to call the bank…”

                Jessica grabbed her phone and made a call.  Hodgins could see the intern’s hand shaking as he spoke. 

                “Thank you.”,  the redhead said into the phone before turning around.  “I had to put a hold onto my account.  I was going to pay my rent Thursday...my car insurance is due in a few weeks...the hold is for 24 hours but I have an appointment there for 1:00 tomorrow afternoon to sort out what gets paid but it may still be frozen until at least next week...son of a bitch...”

                Hodgins wheeled over to his friend.  “Jessica, don’t worry about the money.  Angela and I will cover everything you need.  You just pay us back when you get your account situated.”

                “Thank you...”  Jessica said as she worked hard to not lose her composure.  “Curly, can you show me what else you found, please?” 

                “Okay.”, Hodgins said, angrier than he was at what happened to his young friend.  “So the substance in the drawers was the same mix of putty, epoxy, and gel that sealed the keyhole in your door.”

                “Can you figure out what that stuff is?”

                “Of course, my friend.”  The entomologist pushed a button on his remote.   “It was a combination of museum putty and gel as well as an epoxy.”

                “But you can find museum putty and gel in stores and on Amazon…”

                “But the epoxy mixed in is part of a small group of resins that’s exclusive to museums to use with antiquities and fossils.”, Hodgins replied.  “This stuff you can’t buy in stores…”

                “Nor can you find a replacement key for an Alfa Romeo that easily…”, Angela said as she walked in.  “I just called the nearest Alfa Romeo dealership in Sterling, Virginia.  It seems that there was a order made yesterday for a new set of keys for a 2014 Alfa Romeo 4C Special Launch edition, color Alfa Rosso.  It was one of 500 sold in the US in 2014 and one of two in Washington DC.  One was purchased by a lobbyist for his trophy wife who was driving it and had her spare keys on her.”

               “Let me guess.  The other buyer was Gerald Maxwell.”, Hodgins said.

               “Yeah...and I checked the request form and it was signed by...Gerald Maxwell.  The receptionist remembered him very well because he kept flirting with her and he asked her out.  When she turned him down, she said he became a real prick.”, Angela said.  “When I ran that print you found on the key, Honey, I found a match in the Jeffersonian database to our resident asshat Gerald Maxwell.”

                “Because you have to have to be fingerprinted and get an FBI background check before being officially hired on here, even as an intern.”,  Jessica replied.  “I had to do both as well as a drug test before I could start here.”

                “Gerald Maxwell did do a drug test and was fingerprinted in 2012.”, Angela said.  “However, our resident prick didn’t have an FBI background check in his records.”

                “Because his father pulled some strings.”, Hodgins said.  “Got to wonder if he pulled his shit somewhere else with another woman.”

                Jessica sat down on a stool and began to cry.  Stumped, the couple walked over to her and Angela put her arms around the young woman.  “Jessica, I thought you would be glad we have the evidence to get this son of a bitch.”

                “I am…the timing just sucks…and I need to talk to Aubrey, but he’s busy with Genny’s case…and his dad…”

                “His dad?”, Hodgins asked.  “What does that asshole have to do with anything?”

                “I’ll explain later.”, Angela said quietly.

                “I called Antiquities, but Gerald is off until Wednesday.”, Hodgins said.  “I guess the little prick paid off students and traded shifts so he would have enough hours to work until the end of the semester.  Let me call Dr. Miller and then Genny.”

                “Genny is on desk duty, but she can at least call Ms. Julian and go from there.”

                “While he’s doing that, come with me, Jessica.  I have something you need to see.”, Angela said. 

                The two women headed back to her office across the lab.  Leading Jessica to the Angelatron, the artist pressed a few buttons.

                “I was able to save your SIM card from your phone.  I thought you would like to know that Aubrey sent you text messages yesterday.”

                Jessica read Aubrey’s words on the large screen and felt tears form in her eyes.

                 **8:22 AM : _Jess, I’m sorry 4 being an ass.  All my fault.  I need 2 talk 2 u._**

** 12:16 PM:  _Weather nasty here.  Will call u ASAP tonight._ **

**4:12 PM : _Stuck OOT overnite.  Need 2 talk 2 u.  Sorry 4 starting fight w u.  I was an asshole._**

Seeing the tears in her friend’s eyes, Angela put her arm around her.  “I don’t know what the fight was about, but someone wants to make up with you...and you’re anxious to talk to him.  Why don’t you wash your face, Jessica and take a breather?  Then you can try calling Aubrey.”

                “Okay…”

                Jessica went into the intern locker room, hung up her coat on a hook, and sat in a stall where she broke down.  She didn’t know what she was more upset about...Aubrey or how things had escalated with Gerald Maxwell.  Calmed down, she came out and ran the sink for several minutes to wash her face.  When most of the redness was gone, she walked to her locker and opened the new lock.  Next week, they were getting the new digital locks with codes unique to the intern, but it was too late for her.

                Putting her makeup back on, she put the bag away and secured things.  Going to her coat, she put it on and pulled out her phone.  That’s when she saw she missed a call from her boyfriend.

                “Son of a bitch!  Can this day get any fucking worse?”, the intern cried.  Remembering her new password for her voicemail, she pressed it and got his message.          

_“Jess...I have so much to say to you...I’m sorry for yesterday...I’m even more sorry for Monday night...I love you so much...I’m tired of being afraid...shit, I have to go...a guy Booth and I have been trying to find all day is finally here...I love you, Jessica.”_

                As the message ended, but Jessica couldn’t make herself delete it just yet.  Getting a chill, she tried calling back but got no answer.  When prompted, she left a message.  “Aubrey...please call me when you get this...I love you, too.  Come back to me in one piece, you understand?”

                When she finished her call, in frustration, she threw her phone back in her pocket when it buzzed again.  Taking it out, she saw the message was from William Cho letting her know that her new door was installed and her new keys were waiting for her in the grocery store. 

                She was glad there was a new door and new locks.  However, it shamed her to admit she was scared shitless to go home alone tonight.  She wasn’t sure if she would be welcome with Aubrey because while she wanted to speak with him and he wanted to speak with her, she was still angry for their fight and what he did.

                _‘What if Gerald comes back?  He already invaded my privacy and stole my panties.  What will he do next?’_

                Suddenly, Jessica shook her head.  “No, I won’t be afraid to be in my own apartment.  Fuck you, Gerald.”

                Heading back out to the lab, she walked back to the Ookey Room, where she found Hodgins, Angela, and Dr. B.

                “Ms. Warren, are you comfortable staying at your apartment or would you like to come home with Booth and myself tonight?”

                “You and Booth, please.”,  Jessica said, forgetting her earlier pledge.

* * *

                Forty minutes later, everyone was packing things up to go home.  Jessica got her stuff and walked out and headed for her mentor’s office.

                “Thank you for letting me stay with you tonight, Dr. B.  I’ve got new locks and a door at my apartment, but I’m just…”

                Brennan put her hand on Jessica’s shoulder.  “It’s okay to be afraid, Ms. Warren.  You have every right to be hesitant about staying in your own apartment. With the shooting today, Aubrey may not be home tonight.  Booth is also staying late, too, but it’s no trouble having you.  Now, let’s get my children and go home, shall we?  I’m making vegetarian lasagna tonight.”

                “Sounds really good, Dr. B.  I saw you had the makings for grape salad in your fridge.  If you want, I can make that for dessert.”

                “That sounds lovely, Ms. Warren.  Thank you.”

                Just as they were heading out the door, Brennan’s office phone rang.  She thought about not answering it, but changed her mind when she recognized the number as being from the Hoover.  Picking up, she answered.  “Hello?  When?  Is he all right?  Are they both all right?  We’re on our way.”

                Jessica was putting her coat on when she heard the panic in her boss’s voice.  “Dr. B, what—“

                “Ms. Warren, we need to go to George Washington University Hospital.”,  Brennan said before rushing out.

                “Dr. B, what…”

                Running after her, she saw Brennan talking to Angela and Hodgins.  After seeing the artist giving her a hug, they left and the anthropologist rushed back to her.

                “Dr. B, are you alright?”

                “Booth and Aubrey are at the hospital.  They were both shot.  Come with me, now.”

                The two women raced out of the lab.  Not stopping until they got to her Prius, they got in and raced out of the parking garage.

                “Dr. B, what happened?  What happened to Aubrey?”

                “I don’t know all the details.  All that Agent Shaw could tell me is that they went to talk to this Vincent Sipoletti person…”, Brennan said as she attempted to keep her cool while weaving through DC traffic.  “…and then there was a gunfight in the parking lot of the building they were at, the one she was in earlier today.”

                “What happened to Aubrey?”, Jessica asked again, trying to maintain her composure but failing.

                “I don’t know, Ms. Warren.  I just know that my husband is injured and if he requires surgery, I need to talk to the doctor immediately.  He has an unusual sensitivity to anesthesia.”

                Jessica realized that she was being insensitive.  “I’m sorry, Dr. B.  I’m just worried about…”

                Brennan turned right on a yellow.  “I know, Ms. Warren.  I’ll get us there as soon as I can…”

                Jessica remembered the phone call she missed from Aubrey and nausea came in waves as her vibe was coming true.  _‘He called me before he talked to the suspect...Aubrey’s hurt…’_  


	38. Hurricane Karen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what does a hurricane have to do with everyone waiting to find out if Aubrey and Booth survive their shootout? Read and find out.

                Jessica and Brennan burst through the doors of the ER of GWU Hospital and were relieved to see Agents Genny Shaw and Chamberlain standing together, chatting quietly.

                Brennan was breathless as she hurried over to speak to them.  “Agent Shaw...Agent Chamberlain…what is going on?  Where’s Booth?”

                Genny puffed out a trembling sigh as she tried to remain calm.  “He’s in X-Ray right now.  He took one in the shoulder and from the looks of it he may have also dislocated it.  The ER doc said the trauma and orthopedic surgeons will probably want to operate in a hour or so.”

                “I’ll need to talk to the doctor before they put him under any sort of anesthetic.”, Brennan said before briskly walking up to the nurses’ desk.  After a few moments of discussion, the anthropologist returned.  “They will come out to get me when he returns to his room after the X-ray.”

                “What happened, Genny?”, Jessica asked nervously. 

                Shaw shook her head as she looked over the notes from the first responders who’d worked the scene.  “Details are sketchy at best right now.  All I know is Booth got a call from someone at Histavark saying that Vincent Sipoletti had returned to the office, so he and Aubrey hauled ass over there to talk to the guy before he could get away.  They couldn’t get the guy to talk and then suddenly they were being shot at.  There...was a gunfight and then Sipoletti ran his car into a light pole.  He was DOA...GSW to the chest.”  She sighed audibly.  “Today seems to be the day for dead suspects.”

                “What about Aubrey?  Where is he?”  Now terrified, Jessica tried to press Shaw for more details.  “I need you to tell me exactly what happened to him, Genny….”

                “He got hit in the thigh and nicked in the abdomen.  He bled pretty badly, but Booth was able to use his tie and his pen, as well as his body weight, as a tourniquet around Aubrey’s leg.  No small feat considering Booth was bleeding a lot and banged up as well.  The EMTs said his quick thinking probably saved the boss’s life.  One of the medics said Aubrey was barely conscious and complaining of left shoulder pain when they loaded him in the ambulance.”

                “Kehr’s sign...his spleen…”, Jessica said softly.

                Brennan put her arm around the intern.  “Ms. Warren, it could also be that he injured his shoulder when falling down.  The gunshot can also be causing bleeding to irritate the phrenic nerve.”

                “They’ll need to transfuse him as soon as possible…Aubrey’s blood type is AB positive.  He…he has no allergies…I need to tell someone…”,  Jessica said as she paced the room.  “I need to see him…”

                “Jessica, they have all that on the electronic medical record from when he got caught in the blast with Hodgins last year.  The surgeon said they were low on AB positive and O negative blood, but they’re calling for donors...”

                “AB positive is the universal recipient--”, the redhead replied.

                “That’s what the trauma surgeon said, too, so they started transfusing Aubrey with A positive when he got here and will continue to do so while he’s in surgery.  She asked if we could get the agents and anyone else who’s available to give blood.  I’ve already called Deputy Director Stark, and he’s putting out the word as we speak.”

                Jessica thought of her Superman all helpless on the OR table and the memories of a year ago when she was holding another vigil for him raced through her mind.  “Can I see Aubrey before--”

                “No...I’m sorry.  Dr. Elias took one look at his thigh and said it was critical to get him into surgery ASAP.  They took him to an OR as soon as they could get one set up.”, Genny said. 

                “His femoral artery was possibly compromised...”, Brennan murmured.  “I see.  Yes, it would be imperative to act immediately.”

                “If he loses too much blood, his leg could be...amputated...or he could have brain damage...”, Jessica muttered softly.  “...or he could exsanguinate…”

                “The boss is tough, Jessica and he’s going to get past this, too.”, the young agent said before looking towards Brennan.  “I’ll call everyone else, Dr. B.”

                “Please do so.”, Brennan said before leading Jessica to the waiting room.  “It’s going to be all right, Jessica.   If it’s the same Dr. Elias that worked on Booth last year, she’s very skilled as a trauma surgeon.”

                “That’s good, Dr. B.  But if Aubrey’s femoral artery was damaged…”

                 Brennan put her arm around her intern.  “It sounds like Booth was able to slow the bleeding significantly.  You know the FBI trains its agents to administer first aid, and Booth also received training as a Ranger.  He knew what he was doing...”

                “I know...it’s just...oh, my God...James…” For the redhead, everything came to her mind a rush.  Their weekend…the fight…vandalism of her vehicle and locker…the burglary of her apartment...her bad vibe...missing his call…it was too much as she broke down again in tears while Brennan comforted her.

* * *

                Within the hour Booth and Aubrey’s friends had joined their vigil, which had moved to the OR waiting room.  Steve and several other agents from both the Homicide and Major Crimes divisions also joined the lab group as everyone able took turns donating blood.  Daisy came alone while Beau watched the kids at Booth and Brennan’s.  Even Oliver was there, surprising everyone by offering to get people coffee or anything else they needed.

                Karen was there as well, much to the annoyance of the Jeffersonian’s staff.  However, they ignored her as much as possible while they talked quietly about the day’s events. 

                At the two hour mark, Brennan watched the patient update screen and Booth’s number carefully.  When his status changed from OPERATING ROOM to RECOVERY, she sighed in relief.  Fifteen minutes later, the surgeon came out and took Brennan into a private room for an update.  Coming out ten minutes later, she had tears of relief rolling down her cheek.

                Angela got up and rushed her friend.  “Bren, how’s Booth?”

                “Booth experienced a Grade III separation to his right shoulder and they removed a low caliber bullet next to the separation.  Dr. Dear stated that probably due to the size of the projectile, the damage was limited to two ligaments.  The orthopedic surgeon in the OR also elected to repair his dislocated shoulder with arthroscopy because Booth is an FBI agent and an active man. Both estimated about three to four weeks of physical therapy and he will have to wear a sling for a week or two, but both surgeons are confident he will make a full recovery.”

                “Any complications from the anesthesia?”, Cam asked.  “I know you were worried about that…”

                “No, it doesn’t appear so.  His vitals are strong and as soon as he’s in recovery, I can go back with him.”,  Brennan replied before looking at Jessica, who was pale.  “But I’ll come back out to wait for word on Aubrey as soon as he’s stable.”

                 Five minutes later, another nurse came out to the OR waiting room.  “Dr. Brennan?  I have an update regarding Agent Aubrey’s surgery, if you’ll come with me.”

                 Brennan got up to talk to the nurse, taking Jessica with her inside a nearby room.  Karen made three steps to follow when Genny stopped her.

                “You weren’t invited, Dr. Delfs.”

                 Karen crossed her arms.  “Jessica and Dr. Brennan don’t have a monopoly on Aubrey.  Contrary to what they like to think, I’m his friend too, Genny.”

                 “So am I, but I’m staying out here with his other friends.  I suggest that if you don’t want to go a round with Dr. B that you do the same.  They’ll update us in a few minutes.”

                 “He needs someone to help translate that medical speak to everyone--”

                “Dr. B and Jessica are forensic anthropologists, and there are five more forensic anthropologists out here.  There is also a forensic pathologist, forensic scientist, and an oncology nurse.  I think we’ll be fine...now take a seat, Karen.”

                 Startled by the intensity in the petite woman’s dark eyes, the profiler back away.  However, when she saw Jessica and Dr. B returning to the waiting area, Karen immediately converged onto the two women.  “What’s going on with Aubrey?”

                 Jessica and Brennan simply walked around the profiler before the redhead addressed the group.  “Turns out that the gunshot missed the femoral artery itself but hit his lateral femoral circumflex artery and that they’re still working to repair it while transfusing him with blood.  The OR nurse said they will try to keep us posted.” 

                 When done, Jessica quietly sat down in a chair and stared at the wall.  Daisy put her arm around her friend and the redhead fell onto her shoulder while Andie held her friend’s hand. 

                 Still standing where she was, Karen stomped back to her seat.  _‘People can ignore me all they want, but Aubrey and I are still close and I won’t let them forget it.’_

* * *

                 Two hours later, Aubrey’s surgery was still ongoing and everyone was feeling tense.  Karen continued to shoot daggers at Jessica while she sat with Steve, who was unusually quiet.  Aubrey’s agents that were available to wait remained, including Genny.  From another part of the hospital, Caroline returned from giving blood and walked up to Jessica.

                “Any news, Honeychile?”

                “Not yet, Ms. Julian.  Thank you for giving blood.”,  Jessica said with a wan smile before turning to everyone in the room.  “Thank you, everyone.  Aubrey will like that a lot.”

                “Yes, it’s important in times like these to give to others.”, the US Attorney said before looking at Karen.

                “What?  I fainted the last few times I was poked with a needle.”

                “But you’re not afraid to slicing your hand for a confession, bonne a rienne?”,  Caroline said before sitting down.  “Interesting.”

                “I’m just sorry I couldn’t donate.”, Angela said.

                “That’s okay, Angela.  You have the best excuse in the world.”, Jessica said while nodding towards her abdomen.

                Oliver walked up to Jessica.  “I’m sorry about Agent Aubrey.  While I still think luck had a lot to do with him barely winning our game in _Aerial Attack_ , I hope he comes though this okay.”

                “Thank you, Oliver.”, Jessica said, surprised at her fellow intern’s uncharacteristic turn of empathy.  No one noticed the quick glance he gave Daisy before sitting back down.

                Just then, Brennan returned through the OR doors.  “Booth has been admitted for the evening.  He was quite groggy, but he asked about Aubrey.  Any word?”

                Jessica looked to the patient update board for Aubrey’s number.  “It says he’s still in surgery.  I’m glad Booth is okay, Dr. B.” 

                The redhead quietly got up and looked out the window.  She was joined by Andie and Daisy who came to comfort their friend. 

                “Jessica, Aubrey is a stubborn ass man.  He survived being blown up with several pieces of shrapnel in his back last year, didn’t he?”, the nurse said quietly.

                “Yeah…”

                Daisy caught on to what Andie was trying to do.  “Didn’t you tell us that he survived Thanksgiving with your brothers?  You said they liked him a lot because he stood up for you against your bitchy mother.”

                Jessica wiped away a tear.  “Yeah, he did.”

                “Jessica, there’s no way fate got you and Aubrey back together just to have him die on you.  No way.”, Andie declared emphatically.  “I’m a nurse and I know of what I speak.”

                “I don’t what I’ll do…what if he doesn’t…it hit his lateral femoral circumflex artery —“

                “But Jessica, it missed the main femoral by two millimeters.  That’s good news.”,  Andie said.

                “But the EMS report said he fell on a concrete parking block and landed on his side.  His shoulder pain could be because of his spleen—“

                “Which they can repair if there’s an injury, but the nurse said the ultrasound didn’t pick up massive internal bleeding.  It may just be bruised, Honey.  I’m sure the surgeon will know what look for, okay?”, Daisy replied.

                “He also hit his head on the concrete barrier on the sidewalk--”

                “Yeah, he’s going to have a headache, but he’s also been tased, in a bomb blast, ate some weird foods...” Andie said while squeezing Jessica’s hand before murmuring.  “...survived being around Karen…”

                  The three women shared a quiet chuckle.  Daisy smiled as she put her arm around her friend.  “Aubrey is going to come out of this because he loves you…fight or not.”

                  Jessica felt better when her friends took her into a group hug, but the moment was shattered by another voice.

                “And if he doesn’t, I’m blaming you, bitch.”

                Everyone turned to see Karen snarling and ready for battle.  Jessica took a breath, not up for fighting.  “I’m not the one who shot him or Booth, Karen.  I know you’re upset about what happened, but you’re not making any sense, okay? I wasn’t even there…”

                The profiler clenched her fists against her sides.  “No, but you’re the twit who argued with him before he went out and got caught in a fire fight...again.  He may be trained, but you fucked with his mind so he was distracted.”

                “That is an extremely illogical premise.  These men are both highly trained professionals, each with multiple citations for valor.  They are not ruled by their emotions while they are working.”  Brennan stared down the profiler.  “You apparently don’t have much faith in Aubrey or in my husband, Dr. Delfs—“

                “I don’t give a flying fuck about Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan.  He obviously failed Aubrey because he’s not the one who has been in surgery for over four fucking hours.”

                “I beg your pardon—“, Brennan replied angrily.  “Your comment, and your profanity, is totally inappropriate…”

                “Karen, sit down and be quiet.”, Angela said.  “We don’t need your hysterical drama queen act right now.”

                Rolling her eyes, Karen stood with her hands on her hips. “I’m not hysterical.  I’m just stating facts about your precious Jessica here.”

                “How did you know I had a fight with Aubrey?”,  Jessica asked in a steely tone of voice.  “That’s not something he’s going to tell you.”

                “I heard you and Angela whining about it after you were jabbing your jaws to Agent Shaw in her office earlier, and Steve saw how you and Aubrey were acting at the office yesterday.  Obviously you were peeved because he blew you off after you showed up out of the blue at work and interrupted his busy day.  You can’t just come to the FBI and expect Aubrey to drop his busy caseload just to entertain you.  Just because you’re a college intern who dilly dallies at the lab doesn’t mean we at the FBI have the same privilege.”

                Agent Bower saw all the angry looks his girlfriend was getting and he was becoming annoyed with her attitude as well.  Sensing Karen was about to make a fool of herself, he grabbed her hand, talking softly as he tried to pacify her.  “Sugar, come on…”

                “No, Steve!  This brat needs to be told the truth!”, Karen said before wretching her hand away.

                The agent’s annoyance grew to anger at the profiler’s behavior and her obviously more than friendly concern for his supervising agent.  “Get a grip, Karen.  Aubrey is Jessica’s boyfriend, not yours.”

                “Get a grip?  He’s important to me, Steve.  I can’t let Jessica railroad me--I mean him--again!”,  Karen shot back before heading towards the redhead.

                Steve didn’t miss Karen’s slip of the tongue and as he looked around, no one else did either.  “You know what?  I don’t need all this fucking drama from you, Karen.  I’m out of here.” 

                Jessica saw the agent stand up and storm out before turning back to the woman in front of her.  “Karen, what goes on between Aubrey and me is between us, not us and you too.  Now, I don’t like you, but right now my boyfriend needs all the support he can get.  With that, I’m attempting to be cordial with you because I know you’re worried about him, too.  However, you’re testing my patience.  Now, please go sit down.”, the redhead said as calmly as she could. 

                Karen ignored the younger woman’s warning and stormed up until she was right in front of her rival.  “You know, you’ve led Aubrey around like a yo yo for months.  You broke up with him in the middle of a fucking case and he had to be in a firefight that night.  He could have been killed, but would you have cared?  No, because you were all pissed about him getting shitfaced at Cam and Arastoo’s wedding.”

“That’s enough, Karen.”, Hodgins said sharply, but his warning fell on deaf ears. 

                “You know it was more than that...however, it’s really none of your business, and I have more important concerns right now than debating your delusions.”  Jessica’s body shook as she fought to control her temper with Andie and Daisy each flanking her.  “Now, for the last time, go find your boyfriend and leave me alone.” 

Jessica tried to walk away, but Karen refused to be silenced.

                “No, Firecrotch, because you’re going to listen to me.”, Karen yelled as she continued her tirade.  “You wear those short skirts and just sashay your little ass and wiggle to get every man’s attention...probably without any underwear on so you can go quick and dirty if you have to.  Then you get bitchy and Aubrey comes running begging for forgiveness.  I’m his real friend...unlike all of you that encourages him to put up with her shit.”

                Andie took a step forward and stared the other woman down.  “Karen, get over yourself and leave my friend alone...better yet, just go home.  No one cares what you think.”

                “Shut up, Andie!  This doesn’t concern you.”,  Karen retorted.

                Daisy also stepped up.  “I would do what my friend says, Karen.  You’re treading on thin ice here and your concern for Aubrey only gets you so far before we push back.”

                “Bite me, Ms. Football Trophy Wife.  You think you’re so mighty on your ivory tower because your husband plays in the NFL.  Well, you’re not.”, Karen snarked before turning back to Jessica, confident that the smaller woman in front of her would fold once she put her in her place.  “You’re the reason Aubrey’s might die, you cheap slut!  Now, I’m warning you...if he doesn’t come out of this, I’ll make you pay.”

                Jessica’s eyes blazed as she finally snapped and stepped into Karen’s space, causing the older woman to take a step back in surprise.  “That’s it.  I’ve had it with your over the top, whiny ass mouth.  You do nothing but stir up trouble, you know that?  You acted like my friend last summer, but yanked my chain behind my back, and Aubrey’s, too.”

                “I’m his friend--”

                “Bullshit.  Booth is his friend...Hodgins is his friend...everyone here is his friend.  You may have strong feelings for my boyfriend, but he’s not your friend...he’s just a conquest to you.  He’s someone to screw so you can prove that you’ve won whatever game you’re playing and to prove something...God only know what that is.  Are you really that desperate to prove you’re a desirable woman?”

                Karen didn’t like how close Jessica’s words cut her.  “No.  I care about him more than you ever will.  After you broke his heart, I tried showing Aubrey how much better off he would be with me, but he wouldn’t listen to me because he just wanted his head in your always open crotch.  You probably don’t even wear panties.”

                “At least Aubrey has seen my panties…”, Jessica shot back, silently apologizing to her boyfriend and his private nature regarding their sex life.  “...including my hot pink ones...and taken them off me with a frequency that I find very satisfying.  What is your fascination with my underclothes, anyway?  Don’t you have any of your own?” 

                Karen’s jaw hardened at the reminder of the special underwear that she bought to wear just for the agent which were now shoved in the back of the drawer.  “I’m the only one who has tried to be there for Aubrey on a consistent basis, even though now that I have a fantastic boyfriend.  It’s a crock that he can’t show his appreciation for my friendship because he’s always pacifying you and your obvious jealousy of me.”

                “Jessica...jealous of you and Aubrey?  You annoy the shit out of him, Karen.”, Angela shot back.  “Did you not get that when he ignores you, even after they arrested the teenagers who tried to kill him and my husband a year ago?”

                “I will admit that we had a rocky start--”

                “Rocky start?  You ate the first real meal he had after his surgery last year, which is a big fat no no with him.”,  Jessica replied.  “You ambushed him for a date five months later when you two were with Booth discussing a case.  After he told you he was involved with me, you embarrassed him in front of a suspect--”

                “Aubrey has moved on from that, Jessica.  I’m the one who told him that his father was having him followed by the suspect.”, Karen said, trying to take control of the situation. 

                 “Is that your big claim to being Aubrey’s friend?  _‘I told him his father was having him followed…’,_   Jessica retorted in a mocking tone.  “Big deal.  What do you want?  A damn cookie?”

                 “I--”

                 The anthropologist interrupted the other woman.  “You wanted him for yourself, Karen, and you were pissed that he was dating me.”

                 Desperate to get control of the situation, Karen took a deep breath.  “As I told him that night, I just wanted a one night stand before I left for Kansas City.”

                “But that wasn’t the case when you returned to DC last summer, was it Karen?”,  Jessica shot back.  “You buddied up to him pretty fast when you came back.”

                “Well, someone had to be there for him.  You sure as hell weren’t.”,  Karen snapped back.  “You ran off on some jaunt to Europe.”

                “That ‘jaunt’ was me attending a three week course at the University of Edinburgh for my dissertation, you ignorant twit...and I went with Aubrey’s blessing.”  Seeing the profiler’s mouth open, Jessica continued. 

              “After we broke up, when Aubrey didn’t respond to your very overt sexual advances and hints, you made up rumors about you two which I was stupid enough to believe.  Then, you stalked him at the Hoover with shitty meals and didn’t get the hint when he ignored your phone calls.  Then you tried ruining my friendship with Aubrey by harassing me at work with lies.  Next, you crashed his birthday party and gave him an inappropriate gift and he had to threaten you with sexual harassment charges just to get you to back off.  Then when you do manage to get a boyfriend of your own, you rubbed our noses in it because you thought Aubrey might actually get jealous.  He’s not, by the way…he was just as grossed out as I was that day at the diner when you extolled your twisted thoughts on the Wizard of Oz and shared about your guys’ sex games with a pee soaked lion costume...yeah, you’re so there for Aubrey.”

                The redhead ignored the chuckles as she advanced another step, poking her finger into Karen’s chest.  “Get this through your thick head.  It doesn't matter how many meals…how many low cut tops, or how many S&M stories involving you and Agent Bower you tell to try making Aubrey jealous.  He doesn’t want you, Karen. He’s in love with me and I’m in love with him.  I’m going to be the one he asks for when he wakes up, not you.  He’s not going to care if you’re here or not.”

                “Shut up!”, Karen screamed, but Jessica continued in a low, threatening voice.

                “You know, instead of chasing my boyfriend and sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, maybe you need to start paying attention to your own relationship.”

                “What are you talking about, little girl?”, Karen shot back.

                “What am I talking about?”, Jessica shot back as she crossed her arms.  “When your boyfriend is not playing kinky sex stuff with you, he spends his spare time crudely flirting with other women and not keeping his hands to himself.  For example, that day you and Steve crashed my lunch with Aubrey at the diner?  He tried playing footsie with me under the table at the Royal Diner until I kicked the crap out of his leg.”

                “I don’t believe that—“

                “Of course you don’t.  You’re too desperate for attention to see what a philanderer he really is.”  Jessica smirked at Karen’s glare.  “Oh, then there was Monday, when he told me I needed a real man because Aubrey was a skinny little putz.  Steve even offered himself to me, saying he could be, and I quote, ‘ _someone who could really make you squeal.’_.  Must be a big fan of _‘Deliverance’_ …or he confused me as interested in playing one of your weird sex games.  Of course, he saw you coming and his tune completely changed.”

                “You’re a liar—“

                “Then yesterday we were working the crime scene out at Antietam.  First, he wanted to let me know that I had ‘options’ out there, meaning him instead of my ‘ _scrawny kid’_ boyfriend.  Then, he offered to help me relieve the stress I was under by following me home after work before grabbing my hand.  I don’t like men who think it’s okay to touch me without asking, and the attention was not welcomed, so I bent his fingers back and told him to fuck off.”

                Karen’s face was flushed with anger.  “You are so fucking delusional.  Steve’s told me about how you flirt with him when Aubrey’s not around, like yesterday when you approached him for a quickie near the crime scene.  When Steve turned you down because he’s faithful to me, you retaliated by pushing him into the mud.  Dr. B saw what happened and helped you humiliate him further by making him take off all his clothes.”

                “Dr. Delfs, I have too many other things to worry about, such as my husband and family, to concoct a scheme with my intern just to humiliate a mediocre FBI agent.  Believe me when I tell you that he is able to humiliate himself quite thoroughly without my assistance.”, Brennan pointed out as everyone snickered quietly.  “His unnecessary presence while Ms. Warren was examining the area compromised the scene.  He was provided with a jumpsuit and his clothes were taken as evidence.  If he would have left Ms. Warren alone, as per the established protocol, I wouldn’t have had to confiscate his clothing for examination.”

                Ignoring the last comment, Karen pressed further.  “I also know about the calls you are making to Steve before hanging up, you little slut.”

                Jessica rolled her eyes before smirking at the enraged profiler.  “I’m not doing hang up calls to your boyfriend’s phone...I don’t even have his phone number.  Even if I did, I’m too busy to make hang up calls because I’m either working at the lab or enjoying myself as Aubrey makes love to me….which we do frequently and, just so you know, since you’re so fascinated with our love live... he’s really, really good and very imaginative in bed.”

                On a roll, Jessica ignored the fury on the other woman’s face.  “Those phone calls Steve is getting are probably from all the other girlfriends he’s screwing on the side.  Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't contracted an STI by now, but knowing him, he owns stock in Trojan considering the way he must go through condoms.  Now, you’d better start paying more attention to your boyfriend.  Maybe then he’ll stay away from me and any other woman he’s made passes at or is sleeping with.  Perhaps he’ll even shape up if you find a new hobby other than stalking all of us.”

                Shaking her head, Karen was incredulous.  “Stalking all of you?  You’re the stalker.  You’re just an intern…I’m the FBI profiler for the Jeffersonian.” 

                “Karen, contrary to what you believe, you are not a profiler assigned to us by the FBI.  You are one of several profilers in the BRIU that work with Booth, Aubrey, and a select few other agents that we assist in cases.”, Cam replied.

                “But I work your cases like Dr. Sweets did.  Unlike him, I didn’t act like an overgrown child to get your attention the way he did so he could hang around you.  My God, you all attract weirdo child prodigies like flies.”

                “Lance was not a weirdo child prodigy!”, Daisy said pointedly, upset at Karen’s callous words.  “He was smart, but he was also sweet, already ready to help a friend when needed, and if he wouldn’t have died he would be right here with me, being an amazing father to our son.”

                “Sweets did work cases for other divisions, Dr. Delfs.”, Brennan said as she crossed her arms, equally upset at Karen’s derogatory comments about her late baby duck.  “Yes...he made mistakes with Booth and myself, but he was adult enough to face us and apologize.  Once we got past that hurdle, we got to know him and he became our friend.  I still have reservations about psychology, but he did his job fairly and over time he was also trained to be in out in the field.  I trusted him not only with my husband’s life, but also with my children.  However, friend or not, if he couldn’t do his job, then we wouldn't have worked with him, because the lab only works with the best.”

                “I am very good at my job.”

                “Your skill is above average, Dr. Delfs.  I’ll concede that.”, Brennan replied blandly. 

                Feeling like she was slapped in the face, Karen stared down her rival before gesturing to everyone.  “You may have convinced Aubrey that he doesn’t need me and somehow you got Dr. Brennan to take your side, but this is my group, Jessica, and you’re the one who needs to get some real friends.”

                Brennan was at the end of her rope.  “Dr. Delfs, you are not our friend.  In actuality, you’re merely an entitled individual who sometimes joins us for outside activities without an invitation.”

                Feeling her cheeks turn red at her humiliation Karen was determined to win.  “I was invited to Cam and Arastoo’s wedding--”

                “Yes, after dropping several hints and being pushy.”, Angela said. 

                “Like Dr. Brennan said, Sweets may have been overeager when he first began his work at the FBI, and he did make mistakes.  However, he owned up to them over time, took his lumps, and became a wonderful friend to all of us until he died”,  Cam replied calmly.  “We may have become friends with you over time if you weren’t so damn overbearing.”

                “Overbearing?  I think that’s an exaggeration.”

                “No, it’s being polite, Dr. Delfs.  We do not feel particularly close to you because you are conspicuously lacking in any of the normal social graces.  Your questionable actions towards Aubrey and my intern have helped me decide that you are not one I would consider a friend.  Ms. Warren, on the other hand, is one of my students, and she also has good relationships with several people at the lab.”, Brennan said.

                “I bet you have good relationships with people at the lab, Jessica.”, Karen said snidely.  “Flirting with all the guys...leading them on...most dates one and done.  I’ve heard all the stories with your short skirts and slutty behavior--”

                “The casual relationships she engaged in when she started at the Jeffersonian were mutual, Karen.  However, once she became friends with Aubrey and started dating him, she’s never stepped out on him.”, Angela retorted.  “Not that it’s actually any of your business anyway.  Besides, weren’t you the one who told Aubrey you only wanted a one night stand with him?”

                Karen didn’t like the ease with which Angela threw her words back in her face.  “But Steve said Jessica has been flirting with him--”

                “Your boyfriend is a lying pig.”, Daisy said.  “He hits on women all the time.  He made passes at me a couple of times while I was dating Lance, before I was pregnant and during my pregnancy.  At the Halloween Gala, he even offered me a chance to ride _‘The Scarecrow Train’_ when you were in the ladies room, even though I told him I was married.  Yuck.”

                “He was flirting with my daughter when she was at the FBI building two weeks ago.”, Cam said.  “It took Booth’s arrival to make him leave Michelle alone.”

                “And I repeat, Agent Bower was being a nuisance with my intern yesterday before he fell into the mud, compromising the crime scene.”, Brennan added.  “What Ms. Warren has told you is correct, Dr. Delfs.”

                “You’re all liars.”, Karen yelled, before glaring back at Jessica.  “You are the reason Aubrey is in surgery.”

                Fed up, Caroline stood up.  “Enough of that broken record.  This young lady didn’t shoot Booth and Aubrey...they were shot by some suicidal nut job who is now dead.  Now sit down Dr. Delfs.  You will not be told again.”

                The profiler looked at the attorney and rolled her eyes.  “What are you doing to do?  It’s not like you can arrest me...”

                “Je vas te passe une calotte.”, Caroline stated.  “Rough translation?  I’m going to smack you silly if you don’t.”

                “Karen, just go away.”, the redhead replied wearily.  “I haven’t got the energy to deal with another one of your temper tantrums.  I have a boyfriend in surgery and he needs my thoughts, not me dealing with your insignificant insults.”

                “No, Jessica.  I’m going to—“

                “Dr. Delfs, leave now.”

                Everyone turned to see Brennan with a nurse and a security guard.  Karen’s mouth dropped in shock.  “E-excuse me?”

                “Because I have Aubrey’s healthcare Power of Attorney, along with Booth, I have the authority to limit who sees him and who doesn’t when he is unable to decide for himself.  You are causing a disruption, not just for us but for everyone in this section of the waiting room.  Now, you will leave this area, immediately...”

                “You can’t make me go.”, Karen blustered.  “This is a public place...it’s not like your precious lab.  You can’t tell me what to do.”

                “Perhaps not, but this nurse can.  She’s been watching your little tirade and has called this security guard, who is ready to escort you out.  Now, for the final time, go find Agent Bower and leave.  Do not return until you can offer everyone here an apology for your appalling behavior and can conduct yourself like most women your age should be able to.”

                Karen dug through her purse for her phone.  Finding it, she made a call as she stormed off. “Steve…where the fuck are you?”

                When the profiler was gone, Cam turned to her colleague and friend.  “Dr. Brennan, as I recall, Power of Attorney status does not include who waits while a patient is in surgery…”

                Brennan shrugged as she rubbed Jessica’s shoulder.  “No, it doesn’t…but it seems Dr. Delfs didn’t know that, and I didn’t see the harm in a little subterfuge so we could be rid of her.”

                Daisy pointed at the update screen.  “Look!  Aubrey is out of surgery!”

                Two minutes later, a petite blonde woman in surgical scrubs came out.  “For James Aubrey?”

                Everyone gathered around the surgeon.  Brennan and Andie held Jessica’s hand as they waited.  Dr. Elias offered up a kind smile as she pulled the group to the side. 

                “Our agent here is a tough one, and he did great.  The spleen was only bruised, so no surgical repair was needed, but he will be on best rest for at least 72 hours so we can monitor him and he’ll have to take it easy for a few weeks.  There was a gunshot to that area, but it was near the top layer of his skin, so we closed it with some sutures, but there will be a nasty bruise.  Most of all, we were able to successfully repair the damaged artery to his left thigh.  Agent Aubrey is a lucky man because not only did Agent Booth’s tourniquet save his leg and his life, but that bullet was a one in a million shot because it also missed all nerves and bone.  It’s going to take some time, but I anticipate that he’ll make a full recovery.” 

                Jessica couldn’t control her anxiety any longer.  “Can I go see him?”

                “Are you Jessica?”, the surgeon asked.

                “Y-yes…”

                “He muttered your name a couple of times before we put him under.  Traditionally we wait until they’re fully situated, but you can visit for a few minutes.  We’re arranging for him to go to ICU after some time in Recovery.”

                Jessica followed the doctor back past the revolving doors.  She glanced at the open doors of other patients, trying to quell the nausea.  After what seemed like a lot longer than twenty seconds, she was led into a room.

                There was her Superman, pale but still breathing.  His leg was covered with gauze and he had a bandage behind his ear.  _‘Must be where they sewed him up from where he hit his head.’_

On the chair by the wall, she saw a bag with his name on it with Dr. B’s signature on the label.  Walking over and opening it, a tear fell as she pulled out his suit jacket and shirt and saw the two holes prominent on the left lower side and large blood stains on both.  Digging further, she found his pants with the left leg cut off and blood over the crotch and inner right side.

                “It’s his suit from yesterday.  He didn’t even have time to change it.”

                Looking again, she pulled out his brown and blue striped tie, one of her favorites because it brought out his eyes.  Miraculously, there was no damage.  Holding it against her for a moment, she pulled out his badge.

                For a few seconds, she felt sad that it wasn’t she who had signed for his items, but Booth and Dr. B were his emergency contacts and his proxies, not her.  _Maybe someday it can be me, too…_ However, that wasn’t important right now.

Putting everything but his tie back in the bag, she carefully set it on the floor before pulling the chair up to the bed.  Taking his hand, she held it tight as she continued to hold his tie with the other hand.  “I’m here, Aubrey…”

* * *

                 At 1:00 AM, Aubrey started to stir.  Moving his body slightly, he winced from the pain.  Looking to his right, he saw a fall of red hair on the bed and felt a small hand in his own.  He was hazy but he’d know that hair anywhere.

                “Jess…”

                Startled awake, the redhead looked up and a tear fell as she saw her boyfriend open his eyes.  “Aubrey…”

                “Honey...I forgot to duck…ruined a perfectly good suit, too...”

                In spite of herself, she chuckled.  “Superman, you scare me like this again and I’ll kick your ass.”

                The agent gave her a sleepy grin before falling back asleep with a smile.  Relieved, Jessica brushed the hair at the his temple before giving in to her emotions, sobbing in relief. 


	39. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's not the Poseidon Adventure, but there is a morning after for the Bones folks. What happens?

                By 9:00 AM the next morning, Brennan made her way back to Booth’s hospital room.  She hesitated in the doorway as she realized he already had a visitor.

               “Of course, there’ll be an investigation, just like there always is when deadly force is used by an agent, but right now it appears that Agent Aubrey’s actions were justified.”  Deputy Director Stark smoothed his tie nervously as he spoke in his usual condescending tone.  “It doesn’t look good for the Bureau’s reputation, though...two persons of interest killed within hours of each other by federal agents, and at the same place of business, too.  I feel sure there’ll be some sort of shit from the Hill about our excessive use of force.”

                Booth groaned softly as he turned to glare at Stark.  “Listen, Agent Shaw saved Hunter Geren’s life, and Aubrey saved mine.  It’s not our fault that both of the guys we wanted to interview went off half cocked just because we were going to ask them some hard questions, okay?  We were just doing our job, and someone tried to kill us for it.”

                Stark held up his hands in surrender as he attempted to pacify the angry agent.  “Don’t get yourself worked up, Booth.  I know...I know what you’re saying is true and I agree 100 percent.  I’m just saying that you might want to be prepared to answer a lot of questions from the Senate subcommittee about how we run the show.  Senator Winters seems to have it in for the Bureau, but she might be willing to wait until you’re able to walk to a hearing by yourself...oh, good morning, Dr. Brennan…” 

                “Good morning.”  She smiled at her husband as she walked into the room.  “How’s our patient today?” 

                “I’ll be fine as soon as I get out of this goddamn hospital.”  Booth tried to sit up in his bed, but it was obvious he was still in a great deal of pain.  “I need to go home and get cleaned up so I can go to back to work and figure out why Sipoletti went off the deep end.” 

                Stark shook his head as he moved toward the door.  “Absolutely not, Booth.  I don’t want to see you at the office for at least a week.”  The director nodded at Brennan.  “Good to see you again, Dr. Brennan.  I wish the circumstances were different…” 

                “As do I.”  Her expression made it plain that she wanted the visitor to leave.  “I’ll make sure Booth follows the doctor’s orders.” 

                “Thank you.”  Stark turned to Booth with a small smile.  “You can’t come to the office, but, of course, I can’t control what you do at home.  Goodbye.” 

                “Yeah, right.  Thanks.”  Booth reached up to take his wife’s hand so he wouldn’t be tempted to give the man the one fingered salute.   “Jesus, I thought he’d never leave.  Can you believe he had the nerve to question whether or not Aubrey should’ve shot Sipoletti?  Son of a bitch…”  

                “Booth…please calm down.  I’m sure that the Deputy Director realizes that Aubrey did the right thing, but he also has to think of protocol as well.  That’s part of his job.”  Brennan leaned over to give him a kiss.  “Things will work out…” 

                “I know they will.  I’m just cranky from being stuck in this bed.”  He winked at her as he continued.  “I guess you found something to eat, right?”   Seeing her nod in the affirmative, he tried once again to get comfortable in his bed.  “Hey, did you bring me anything for breakfast?  Jesus, I’m starving.  How’s Aubrey?  Where are Christine and Hank?  Dammit...I promised Christine I’d be careful!  Did you manage to get any sleep last night?  You must be exhausted...” 

                “I’m fine, Booth.”  Brennan smiled indulgently as she listened to Booth’s random string of questions.  “Well, I can tell you’re feeling better.  I didn’t bring you any breakfast because I haven’t spoken to your doctor yet about whether or not you have any dietary restrictions with the medications you’ll be prescribed for pain.” 

                Booth interrupted.  “Let me guess...you’re going to make sure I’m restricted to no bacon, right?” 

                “You know I’d never do that to you.”, Brennan said, laughing as she sat down in a chair next to the bed.  

                “Have you heard anything about Aubrey?  How’s he doing?”, Booth asked anxiously. 

                “I haven’t checked on Aubrey this morning, but I know his surgery went well last night. The damage to the artery was extensive, but the doctor is confident that the arterial graft will be successful.  After he was moved to a room, Ms. Warren stayed the night with him.   After I was satisfied that you were sleeping well, I went home to check on the children.  Mrs. Applegate had picked both of them up after school and fed them dinner.  Of course they were very concerned about you, but I explained that your wounds were not as bad as the last time you were injured.  As you can imagine, they were quite relieved.  I had intended to take them home, but then Mrs. Applegate volunteered to keep them overnight so I could come back to the hospital to stay the night in your room with you.  She’ll take Christine to school this morning, and will pick her up this afternoon.  Angela will drop Hank off at daycare, and I’ll take him home after I check in at the lab later today.” 

                “Okay.  It sounds like you have everything under control.  Listen, I gotta get out of here.  I’ve got work to do…”, Booth growled, thrashing around on his hospital bed.  “You’ve got to get the doctor to let me go home, Bones.” 

                Stroking Booth’s arm, she shook her head.  “I’m not sure the doctor will want to release you today, but we’ll see…” 

                He sighed heavily.  “I know.  Wishful thinking on my part, I guess.”  Leaning back in the bed, Booth closed his eyes.  “Jesus, Bones...I was so fucking scared yesterday.  I just knew I’d lost Aubrey…”

               

                “But you didn’t lose him.  Your quick thinking saved his life.”  She clasped his hand in hers as she continued softly.  “Do you want to talk about it?  About what happened?” 

                “I guess...I mean, that’s what I was telling Stark.  It all happened so damn fast.  Earlier that day I’d gone to see Vincent Sipoletti while Aubrey was taking Genny back to the Hoover.  However, he wasn’t there, so I gave my card to his secretary and to a few other people in the office and went back to work.  Then one of the traders called and tipped us off that the guy was back at his office, so I grabbed Aubrey and we hauled ass back to Histavark.  As luck would have it, though, when we got there, his secretary said he’d just left again.  When we got to our vehicle, we saw his car was still there, so we waited for him to show up.  I stood there, keeping an eye on the vehicle while Aubrey tried to call Jessica. I guess they’d had a fight and he was trying to make up with her or something.” 

                “I know, Booth.  She spent Tuesday night at our house and told me about her fight with Aubrey.”

                 Booth looked at his wife with confusion.  “Why did your squint spend the night, Bones?  That’s kinda weird...” 

                “I’m assuming with everything that happened yesterday Genny never had time to tell you what happened at the lab, but I’ll explain that later.”, Brennan replied, squeezing her husband’s hand.  Seeing his worried expression, she shook her head.  “It’s nothing to be concerned about.  Agent Shaw has things under control.  Go ahead, Booth.” 

                  “Anyway, Aubrey quickly hung up and we hurried over to the car and identified ourselves, of course...I think Aubrey even flashed his badge.  We said we wanted to ask him some questions about Phillip Aubrey, and Vinnie just went white, you know?  Like he’d seen a ghost or something...almost weak in the knees.  He shook us off, telling us that he had nothing to say…”  Booth bit his lip as he thought about what happened next.  “I should’ve seen it coming…” 

                “Booth, what happened was not your fault.”  Brennan patted his hand, smiling sympathetically.  “Nobody blames you…” 

                “It is my fault.  I’m an experienced agent.  I should’ve read the guy’s body language.  Thinking back on what happened, it’s pretty obvious now that Sipoletti was in a state of panic.”   He heaved a shuddering sigh.  “Anyway, he reached for the door handle of the car with his left hand, and he reached into his suit jacket with his right hand.  We told him to stop what he was doing...to keep his hands where we could see them...and then he pulled out a pistol from underneath his jacket and started firing.  I guess he hit me first because I was closer, and I fell over, hitting my shoulder hard on the pavement.  He was going to shoot me again, but by then, Aubrey had pulled out his gun.  He told Vinnie to drop his weapon, but instead, Vinnie shot Aubrey twice before I could do anything about it.” 

                “And then Aubrey shot Vinnie…” 

                “Yeah.  He saved my life, Bones...Aubrey saved my life.  I was laying there stunned, and in a lot of pain as I tried to get to my gun, and Vinnie was aiming at me again, but Aubrey hit the guy square in the chest...”  Booth put his hand over the left side of his own chest.  “Right about here.  It was weird...it was like in slow motion, I guess.  Vinnie just stood there for a second or two, staring at us...and then he got in his car and tried to drive off, but I guess he died a few seconds later.  His car ended up hitting a light pole…”  

                Brennan held her husband’s hand as he paused, struggling to control his emotions before he could tell her the rest. 

                “Then when I looked back at Aubrey, he was just crumpled up there in the parking lot with his head all cockeyed on the corner of the concrete parking barrier, white as a sheet.”  Booth hesitated before finally giving into his tears.  “I called 911 and then I crawled over to where Aubrey was laying on the ground to see how he was.  Christ...there was so much blood...so much fucking blood, Bones.  It seemed like it was everywhere...all over his clothes...on the parking block he was laying on...on the pavement...it was in puddles, you know?  All I could think about was what had happened to Sweets, and how I couldn’t let that happen to Aubrey…I wasn’t gonna lose another friend that way...” 

                “Booth…”, Brennan said softly as she tried to calm her husband.  “You didn’t let anything happen to Aubrey.  He’s going to make a full recovery.  The tourniquet you applied saved his life.” 

                “I guess maybe all that FBI first aid training finally served its purpose.”  Booth sniffled slightly, trying to smile as he looked over at his wife.  “I know he’s going to be okay, but I shouldn’t have put him in that situation to begin with.” 

                “James Aubrey is a trained FBI Special Agent, just like you are, Booth.  He has received extensive training in how to handle dangerous situations such as these.  He knows what he’s doing, as evidenced by the fact that he responded in such a way as to save your life.”  Brennan smiled as she gently wiped a tear from her husband’s cheek.  “You have nothing to feel guilty about, Booth, and I imagine Aubrey will agree with me as soon as he’s able to talk to you about what happened.” 

                Their conversation was interrupted by a soft knock at the door, before Booth’s surgeon walked in.  “Good morning.  How are you feeling, Agent Booth.” 

                “Mornin’, Doc.  I feel great.”  Booth wore an artificial smile as he tried without success to contain the moan that escaped when he attempted to move his shoulder.  “I’m ready to go home.” 

                “Not so fast, Agent Booth.”, the doctor said sternly.  “We had to do a repair on your dislocated shoulder and we removed a bullet from the same area that damaged two of your ligaments.  Take it easy for the rest of the day, and you can go home tomorrow morning.” 

                 Booth tried to sweet talk the petite, no nonsense African American woman, throwing in a weak charm smile for good measure..  “Aw, c’mon, Doc, my case…” 

                 “I know, Agent...the case comes first.”, the surgeon said, rolling her eyes at him as she stood with her hands on her hips.  “However, this isn’t my first rodeo with the FBI agents I’ve operated on.  If you behave today and then rest during the weekend, I may give you modified restrictions, including at least three weeks of PT, so you can go back to work next week.  However, until then, you’re not leaving this hospital or going to work until I’m satisfied that you’re ready.  Got it?”               

                 “Shit…”, Booth growled.  “I can’t hang out here.  I got stuff to do…” 

                 “What my husband means is that he’ll be very cooperative, right, Booth?”  Brennan glared at him until he meekly nodded in agreement.  “He doesn’t want to re-injure his shoulder by doing too much too soon…”

                 “Right.”  Sighing heavily, Booth lay back in his bed.  “Fine, I’ll cooperate.  Can I have some bacon now?”

* * *

 

                 Aubrey was lying in bed when he woke up feeling groggy.  As he slowly regained consciousness, he felt a wave of nausea hit him hard.  Glancing at the IV line inside of his hand, he realized that he was in the hospital and they were giving him morphine or some other narcotic.

                He hated pain meds.  In his fog, he recalled feeling this crappy after the pipe bomb last year…and it sucked.  _‘What am I doing here?’_

It was then he remembered what had happened.

                It was late in the day...Sipoletti was gone but his vehicle was still there…walking out to their SUV…calling Jessica...the gunshots…the searing pain in his leg…

                He could hazily recall Booth yelling at him as he pressed all his weight on his upper leg before the older man whipped off his tie and squeezed the shit out of his thigh.  There was an ambulance…he vaguely recalled thinking of Jessica before blacking out.

                He looked around until he saw her across from him sleeping on the couch.  Jessica looked so small as she slept in the fetal position, her boots next to the furniture.  He must have given her one hell of a scare yesterday.

                If she even cared after what he’d done to her Monday.  She never answered his texts and all of his phone calls went to voicemail.  Maybe she was just waiting for him to wake up so she could tell him off before walking out the door.  He certainly deserved it.

                But she was here…last night.  He couldn’t have dreamed it…he woke up and she was holding his hand.  She still loved him…but would she after they talked?

                Looking around the room, he saw the bright sunlight and realized it was morning.  Turning to the wall, he found a clock and noted the time was 9:32.

                _‘9:32…Dr. B’s class!’_ Aubrey’s thoughts made his eyes widen as the implication hit him.  “Jess…Jessica wake up…” 

                The redhead groaned in her sleep.  “Curly, I need more Petri dishes…”

                “You’re really late for Dr. B’s class…”,  Aubrey said in a louder voice.  When she continued to sleep, the agent moved up to try getting her attention again, but it didn’t take much to jostle himself and he groaned loudly.  “Owwww, fucker…”

                Startled awake, Jessica opened her eyes and saw her boyfriend grabbing his thigh and stomach.  “Superman!  You’re awake…”

                Rushing up, her socks caused her to slip on the hospital floor before getting up and trotting over to her boyfriend.  “Aubrey…oh my God…you’re awake…”

                Aubrey continued to wince as he waited for the pain to subside.  “Yeah…I’m awake, but you’re late.  Dr. B is going to have your head for missing class…”

                Jessica snickered before her amusement passed.  “Dr. B isn’t having class today.  She canceled it because of what happened with you and Booth and emailed the class an alternate assignment for today’s planned lecture.  I’m going to still have my SI session Friday afternoon to answer questions and she’s making next week a study session for the final exam on December 15th.”

                Aubrey’s fog lessened a bit.  “How’s Booth?”

                “Sleeping, last time I checked.  Dr. B’s with him one floor below us.  She left long enough to see Christine and Hank and get them around for the day before coming back here.”  Jessica said as she combed the silvery tips at his temple.  “How are you feeling?”

                “My head hurts, my side hurts, and my thigh hurts...everything hurts…these pain meds are making me loopy though…”,. the agent said softly with a smirk.  “How about you?”

                “Besides exhausted…relief…happy…”, Jessica said soberly.  “And I’m still mad at you, Aubrey.”

                Aubrey nodded slightly.  “I know…we have to talk…I’m so sorry…”

                “Not now…”,  Jessica said, holding back tears.  “Right now…I just want to look at you…and be grateful that you’re here, alright?”

                Aubrey nodded.  “Booth’s okay, though?”

                Jessica nodded in turn.  “Yeah, he took one in the shoulder and they had to fix it in surgery since he dislocated it when he fell backwards…and he’s probably going to have to do some physical therapy.”

                “Ah…he’s going to be pissed…”

                “Well, I think he’ll forgive you, Superman.”, the redhead said quietly.  “You saved his life.”

                “What about Sipoletti?”,  Aubrey asked.  “Did they get that bastard?  Son of a bitch shot at us and I had no choice but to shoot back.”

                “He’s dead, Aubrey.”

                “Damn it.”, Aubrey said hazily.  “We wanted him alive.  I needed answers from him…why didn’t the son of a bitch just talk to us?”

                Jessica saw her boyfriend’s frustration.  “Deputy Director Stark came by about 8:00 this morning and told me that when the FBI techs searched his office, they found a note in his desk confessing to killing Vacchio.  According to the note, Vacchio found out he was cheating investors as well as about his side job as a hit man.  It also stated that that the guilt of killing his sister’s husband was eating at him and he couldn’t take it anymore, so he was going to commit suicide so he wouldn’t have to face her anymore.  Obviously, Sipoletti didn’t have the balls to do it himself because he shot at you guys first.”

                “Suicide by cop?  Shit…”, Aubrey made a face.  “For a guy who was ashamed for what he did to his brother-in-law, that seems extreme, especially in that it will put his sister in the spotlight again.”

                “Since he had a gun, maybe he had another plan but when you two went to talk to him, he changed his mind.”

                “Maybe…”, Aubrey trailed off.  “Did they find anything else?”

                “I don’t know, Superman.”, Jessica said.  It was quiet for a moment before she continued.  “Director Stark also said that Genny’s hearing is today at 10:00.”

                “This quick?”

                “I guess with…what happened to you and Booth…Stark got it moved up.  He seemed confident it would be called a clean shoot.”

                “Of course it will be.  She had no choice.  I’ve got to be there…”,  Aubrey said as he moved to get up but didn’t get far as his side pain hit him hard.  “Awwwww…son of a bitch...”

                “Superman, stay still!”, Jessica yelled.  “You bruised your spleen.  You’re on bed rest.”

                “But Genny needs me—“

                “I need you too!”, Jessica said.  “James Robert Aubrey, look at yourself!  You are hooked up to IV fluids and are still getting blood transfusions because you lost 39% of your blood volume yesterday.  You have stitches in your abdomen from where you were shot.  You barely escaped bleeding to death from a bullet that hit the lateral femoral circumflex artery in your left thigh.  If you don’t stay in bed, your spleen could rupture, and you’re no good to Genny if you have to have another surgery and be off for weeks because you’re being a dumbass.”

                “Jess…my ASAC is facing a hearing that could determine if she’s out of the Bureau…”

                “I know…but both the evidence and Hunter’s account support her story.  Besides, you’ve been through hell, Aubrey.  You almost died, and you had to shoot someone.”

                Aubrey pushed aside his feelings of helplessness for the time being.  “But I can’t be on bed rest.  Booth and I have to figure out how the hell all this shit happened.  Two guys start two separate fire fights with three FBI agents and an SEC forensic accountant six hours apart from each other...in the same damn building and one leaves a suicide note.  Something is not right, Jess.  There has to be some sort of connection we aren’t seeing...owww….goddammit...”

                “I agree, Aubrey, but they’re dead.  Right now, you need to take care of yourself.”

                “But...what if I have to piss?  What if I have to…you know…”

                “I know you’re trying to change the subject.”  The redhead rolled her eyes.  “But in answer to your questions, you’ll handle it the same way as you dealt with it after doctors pulled shrapnel out of your back almost a year ago.  Don’t worry, Aubrey.  The nurses will take good care of you.”

                Aubrey remembered the nurses helping him to the bathroom the first several hours after he woke up and made a face.  “Ugh…”

                Jessica felt a buzz on her phone.  Looking at it, her eyes bulged out.  “Shit!  I forgot.”

                “What?”

                “Stephan is picking me up because I have a couple of errands to run.  He’ll be here in a few minutes.” 

                “Stephan, your brother?” 

                “No, Stephen Hawking.”,  Jessica retorted with a smile.  “Yes, my brother.”

                “Cute…”, Aubrey muttered sarcastically. “Damn it...we were supposed to go out this weekend…they’re going to think I’m an asshole...”

                “No, Stephan and Gail won’t think you’re an asshole, and we will just reschedule.  He has to pick up a couple things for the shop today, then I’m taking him back to Alexandria and borrowing his SUV until I get my Jeep back.”  Jessica moaned as she ran to look through her purse.  Finding a hairbrush, she started brushing her hair.  “God, I must look like shit…I don’t have a toothbrush…I don’t have any makeup on...I probably smell bad from nervous sweat...”

                “You never look like shit, Jess.”,  Aubrey said before remembering her slashed tires.  “Have you found out who messed up your tires yet?”

                Jessica hesitated for a moment.  Her Superman needed to concentrate on recovering, not worrying about her.  “No, not yet.”

                The groggy agent thought of something.  “What’s your brother going to drive?”

                “Aubrey, between him and Gail, they own two SUVs, a sedan, and two motorcycles.  They’re covered.  All my brothers have either called or sent texts checking up on you.  Stephan told Dad last night, and he sends his love, too.”

                Surprised, the agent looked away in embarrassment.  “Wow…didn’t expect that, Jess.”

                “Yeah, they’re worried about you.  You’re the man I love and they like you…not just because you’re my boyfriend, but you.  Don’t act so surprised, all right?  Now, do you need anything?”

                 “I feel like shit, but I think my body just needs fuel.  Can I get something to eat soon?  Maybe a couple chili dogs, some onion rings, and a chocolate milkshake?”, Aubrey pleaded, deciding his nausea was from food deprivation.  “You know how I get when my blood sugar drops.”

                 Jessica saw the expectation in his hazy eyes, but she had to be the bearer of bad news.  “Unfortunately, you’re on a liquid diet today, Superman.  Tolerate that, then they may move you past Jell-O tomorrow.”

                “Man…”  Aubrey’s eyes closed as he realized something else.  “Shit…Skinner…”

                “I didn’t sleep very well after we got to your room right before 1:00, so I got Dr. B’s key this morning about 6:30 and ran home to feed him.”, Jessica stammered nervously.  “I hope that’s all right.”

                Aubrey felt a little weird in return.  “Yeah…that’s cool.  Thanks, Jess.”

                “No problem.”  There was an awkward tension in the room.  “Here, I’ll give your your key back--”

                “No...it’s fine.  Do you mind feeding Skinner the next few days?”, Aubrey muttered.  “You know how picky he is about his food.”

                “Sure, Superman.”,  Jessica replied with a smile.  “Do you want me to get you anything from your house while I’m out today?”

                “My IPad would be nice…my laptop if they’ll let me have it.”,  Aubrey mumbled.  “What about the lab?  Don’t you have to work with Hodgins today?”

                “Hodgins gave me the day off.  I’m going to work all day tomorrow in Limbo except when I go to AmU in the afternoon for my Friday SI session.”

                “Why can’t you work cases?”, Aubrey asked, confused.  “You usually only work in Limbo on Wednesdays.”

                Jessica didn’t want to tell Aubrey that Hodgins was focusing his time on her case…just yet.  “When I sent a text to Hodgins, he said that Dr. Boyd was finishing up her autopsy and he was examining Sipoletti’s effects from his car and office.  Caroline said it would be best if I didn’t report today to avoid jeopardizing the case since I’m your girlfriend.”

                “Sounds stupid.”, he grumbled.

                “It’s fine with me.  I could use a quiet end to my week after all that has happened.”  The redhead smiled and kissed her boyfriend.  “Now, I’ll be back later.”

                “Cool.”, Aubrey mumble before yawning widely.  “I promise not to go anywhere…”

                “Get some sleep, Superman.”,  Jessica said before grabbing her purse.  “You’re tired.”

                The agent was getting groggier, but he noticed a tear in her bag before his eyes began to droop.  “Not tired, Jess…”

                “Okay…”,  the redhead said before kissing her boyfriend again, this time on his forehead.  “I love you and I’ll be by later.”

                “Love you, too…”, the lanky man mumbled before going back to sleep.

                Jessica quietly left the room and headed down the hallway, feeling out of sorts from her crappy sleep at the hospital.  Andie had offered to let her bunk at her and Wendell’s apartment nearby but she didn’t want to leave her Superman.  After her errands she needed to pick up her new keys for her apartment.  Plus she needed to find a new purse...preferably one without a slash in it.

* * *

 

                Steve Bower walked out of the interrogation room, whistling a tune as he celebrated his defeat of another criminal. _‘I’m the fucking shit...I’m the fucking shit…’_

                Stopping in the break room for a cup of coffee, he walked into the bullpen and saw that his ASAC’s office was empty.  Waving down Agent Juarez, he pointed.  “Where’s Agent Shaw?”

                “She’s in front of the review board about yesterday.”

                 Letting the younger agent walk away, he got a smirk on his face.  _‘There’s only one thing to do then…’_

                Walking up to the assignment board, he erased both Aubrey and Shaw’s names and put his in their places for **SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE** and **ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE.**

                “Bower, what the hell are you doing?”

                The man turned around to see Agents Jill Haggarty and Jerry Thompson, who were obviously not impressed.  Shrugging, Steve shuffled some papers and stacked some files nearby.  “Well, someone has to be in charge.”

                “Um, that would be Agent Shaw since Agent Aubrey is in the hospital.  You know the protocol, Bower.”,  Thompson growled.

                “Um, Shaw is in front of a review panel right now, and I’m the one with the most seniority in Major Crimes, so I’m in charge until further notice.”

                “Steve, you’re an idiot…and so not in charge.”, Haggarty chimed in before the two agents went to their desks.  “Trust me...we’re not that desperate….and even if we were, we’d call Hacker before we’d let you run the show.”

                “Yeah, well…get to work, agents.”, Bower yelled back. 

                He walked to his desk, but as he sat down, he changed his mind and walked into Aubrey’s office.  He turned and saw the shocked looks of his fellow agents before turning back and twisting the door knob.

                “He really thinks he’s in charge?”, Haggarty said as she watched the middle-aged agent open the door marked ** _JAMES AUBREY, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE._**

“Yeah, what a dumb shit.”, Agent Satterly contributed from two desks down.  “Also, rumor has it he’s hooking up with that new CSI that worked his case last week.  That may be another reason he’s doing the happy dance.”

                “He’s cheating on Karen Delfs?”, Haggarty asked, holding in a snicker.  “I know I’ve only been here about five weeks, but I get the impression she is a bit...nuts...and not someone you want to screw with.”

                Thompson laughed out loud.  “Oh, he wants to screw with her all the time, but you’re right.  She’s off her rocker, and if he’s cheating on her, shit’s gonna hit the fan.”

                Oblivious to the gossip in the bullpen, Bower set his stuff down and turned on the computer.  When he saw Aubrey had it locked, he simply hit _Switch User_ and logged in under himself.  He sat back in the new office chair that his boss got about six weeks ago.  Looking around, he smiled as he pictured how things would be when he when he got his promotion and moved into this office.

                Turning around, he saw the picture of his boss with whom he assumed was his mother.  “Not a bad looking woman...I’d do her.”

                Bower then looked to the next picture, which was in a frame with puzzle pieces on it and had an image of Aubrey and that hot piece of ass Jessica. 

               He felt bad for Aubrey. It had to suck being shot, especially when he had that cute little  redheaded college student waiting at home for him.  As his subordinate, Bower knew he should do all he could for that scrawny little nerd until the guy could return to full duty, including offering himself to his young girlfriend who would be lonely, and probably sexually frustrated, for a while.  That Jessica needed a real man, one that could make her squeal.  That…was something he was good at.

                Bower bent his right fingers but winced part way.  That redhead had a mighty grip, but she was still cute. 

                Karen Delfs was great…no, better than great...make that fantastic…in bed, but she was clingy as fuck and always jealous.  When a man can’t take a shit in peace because she always had to be with him or admire another woman without getting that death stare through those big black glasses, it wasn’t fun anymore. 

                Karen had pissed him off yesterday by making that huge scene at the hospital.  From what Juarez had told him before his interrogation this morning, after he left, she’d practically threatened to strangle his boss’s girlfriend if the guy died.  The fact that the profiler also seemed to have the hots for his boss irritated him, too.  What the hell did that skinny putz have that had women drooling over him?

                If he had known a month earlier what he knew now, he may have debated further before going home with her after work that Monday when they ran into each other outside the conference room.

                But then, he would have missed out on the sex.  The things that woman could do with her hands…whew.  She was definitely talented in that department.

                Bower shook his head to clear his thoughts.  Yeah, the sex was amazing, but he had to break up with her soon, especially when Candy, that new CSI he’d met while working the Andrews case crime scene ten days ago, was readily available.  The two of them were finally able to get together last night when she called him as he was leaving the OR waiting room and he’d gone over to her apartment, ignoring Karen’s many calls. 

                When he caught up with the profiler later, he told her he’d left his phone in the car as he ran errands, and thank God, she believed him.  He only had a few weeks until his fiancee moved to DC, and he was determined to have as much fun as he could until he married her.  He had to shape up for her.  Mitzi was his high school sweetheart, and the one woman worth being faithful to, and it didn’t hurt that she made good money as a psychiatric nurse.  She also wasn’t one to fuck with either…and he secretly loved it.

                He had another date with Candi tonight and he needed to come up with a good excuse to avoid Karen finding out.  If she got all bat shit on Jessica, he could only imagine what she would do with him.  After Mitzi moved here, she would be history, though.  His boss could deal with her.

                He continued to debate his love life with himself when he heard a scary voice.

                “What the hell are you doing in Agent Aubrey’s office?”

                Bower almost fell back in Aubrey’s chair.  Recovering, he turned to see Agent Shaw standing there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.  However, it was the other presence that had him running scared.

                “Deputy Director Stark.”

                The African American man stormed through the doorway, wearing an angry glare.  “Agent Bower, what exactly are you doing setting up shop in your SAC’s office?”

                “Um…well…with Aubrey in the hospital and Shaw off duty—“

                “She was at a hearing regarding a shooting yesterday, not off duty.”  Stark glowered as he pinned Bower in place with a steely glare.  “I’m also curious to know why your name is listed on the assignment board as Special Agent in Charge, because last time I checked, you’re still a Senior Special Agent.”

                “Well, I figured that someone should pitch in with both of our heads gone—“

                “Special Agent Shaw wasn’t gone….or relieved of duty.  Also, as of seven minutes ago, she’s back on full duty according to the disciplinary board.  I’ve returned her badge and service weapon to her.  With Special Agent Aubrey in the hospital, Special Agent Shaw is now Acting Special Agent in Charge of Major Crimes.  So, you can return to your desk in the bullpen.”

                “Sure, of course Deputy Director.”, Bower stammered as he got his stuff together.  “Good to see you back, Shaw.”

                “Don’t forget to sign out of the computer, Bower…and put the correct SAC and ASAC names on the board before sitting down.”

                “Of course.”, Steve said, turning back around to sign out of Aubrey’s computer before scurrying back to his desk.

                Stark and Shaw observed the agent’s head down and held back their smirks.  The Deputy Director then held his hand out to Shaw.  “Glad you’re back, Special Agent Shaw.”

                “Thank you, Sir.”

                “Now, tell me what we have on this Vincent Sipoletti…”         

* * *

                Booth grinned to himself slightly as he came up with his little plan.  He was gonna go check on his buddy Aubrey, no matter what that stupid doctor said about taking it easy.  _She clearly doesn’t know who she’s dealing with here.  Nobody’s gonna stop me if I make up my mind about something._ Anyway, there was no way he could rest easy unless he saw for himself that Aubrey was okay.  So by that logic, he was merely following his doctor’s orders by going to see that his friend was doing better, which would enable him to relax and finally get some sleep.

                All he had to do was to convince the nurse that he could go for a short ride in a wheelchair.  That was all there was to it.  Then he’d take a little excursion to see his friend and be back before anyone missed him.

                He waited until shift change, thinking that the nurse in charge of his care might not have had time to read all of the doctor’s notes in his chart.  Ginger soon came bustling in to check his vitals and his pain level. 

                “How are you feeling this afternoon, Mr. Booth?”

                He gave her a bit of a pout and some sad puppy eyes.  “I’m okay, I guess...but I’d feel a lot better if I could go check on my buddy.  He’s upstairs in the ICU wing.  He was shot, and I wanna make sure he’s okay.”

                “I don’t think so.  According to your chart, you’re not supposed to be ambulatory.”   She reached down to check his pulse as she gave him a no nonsense look.  “You need to stay in bed.”

                “I know I’m supposed to stay in bed, Ginger, but he got hurt bad, you know, and he’s my partner.  I wanna check on him, okay?  I just want to go see him for a few minutes.  It’s not like I’m gonna go dancing around the hospital or running up and down the halls.  Just call an orderly or a candy striper or someone like that to take me up there in a wheelchair for a few minutes, and then I promise I’ll be good for the rest of the night.  Please?”  As desperate times called for desperate measures, he deployed a charm smile to get what he wanted.

_Dammit!  Look at that smile and those dimples._ The nurse shook her head in mock disgust as she glared at her patient.  “I can tell you’re used to using your charm to get what you want, Mr. Booth…”

                “Yeah.”  He grinned happily.  “Did it work?”

                “I’ll have an aide take you upstairs shortly, but you can only stay a few minutes, and you can’t tell anybody I said it was okay, understand?  And you have to stay in the wheelchair.”

                “That’s great!  Thanks, Ginger.  I’ll be good.  I promise.” 

                “No problem.”  Leaving his room, she rolled her eyes as she chuckled to herself, wondering how that man’s wife could ever turn him down if he wanted something.

***/*/*/*/*/*/***

                The nurse’s aide pushed Booth’s wheelchair up to the door of Aubrey’s room.  Opening the door slightly, she peered inside.  “Mr. Aubrey?  You have a visitor...”

                “Hmm?”  A drowsy Aubrey turned toward the door.  “Who is it?  Booth?  Is that you?”

                “Hey, Buddy.  You’d better hurry up and get your ass outta that bed.”  Booth put on his best game face as the aide pushed the wheelchair in, hoping to hide how worried he was about his friend.  “You look like shit…”

                “Yeah, thanks.”  Aubrey gestured for the aide to step outside.  “I feel like shit, too...like shit after it’s been run over by a semi…”

                “That’s not surprising.  You got shot, and bled like crazy, and then you fell over backward.  It looks like you hit the concrete parking barrier with your side by the way you were laying on it, and hit your head on the curb barrier.  You’ve got a concussion to go with everything else.”

                “Yeah, that’s what the doctor said...plus my spleen is bruised so I’m stuck on bed rest for 72 hours while they give me blood transfusions and IV fluids.”  He hesitated slightly.  “So, um...Jessica said you saved my life.”  Aubrey’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.  “I guess I owe you one, Booth…”

                “Nah.  Actually, I was paying you back.”  Booth grimaced as he pointed at his shoulder.  “When Sipoletti shot me, it grazed me here, and I fell back, dislocating my shoulder.  I was trying to get at my gun, but I couldn’t grab it, and he was drawing a bead on me when you dropped him.”  Swallowing hard, Booth let go a shuddering sigh.  “You saved my life first, Aubrey.  I was just returning the favor, okay?  Listen...I’m so sorry I got you into this mess.  I should’ve known what was going down with that bastard...I should’ve known a guy like him wouldn’t cooperate…”

                “It’s not your fault, Booth.  The guy was wanting us to take him down.  We were both lucky that he didn’t take us with him, okay?”  Aubrey yawned slightly before he continued.  “Jesus, I’m still so sleepy.  They have me on all sorts of painkillers, I guess.  Jessica says I won’t be able to go home for a couple of days, and then I’ll be housebound for awhile.  Oh, no…”  Aubrey’s expression became panicked.  “This is bad…”

                “What?  What’s wrong?  Do you want me to call a nurse?”  Booth wheeled closer to the bed.  “Are you okay?”

                “I haven’t had time to shop for Jessica’s Christmas gift!  What am I gonna do?  I want this year to be perfect, but I how am I gonna take care of that?”

                “Easy there, Aubrey.”  Relieved that the problem had nothing to do with his friend’s injury, Booth chuckled.  “You can probably find some nice things online…at least it might be fun to look so you can get some gift ideas, anyway….”

                “Yeah, but I wanted something really special, you know?  Hey, you know that shop down the street from the diner?  The one that sells those sexy underwear sets?  I wanted to go there…”

                “Okay, I tell you what.  After you get out of here, we’ll go.  Right now, you just gotta take care of yourself.”  Hearing noises in the corridor, Booth nodded over his shoulder.  “I guess I better go back to my room.  I just wanted to make sure you were gonna be okay.”  He paused for a second and turned back to his friend.  “Listen, if you need to talk about it...about taking out Sipoletti…”

                “I’m gonna be fine.  It’s just gonna take some time is all.” 

                “Okay...but if you need me, I’ll be around.”  Booth moved toward the door.  “Talk to you later.”

                “Yeah….and Booth?”

                “Yeah?”

                “Thanks a lot.”

                “Yeah...you, too.”

                With that he was gone, and Aubrey settled back on his bed, thinking things through.  If he had to get shot, Special Agent Booth would be the man he’d want by his side. 

                Drifting off to sleep again, Aubrey smiled as visions of his redhead in sexy lingerie danced through his head….


	40. Picking Up the Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Jessica is trying to work past her trauma of earlier in the week and move forward. How does she do?

                Jessica drove her brother’s SUV through DC, a bag from Kohl’s containing a new purse on the seat next to her.  She loved her current purse, but carrying a handbag with a big slash through it wasn’t very fashionable.

                Another example of something Gerald Maxwell had ruined since she’d made the regrettable decision to go on a date with him.

_‘He’ll get what's coming to him_.' Karma had a way of biting people in the ass when they deserved it.  She had a right to not see him again.  Not once did she lead him on to make him think they would have sex.  No man...or woman...had the right to fornication with whomever they want unless both parties consented...and she definitely had not consented.

                She wouldn’t blame herself anymore.  He’d used his size and money to intimidate other women in the past...of that she had no doubt.  But that game would end soon, because no matter what the bastard threw at her, she wouldn’t let him win.

                The butterflies in her stomach got crazy the closer she got to her neighborhood.  _‘No giving up...I will do this...I will go into my own apartment...I will get a quick change of clothes and toiletries...then I will leave.‘_

                Her resolve was strong until she pulled up to the turn off for the Korean grocery store.  She wanted to throw up, but refused to give in to the urge. _I’m a strong, independent person.  I can do this._  

                Gripping the steering wheel, she made the left turn into the parking lot and pulled into her designated spot behind the three story building.  Taking a calming breath, she got her things together and walked inside the small store.  Seeing that William was with a customer, she walked around for a moment.

                Looking on one of the shelves, she saw that more of the chocolates that Aubrey liked so much were in stock again.  She giggled as she remembered how she and Aubrey had enjoyed them two weeks ago in her apartment...or, rather, he enjoyed eating them off strategic places on her body, making her moan as he explored her skin with kisses, hands, and his wicked tongue until she practically pushed him down and fucked him silly on her couch.

                Exploring Aubrey’s kinky side with food was always fun...and she was the lucky girl who got to do so.

                Grabbing two bags of the candy, she walked up to the counter where she waited for Mr. Cho’s grandson to finish helping an elderly woman.  After bidding the woman goodbye, the young man greeted the redhead.

                “Hi, Jessica.”  Pulling something out of his pocket, he held up two keys.  “Here you go.  Grandfather said the door and new deadbolt were covered under his homeowner’s policy so you don’t owe anything.”

                Taking the keys, she put them in her coat pocket.  “Tell him I’m sorry for everything when he gets back from Seoul.”

                “It’s fine.  No worries.”, the young man replied as he rung up her chocolate.  “How is Agent Aubrey?”

                “James is doing well and is expected to make a full recovery.”, Jessica said with a smile before handing the young man a ten dollar bill.  Accepting the change back, the redhead waved.  “Thanks, William.  See you later.”

                Going through the back door, she entered the bottom landing and felt nauseated again.  Hating herself for being weak, she grabbed her phone out of her pocket and pushed a button.

                “Andie...it’s Jessica.  I know you’re writing that big paper for your final exam but can you come over to my apartment?  Yeah...I’m a little scared to go in alone...thanks.”

                Hanging up, she stormed out and got inside the SUV to wait for her friend to show up.

* * *

                 Genny Shaw was in her office on the phone, files spread out all over her desk and the department budget for December on her computer monitor.  In front of her was the lunch Agent Haggarty was nice enough to pick up for her while the other agent was out.

                Rubbing her temple, she listened impatiently to the other person on the line.  “Are you sure there’s nothing you can do, Ms. Julian?  That scumbag did this.”

                _“I know that, Agent Shaw, and you know that.  However, if we’re going to get that little crapeau, I need more than what we have now.  I need stuff that the boy can’t weasel out of...you know, DNA and stuff like that.  Get it for me, and I’ll get a warrant so tight the slimiest lawyer can’t get it slid out of court.”_

                Genny looked up and saw Jessica walking through the bullpen.  “Well, Jessica is here now, so I’ll let her know what’s going on.”

                _“Watch out for that little girl, Shaw.  I’ve already got my two boys to worry about.  Can’t be worrying about her or that Dr. Brennan, too.”_

                “Yes, ma’am.  Bye.”

                Jessica knocked on the entryway as the agent was hanging up.  “Hey, Genny…how are you, today?”

                “Better, now that I’m cleared and returned to full duty.  How’s the boss?”

                The redhead sat down in front of the ASAC.  “Good…but groggy.  He asked about Sipoletti.”

                “I’m going over there later to give him an update if he’s able to stay awake long enough to listen to it.  Tomorrow I’ll go back and plan out the next couple of weeks with him.”, Genny replied before seeing the subtle trembling of the redhead in front of her.  “Jessica, how are you?”

                The anthropologist gulped.  “Good…good, I guess…scared…”

                “About Aubrey or what’s happened to you?”

                “Both.”, Jessica said softly before wiping a tear away.  “I’m sorry…I thought I was over this…I’ve got the FBI working on my case…my boyfriend is alive after being shot at close range…why am I crying?”

                “Stress.”  The petite woman got up and sat on the corner of the desk in front of the redhead.  “You’re relieved…and scared…it’s okay to feel that way, Jessica.  Remember me, yesterday?  It really helped that you let me yammer about everything, too.  Thanks for that by the way.”

                “Yeah...any time.”  Jessica nodded resolutely as she clenched her jaw.  “Okay…I know you have a lot on your plate with pinch hitting for Aubrey while he’s off, but can you give me an update on my case?”

                The ASAC was dreading this conversation, but the woman in front of her had a right to know.  With a heavy heart, she explained her phone call with Caroline and their options, trying to ignore the woman’s trembling lip that then morphed into angry eyes.                

                “So that’s where we’re at.”, Genny said.  “It’s mostly circumstantial.”

                Jessica inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.  “So, Gerald gets away with this?  It’s bad enough he’s trying to scare me at work, but he’s…”

                “I know, Jessica.”, Genny replied.  “Caroline just wants something more airtight before going to a judge because if we go for more too soon, Gerald and his father could destroy evidence.  They also have enough friends to make this hurt.”

                “It’s not like he’s going to confess.”, the redhead said.  “Even he’s not that stupid.”

                The ASAC considered for a moment.  “Jessica, tell me everything about him.  I want you to explain about every encounter you’ve had with the creep.”

                Jessica wrinkled her nose in irritation.  “Are you talking about getting a profiler?”

                “No…I don’t think I need one, but I need to know as much as you can tell me…starting with the first time you met him.  I also need to know about anything unusual, particularly since Daisy and Beau’s wedding.”

                “We may want to get some coffee, Genny.  This could take a while.” 

                Genny looked at her phone.  “Come on, let’s get some coffee from the cart outside.  I could use from fresh air.”

                Grabbing their coats to protect against the bite of the December cold, the two ladies walked out of Genny’s office.  As the ASAC let an agent know where she was going, Jessica glanced at a wall by the bullpen and was surprised at what she saw.

                “Genny, why is Agent Bower’s name under _‘Special Agent in Charge_?’”

                _‘That asshole.’_ The petite woman stopped and stomped over, where she removed the name from the dry erase board and returned Aubrey’s name and hers to the proper spots.  “I’ll explain on the way down.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                An hour later, Jessica stopped speaking and sipped her tea in Genny’s office.  “So that’s it.”

                “Have you reported what happened to you in the locker room?”

                Jessica closed her eyes.  “No, because Aubrey would have beat the crap out of him and I didn’t want my boyfriend to get into trouble.”

                Genny looked at the younger woman.  “You also blamed yourself for possibly leading him on, so you decided to handle it on your own, especially after the lab almost lost some of their security funding two days later.”

                The redhead looked up in amazement.  “How did you…”

                “Jessica, I’m a female federal agent in a male dominated occupation.  I didn’t get to where I am by being polite.  I had to learn to stand up for myself, too.  The key is knowing when to ask for help.”

                “I thought I could handle it...I was taught to stand on my own two feet…”

                Genny smiled.  “That is something the boss loves about you, but Aubrey adores you, Jessica, and would want to help you.  You know that, right?  You have friends that would want to help you, too.  I’m sure if Dr. Hodgins found out about Gerald cornering you and trying to bully you into sex he would do what he could for you.”

                “I know.”, the redhead said with a nod.

                “Talk to Hodgins...today.  You need what happened to be on the record because we have to nail this slimeball with anything we can.” 

                “Alright, I will.”

                Genny sat back in her chair.  “Obviously, Gerald was behind those complaints about you not dressing properly for work.  With his father being the driving force behind compromising the updated security for the lab, Harold Maxwell is now involved, too.  It sounds like your fellow intern, or him and his father, were trying to make you quit the Jeffersonian.”

                “Why?”

                “Because, Jessica, from what you’ve told me, the asshole is used to getting what he wants.  Not only did you turn him down multiple times, you shamed him yourself, and Aubrey really made him look bad by causing him to pee his pants in public at the Gala, which was awesome, by the way.”

                “It is, isn’t it?”, Jessica said with a smile.  “Every time Aubrey comes by the lab, people talk about it...and I kind of like being the girlfriend of the guy who makes Gerald Maxwell look bad.”

                “Yeah…I would, too, if I didn’t have Hunter.”,  Genny answered with a sly giggle.  “It’s interesting that the jerk knew just how to get to you, too, like he knew the right buttons to push to make you nervous.  However, I’m sure it’s not the first time he’s done this.”

                “But what about him slashing my tires?  That doesn’t seem to have any sexual connotation.”

                “He wanted you scared so you would quit.  Jessica,”, the agent said, “You’re a reminder of his humiliation and rejection.  Not only did you date other guys instead of him, but you got together with a man that he considers beneath him…a federal agent.  Then, that same federal agent publically humiliated him.  From what I’ve read and seen, Gerald has a very fragile ego, and you two ripped a big hole in it…practically emasculated him.”

                “He’s got other women who will do anything to get him to notice them…”

                “I know, Jessica, but you…seem to be something that has eluded him and that…makes him angry…and possibly dangerous.  You’ve challenged his ‘authority’, and he can’t handle it.  Not only did he vandalize your locker, but he destroyed your property and ripped your pictures of family and of you with Aubrey.  He’s made this personal.”  Genny pondered before she had a thought.  “Have you ever found your keys?”

                “No…”  Jessica shook her head. 

                “Maybe I’m reaching, but…taking your keys seems to almost be…like a silent fuck you for his keys at that Star Wars convention a couple of months ago.”

                “That’s petty and—“

                “He doesn’t care, Jessica.”, Genny said.  “You caused him humiliation when you called him out and you had his keys, delaying his escape from a place he didn’t want to be seen.  He got a scratch in his car, marring the perfection that is his _‘overcompensating for his dick’_ vehicle.  He threatened you with a lawsuit, but you didn’t bite.”

                “Yeah…”

                “After his stunt at the Gala, he got suspended for his actions, which put his degree in jeopardy, from what Aubrey told me.  My guess, he expected his father to get him out of trouble, and the old boy couldn’t pull it off.  He blames you for that.  Then, he tried blackmailing you for sex, expecting you to jump so you could avoid him going after you in court, but you turned that around on him, too.  So…he tried to drive you away from the Jeffersonian, threatening your career.  My guess is that he and his father figured that you would feel guilty for the entire lab being in jeopardy, but they didn’t anticipate Dr. B and Dr. Hodgins standing up for you the way they did.”

                “I still can’t believe they went to bat for me at the Governing Board meeting last week like that...and I’m just an intern…”, Jessica said with a nod.  

                “Jessica, Hodgins isn’t just your supervisor and Dr. B isn’t just your graduate advisor.  It’s obvious that both care very much about you, not just the reputation of the lab.”, the agent said. 

                “They’re not just my mentors…they’re my friends.”, the redhead said quietly.  “I don’t want them in trouble either…”             

                “Gerald Maxwell is angry now, Jessica.  Breaking into your apartment…is more than scaring you.  He took your trust fund bank book not to rob you, but make things harder for you.  The birth control and the panties…you don’t have to be a profiler to see that you’re more than a conquest to him.”

                “What do I do, Genny?”, Jessica whispered. 

                “We have one chance at this son of a bitch.  My gut is telling me that he didn’t toss that stuff.  He took them…as some sort of trophy...to have power over you.  We get a search warrant to search his stuff, and I guarantee we’ll find them.” 

                Jessica nodded in silence before noting the time.  “Shit, I have to go.  I have a meeting at the bank at 1:00 to go over my trust fund account.  It’s frozen but they will have to close it and transfer the funds.  We also have to sort out what gets paid and what is rejected.”

                “If you don’t mind me asking…how large is it?”

                “It’s not like its several million dollars…my paternal grandparents set up trust funds of 500,000 dollars each for my siblings and myself when we were born.  Over the years they added to each until we turned 18 so it topped off at one million dollars.”

                 “Are there any conditions to its use?”, Genny asked as she took notes.

                 “The terms are very clear as to what the money is earmarked for: only college expenses such as tuition, books, and supplies not covered by financial aid packages or for living expenses like rent, utilities, buying a vehicle for getting to and from school and work, or major emergencies.  Things like cell phones, car insurance, and stuff like that we were expected to pay for ourselves.  Items are paid with checks or we have to produce receipts if the debit card is used.  We turn the receipts into Andrea Price, our current accountant and trustee in charge of our accounts at the Bank of America on Dupont Circle.  Any unauthorized purchase has to be reimbursed within 30 days or my brothers and I forfeited our entire fund unless otherwise approved by my grandparents or since they died, my father.”

                “So how does the money get disbursed?”, Genny asked.

                “Starting when my brothers and I graduated from the cooperative, $25,000 is deposited into an account July 1st.  Our parents were the co-trustees since all six of us were minors when we started college, with us becoming our own trustees we each turned 21.  We were expected to work hard in school and earn grades so we could earn scholarships and any other merit based aid for school because my grandparents didn’t want us to be dependent on the family business.  I, along with my siblings, would budget carefully each year so there would be leftover funds to add to our account each year if needed, especially for us that were going on to earn a Masters and PhD.  Becoming a TA last year for Dr. B saved me a lot of money on tuition that wasn’t covered by my fellowship, so right now I have just shy of about 125,000 dollars in my account.”

                “So what happens when you earn your PhD, Jessica?”

                “The terms stipulate that when each of us turned 30, we gain full control over any remaining funds and are free to use the money as we wish since it is assumed that all of us would be finished with or have almost completed our educations by then.”

                “Your grandparents were smart.”, Genny said.

                “My great-great-great grandparents came from Scotland and built Saoirse Finn up from nothing.  Each generation after them worked hard to make it the success it is today.  Now my brother Jack and his life partner Greg run things, and our wines are sold in several restaurants on the Eastern Seaboard.  My dad’s parents wanted us to appreciate any success we had….and to know that in order to get far, you have to earn your own way, not just have it handed to you on a silver platter.”

                “Do you advertise your family business, Jessica?”,  Genny asked.

                “No.  I don’t deny it if asked, but I don’t brag about it, either. It’s a great legacy and we’re proud of it, but my grandparents and father raised my brothers and me to work for our own accomplishments.”

                Genny found she admired her boss’s girlfriend more than she already had.  “I think if you go home you need to have someone there with you, Jessica.  I, as the agent in charge of this case and as a friend, would feel more comfortable if you did that.  Or maybe you should stay at Aubrey’s.  His security is top notch.”

                “I’ll…consider that.  Dr. B offered to let me stay at her house, too, until Gerald’s arrested.”

                “Okay, well, I’ll let you get going, Jessica.  I’m going to go over all this stuff on Sipoletti because I need to update the boss on what’s going on.”

                “I’m glad he has you, Genny.”  Jessica stood up and put her coat on.  “He won’t have to worry about Major Crimes while he’s recuperating.”             

                “I’m just the seat warmer, Jessica.  I want the boss back.  Aubrey’s managed to clean up a lot of Halko’s crap since he took over a few months ago.  Outside of Booth, he’s the best SAC I’ve worked with.”

                Jessica felt pride at her boyfriend’s accomplishments.  “I’m glad.  Thanks for being straight with me, Genny.”

                “You’re welcome.  See you later.”, Genny replied. 

                The redhead left the office, and the agent sat back in her chair.  They had to get that nasty worm and she would find a way to do it.  She was lost in her thoughts for a second before she was unpleasantly interrupted.

                “So, I hear Jessica got her apartment broken into Tuesday night.  Why is that a federal case?”

                Genny looked back at Karen Delfs standing in the doorway and was positive the older woman was salivating.  “We don’t need a profiler on this case, Karen, and it’s federal for reasons that don’t pertain to you.  Bye...”

                “But if he stole particular items, I may be able to help—“

                Genny moved her attention back to the file in front of her.  “Got it covered, Karen.  Thanks.”

                “I can help with a profile—“

                “I haven’t requested a profiler, Karen andI don’t plan on it.” Genny said tersely.  “If something changes and I do need one, I’ll contact Jake personally with my request.  You’re not going near this case with a ten foot pole…especially after the way you acted last night towards Jessica.”

                “I don’t appreciate your implication, Agent Shaw—“

                “I know you don’t…and I don’t care, Karen.  Now, unless you have something else you need to discuss with me…goodbye.”

                Karen walked up to the desk.  “I do…these shootings the last couple of days…I need to update my profile for the Vacchio case.  Agent Chamberlain said you got the files from him this morning.”

                “Yes, because Adam and I are covering for Booth and Aubrey until they return to work.  I’ll let you know later today when I’m done with them.”

                Karen shifted the folders in her arms.  “I don’t have time to waste, Agent Shaw, and I don’t appreciate you shutting me out because you have issues with me personally.  I don’t want to have to put a complaint in to the Deputy Director.”

                Genny sat back in her chair and smiled.  “Go right on ahead.  He and the Director are talking to the legal team now regarding what has happened the last couple of days in between fielding phone calls from Senator Winters, and they’re getting ready for a press conference.  I’m sure Deputy Director Stark won’t mind having his valuable time taken away from those pressing tasks to listen to a profiler whine about having to wait her turn.” 

                PIcking up her phone, the agent held it out.  “Would you like me to call him for you?”

                Karen stiffened her spine, pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose as she glared at the agent.  “I don’t want to bother him unnecessarily, but I don’t have all day either.  I have other cases.”

                “Then work on them.  If you prefer to wait, go see your boyfriend.  I’m sure he’ll appreciate an apology for your horrible behavior last night as well.”

                When the annoying woman left, Genny closed her eyes for a moment as the last couple of days ran through her mind.  Every instinct told her that it wasn’t the end and that more would be coming before things settled.

                “Fasten your seat belts, folks.  It’s going to be a bumpy night…or several nights…”

* * *

                 “Jessica...why didn’t you tell me about this right away?”,  Hodgins asked gently before handing his crying intern a Kleenex.

                “Thank you.”, Jessica said quietly as she dried her eyes.  “I thought I could handle it, Curly...and I didn’t want Aubrey or anyone else in trouble because of me.”

                “Jessica...it’s my job to help you when things like this come up.  The Jeffersonian has a strict policy regarding sexual harassment.  It’s something that Cam doesn’t tolerate and it’s something I won’t tolerate, either.”

                “But Antiquities--”

                “Isn’t like that anymore.  Trust me, I’ve gotten to know Dr. Miller, and he’s not like those assholes who turned a blind eye to Gerald.  The Maxwells aren’t going to sweep this problem under the rug this time.”, Hodgins said.  “I’m so sorry this happened to you, Jessica.”

                “It’s okay.”,  the redhead said.  “I just thought that he would lose interest, you know?  I mean, I have a boyfriend.  Gerald’s got women who will lift their skirts for him if he just smiles at them...and they’re cute too.  Why is he doing this to me?”

                “Because he, and assholes like him, get off on it.”, Hodgins replied. 

                “What if his father comes after the lab again, Curly?”

                Hodgins pulled out from behind his desk and wheeled up to the young woman.  “He can try, Jessica, but we have enough support built up so that it will crash and burn like the last attempt.   Now, I’m going to call Dr. Miller and we’re going to come up with a plan.  Gerald’s not going to get away with this, Jessica.  You are brave to come forward with this...many women don’t.”

                “If I were really brave, I would have told you right away.”

                “But you did say something, Jessica.  That’s the important thing.”, Hodgins said with a smile.  “Is there anything I can do for you?”

                Jessica got up and hugged her mentor.  “What you’re doing is exactly what I need, Curly.”  Breaking the hug, she saw the time and looked for her stuff.  “I have to get back to Aubrey.  I promised him we could watch a movie marathon tonight on Comet.”

                “How many movies is he going to make it through?”

                The redhead put on her coat.  “One, if he’s lucky.  His spleen was badly bruised so between that, the transfusions, and the surgery, he’s really tired.”

                “Any idea on when he’s going home?”

                Jessica pulled her keys out of her new purse.  “He has to stay on bed rest for 72 hours, which ends Saturday night.  His vitals are good and Dr. Elias said that his wounds were healing well.  She’s thinking he may be able to go home Sunday afternoon.”

                “Tell him that either Friday night or Saturday we can bring Michael Vincent by.  He has something for Aubrey.  Angela helped make him make a small gift.” 

                “He’ll love that, Curly.”, she replied. 

                “Oh, almost forgot.”, Hodgins said before wheeling over to a box on the floor. “Here’s the rest of your stuff from your locker.  Caroline said since none of it was damaged, you can have them back.”

                “Okay.”, Jessica replied before coming over and picking it up.  Doing a quick search, she pulled out a long, fat object.  “I still can’t believe he didn’t get to my Epi-Pen, but he’s not the sharpest man in the world.”

                “I didn’t know you were allergic to anything.”, Hodgins said.

                “Strawberries.  I used to keep just one in my purse, but Aubrey nagged me until I got a second one. so it’s one for work and one for home...although he thinks it needs to go in my purse instead.”

                “Not a bad idea, Jessica.”

                “It is when it’s $600.00 for a two pack, but I have insurance.  We’ll see.”, Jessica said.  “I’m sure Aubrey is bored and waiting for me to bring me his things, so I should get going.”

                Hodgins wheeled up closer.  “Okay, well, tell Aubrey we said hi.  Good night, Jessica.”

                “Night, Curly.”, Jessica said as she walked out the door.

                When he knew his intern was out of earshot, Hodgins wheeled up to his phone and dialed an extension.  After a few rings, he got an answer.  “David...it’s Hodgins...listen, I know you’re probably on your way out, but I need to talk to you...yeah, it’s about Maxwell...I just talked to Jessica Warren, and apparently he cornered her in the locker room and threatened her the Monday before Thanksgiving...”

                Twenty minutes later, a tired Angela finished her work and walked into the Ookey Room.  Sitting down, she nibbled on Twizzlers as she waited for her husband to finish his call.

                “That sounds good, David...keep me posted and I’ll do the same from my end.  Thanks for your help.  Night.”

                “Was that Dr. Miller?”, Angela asked. 

                “Yeah...Gerald Maxwell has gone too far this time.”, Hodgins said as he hooked his blue lab coat onto his meter stick and hung it on the rack.

                “What happened?”

                “Let’s talk about it on the way home, Angie.  I want to get out of here and I would rather talk about this when our son isn’t around.”

* * *

                 Karen finished the profile she was working on for the Cyber division and put it aside.  Before she started the next one, she sat back in her chair and contemplated the last 24 hours while staring at the dull walls of her small cubicle.

                Jessica Warren had managed once again to make her look bad in front of everyone last night.  The horrible things she said to her at the hospital were simply uncalled for.  Just because she didn’t like the truth the profiler pointed out didn’t mean she could be cruel.  Then, she had to get the lab to humiliate her in public by calling her things like entitled...a stalker...overbearing…

                Karen rolled her eyes in disgust, knowing that she was none of those things.  She worked closely with those people, and she deserved to be part of their tight knit group.  She, Karen Delfs, was an important part of the FBI.  On the other hand, Jessica Warren was a graduate student who probably considered her time with the lab as a stepping stone to fame and prestige.

                Why was it so hard for people to understand what a manipulative bitch that little girl was?  What was so fucking intriguing about her that they wanted to be friends with that twit instead of herself, an accomplished FBI profiler?  One would think lollipops came out of that girl’s butt.

                It burned her that while she worked her tail off at Georgetown to get where she was, it seemed all the redhead had to do was show off her super smart brain and probably drop her panties, if she even  wore any, for all the guys in the lab to get her internship.  She even nailed Dr. Sweets before he died.

_What a nice girl...sleeping with her friend’s boyfriend while she was pregnant._ Daisy Wicks may have snagged an NFL player but she wasn’t very bright in the friends department.

                Karen gave the little bitch credit...Jessica was a good actress, because at times she almost believed that the intern was in love with Aubrey, but she knew better.  She also she knew a good thing when she saw it. 

                Thanks to the gossip she was privy to, she knew that Jessica Warren was promiscuous until she decided she wanted to be James Aubrey’s girl.  Why Aubrey would debase himself and hook up with a slut like that was beyond her.  A smart man wouldn’t go near all that when he could have a woman with a solid work ethic, esteemed like her in her profession, and as flexible to a man’s imperfections as she, Karen Delfs was.  Yes, she was a few years older than Aubrey, but he needed a woman who was more settled than some flighty, young graduate student.

                Karen was happy when that insecure, flighty intern showed her true colors and dumped Aubrey back in August, although her timing was all wrong.  Of course, she couldn’t just step aside gracefully when it was Karen’s turn to be with the agent.  No, she had to decide she wanted him back when it turned out the grass wasn’t really greener on the other side.  When Aubrey started hanging around with the little twit again, it pained her to admit that the agent showed himself to still be a sucker for a woman who said all the right things and opened her legs for him. 

                Then he didn’t leave Jessica’s side during his birthday party and acted all excited about the stupid gifts he got from Jessica.

_‘An old record and some cheap car charger?’_ Karen thought. _‘A real woman doesn’t buy her boyfriend chinsy gifts like that.’_

                Then, that horrible ambush the following Monday at the Hoover.  Recalling what Aubrey said to her at that meeting about his supposed feelings of love for Jessica and hers for him, Karen made a face as she had a fleeting moment of nausea.

_‘Best friends who are in love with each other?  Please...that crap doesn’t happen in real life.’_

                It was obvious that Jessica had finally realized that things were boring now that she had Aubrey back in her life.  Why else would she brag and embellish stories about their sex life in a public setting?  Aubrey was cute and fun, but it was obvious that he was the type to like simplicity and vanilla when he made love, something that Karen was sure frustrated the younger woman.

                For Aubrey, Karen would have settled for mediocre sex because he was handsome, interesting, and they would’ve made a amazing power couple like Agent Booth and that snooty Dr. Brennan.  Both of their careers would shine in the FBI, and she would be the envy of women everywhere.  However, the agent screwed himself by settling for some college student who didn’t appreciate decorum and her place.  He would regret his choice, but she didn’t care anymore.  Since that terrible meeting in October, she moved on to Steve, who shared her more varied interests in sexual intercourse.   He was a man that she could show off with pride. 

                Yes, it frustrated her that her boyfriend didn’t look at her like Aubrey would look at Jessica, like a man completely besotted with a woman.  However, she was almost 40, and it was harder to find a good man.  Sure, Steve Bower was a flirt, and yes, he looked, but he knew better than to touch.  The profiler knew that she kept her man entertained to the point he would never stray. 

                She was a little hurt when he acted like he was too busy to talk to her when she said hi after her little tête-à-tête with Agent Shaw, but he was probably busy working on his cases.  Unlike Jessica, she understood that FBI agents couldn’t drop everything for a chat. 

                Like hell would she doubt her boyfriend just because a liar and her friends said he made passes at them.

                Suddenly she realized the constant fretting over the intern was giving her the upper hand.  No way would she let a college student win over her.  Jessica Warren needed to learn her place in this world...and Karen Delfs would be the person to do that.

                She remembered Agent Shaw’s closed lips about Jessica’s case yesterday.  Why would that little cunt’s robbery be a federal case?  It should be with DCPD.

                _‘Knowledge is power.’_   Karen said to herself as he opened up the file search.  Finding the case, she clicked the link, but was annoyed to see not the case file but something else.

**ACCESS DENIED.  TO REQUEST ACCESS CONTACT AGENT IN CHARGE.**

                 Seeing the dialogue box below to contact Shaw, Karen grumbled, knowing the ASAC wouldn’t grant her access to the case file.  “That bitch...I’ll just have to get some more juicy intel to get that red headed twat out of Aubrey’s life...and out of DC.”

* * *

                 After Angela and Hodgins got home, they sat down to a delicious dinner that Billy had made for them.  He tried to focus on his son’s stories about school to no avail.  Even his father-in-law’s ribbing didn’t get much of a reaction from him.  After a long and uncomfortable phone call to Cam for guidance on what to do, he retired to bed early.

                However, sleep eluded him.  He was restless as late Thursday settled into the early hours of Friday. 

                After several hours of frustration, the entomologist looked at his clock and saw 5:12 glowing bright and angry.  Taking a deep breath, he debated on trying to sleep in another hour, but gave up as his meeting with Jessica before he left the lab last night kept playing in his head.

                Hearing the intern recount how Gerald had called her crude names, grabbed her arm, and threatened her career and internship had made him sick to his stomach.  All he could do was apologize profusely and promise it would be dealt with immediately.  She had enough to deal with in regards to Aubrey recovering in the hospital after being shot by a suspect. The entomologist took his responsibilities as Acting Director of the Medico-Legal Lab seriously, and he had failed.

                “It’s not your fault, Hodgins.”

                Startled, he turned over and saw Angela looking at him.  “Yes, it is, Angie.”

                The artist was sad as she watched her husband full of recrimination.  “Hodgins, you didn’t cause Gerald to sexually harass Jessica.”

                “Cam gave me this important responsibility while she is on her leave of absence.  I’m supposed to look out for all the lab employees and what happened to Jessica was on my watch.  I failed her.”

                Angela caressed her husband’s head.  “Hodgins, you’ve done a wonderful job covering for Cam.  You’re blaming yourself because Jessica’s not just an employee, but our friend.”

                “All of this shit makes sense now, Angie.”, Hodgins lamented.  “The nitpicking about her wardrobe...the threats to cut our security budget.  That asshole is pissed because Jessica won’t sleep with him, so he ran to his father to help him drive her out when what he was doing didn’t work.  Obviously he expected to me run scared and fire Jessica to avoid any further issues.

                “Only because Harold Maxwell doesn’t know us very well, Hodgins.  Bren told me how you stood up for Jessica and the lab at that Governing Board meeting.  I was very proud of you.  Cam was impressed when she heard about it at Thanksgiving.”

                The entomologist rubbed his wife’s thigh.  “All I could tell Jessica was how sorry I was.”

                “So Dr. Miller is having a staff meeting in Antiquities on Monday morning?”

                “He sent out the email before he left scheduling it for 7:00.  He’s going to review the sexual harassment guidelines and give a refresher on employee conduct and policy.  He emailed me last night saying that butthole Gerald said he was Florida and couldn’t make it.”, Hodgins said before getting a bite in his voice.  “Angie, I have to make sure something like this never happens again.

                Angela took her husband’s hand.  “And you will.  We’re going to get that son of a bitch.  Not just for Jessica, but for anyone else he has done this to.”

                “Thank you, Angela.”, Hodgins said.             

                “For what?”

                “Helping me not feel sorry for myself and for making me look at the big picture.”, the scientist said.  “Will you be mad if I go to work early?  I can’t sleep.”

                “No, because I’m coming with you.”

                Hodgins put his hand on his wife’s abdomen.  “Angela, our little guy in there needs his mom to get some rest.”

                “His mom can’t rest when his daddy needs my help.  Now I’ll tell Dad where we are going and I’ll help you get around in a few minutes.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                An hour later, the couple arrived to the lab.  After Angela turned the main lights on, they went to his Ookey Room. 

                “I’m going to get some of the administrative crap out of the way so I can concentrate on Jessica’s case.”,  Hodgins stated.  “When’s Dr. B coming in?”

                “As soon as she gets the kids to school and the daycare.  Brennan said she planned to work until Booth is ready for discharge, which should be later today, and then she’ll work from home.  Is Jessica working today?”

                “Yeah…I told her she could have today off, too, but she felt guilty for not being here yesterday.  I couldn’t have her on the floor, though since we’re working her case, so Dr. B and I gave her permission to work in Limbo.”

                “What about next week?”

                “Jessica asked to have next week off and to work half days until Christmas, if possible, because when Aubrey is discharged, he will need help at home for the next few weeks.  The other interns pitched in to help cover some of her shifts, even Oliver, to my amazement.  When I talked to Dr. B yesterday, she said Jessica had met the 350 hours of work experience her program requires last week, so she would be fine academically.”

                “Wow…”,  Angela replied.  “Okay, I’ll leave you to your work and I’m going to see what I can find on that Gerald asshole…after I have some breakfast.  Our little guy is hungry.”

                Hodgins watched his wife leave and smiled before wheeling himself to the pieces of tire from Jessica’s Jeep.  _‘Angela’s the greatest.’_


	41. Always The Last to Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey has been out of the loop the last couple of days, and with everything that's happened lately, he has a lot of catching up to do. Will his friends help him out? Read on to find out.

                Dr. Elias nodded as she examined Aubrey’s dressing closely.  “Looks good...so far no sign on infection.  How’s your pain?”

                “About a five, but I hate this morphine drip.”, the agent replied as he nodded toward the metal pole next to his hospital bed.  “It makes me sleepy and nauseated.  Can’t we try something else?”

                “Well, the nurse said you tolerated the liquid diet yesterday.  How about we try Norco every four hours instead? It has sedation as a possible side effect but not as extreme as morphine.”

                “Sounds good to me.  Anything is better than that IV crap.”, Aubrey responded as the doctor updated his orders on the wall computer next to the bed.  “Can I eat real food today, Doc?”

                “Bland food.”, the petite woman said as Jessica came out of the tiny bathroom, ready for work.  “Things like chicken noodle soup, ginger ale, dry toast, potatoes without salt or butter....the Norco can make you nauseated as well, but the lower percentage of acetaminophen will lessen the chance of any complications with your liver.”

                “Can I bring him a chocolate shake tonight?”, the redhead asked, chuckling as she saw her boyfriend’s face light up with joy.

                “If he feels up to it., that should be fine, Jessica.”

                “Yes!  Ow….”. Aubrey groaned as his fist bump jostled his abdomen.

                “Be careful, Agent Aubrey, or your bed rest will be extended.”,  Dr. Elias counseled as she shook a finger at him.

                “Nooooo…”,  Aubrey whined.

                “Then be good.  I’ll see you both later, Agent Aubrey.  Good bye.”, Dr. Elias said as she walked out the door.

                “Real food!  Yes!  Jess, will you bring me some food from the diner tonight for dinner?”, Aubrey asked, flashing his dimples and charm smile.

                _‘Damn it, I can’t resist that face!’’,_ the redhead said to herself.  “Okay, I can do that, but you have to rest today.”

                “I promise.”

                Jessica kissed her boyfriend on the lips.  “Several students have emailed to let me know that they’re not coming to the SI today because of the crappy weather, so I’m going to be at the lab all day today.  I’m also going to have lunch with Angela, so will you be okay until tonight?”

                “I’ve got my IPad, Jess…”, Aubrey said, noting his girlfriend’s attire with a playful leer. “...and since you’re wearing that V-Neck emerald green sweater that I like so much and a very lovely short black skirt...I have my imagination.”

                Jessica snorted.  “You’re a perv, James Aubrey.”

                “Yeah, but I’m your perv, and you love me, right?.”         

                “Yes, I do, so I guess I’m stuck with you.”, Jessica said jokingly while she pulled on her coat.  Grabbing her purse and bag, she kissed him again.  “I love you.  Behave and I’ll see you tonight.”

                “I love you, too.  Bye.”

                Aubrey watched Jessica walk out the door with a smile on his face.  Getting past their fight was easier than he thought.  Grabbing his IPad, he turned it on and opened an application.

                “Today...Star Wars marathon, baby.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                At 11:00, Hodgins meticulously dusted Jessica’s dresser for prints.  He used a special powder for the putty gumming up the drawers, hoping to get a print, but without success.  Taking a deep breath to control his frustration, he took a break to focus.

                He would get his intern justice.  Unfortunately, Justice had been a fickle bitch the last couple of days, as once again, they were stymied by no useable prints on the dresser or in the putty and epoxy mixture used to seal the drawers.  On top of that, the statement of the garage attendant…the museum putty, gel, and epoxy mix…per Caroline, all of it was circumstantial.  She needed something directly connecting Gerald to Jessica’s locker and apartment before she could go forward with any charges.

                The scientist just hoped it wouldn’t be too late.

                Earlier, Dr. Miller had run jars of museum putty, gel, and their epoxies down to the lab for testing, as well as stopping by to update the entomologist with the information that the Antiquities Department was also missing one jar of museum putty, one jar of museum gel, as well as one tube of epoxy mix.  Promising to keep in touch, his colleague went back to his department and Hodgins tested some of the substances.  To no one’s surprise, the chemical composition of the three missing items were a match to the gunk on Jessica’s dresser drawers.

                Hodgins was deep in thought until a hand waved in his face.  Snapping out of his trance, he looked up and saw Angela.  “Hey, Angie.”

                “Jessica and I are going to run to her apartment to get some stuff and pick up some lunch.  Want me to bring you back something?”

                Needing a break, Hodgins wheeled away from his wife and towards his desk.  “If you can bring me something that would be great.  I have an errand to run but I’ll be back in a while.  Do you mind if I take the car?”

                “Sure, Honey.  Jessica has her brother’s SUV.”, Angela said before kissing her husband.  “Drive carefully, though.  It’s supposed to be cold and icy later today.”

                “Same to you, Angie.”

* * *

                 **_Need 2 cancel lunch.  Have ton of work 2 do._**

                Karen put her phone down in frustration.  It was the third time Steve had canceled plans with her this week.  As a whole, things with her boyfriend had been off since before he’d left for Wisconsin to visit his family.  Not calling her when he returned Sunday night, her calls going to voicemail, sometimes going home alone without his Sugar Booger...it was very frustrating.

                Last night when they stopped at the Founding Fathers for dinner, he was sullen.  After they finished their spinach and artichoke dip, she pushed him until he informed her that he was still annoyed with her behavior and her argument with Jessica at the hospital the night before.  After telling him he needed to just let it go, she brought up the younger woman’s accusations.  It surprised her that instead of laughing it off, the big, tough agent turned pale before quickly recovering and assuring her that the intern was a liar.

                Afterwards, she invited him back to her place to try out her new red furry handcuffs and edible panties that she’d gotten just for him.  However, to her surprise, he turned her down because he was tired and wanted to go home alone...again.  Undeterred, she’d suggested lunch instead today and he agreed before they separated for the night.

                “Steve, you need to take better care of yourself.  I hope you’re not getting sick…”

                She debated on what to do and decided to surprise her boyfriend with lunch from the Royal Diner.  Looking up the website, she picked out food for the two of them.  After calling it in, she grabbed her jacket and purse to leave her office.

               Arriving at the diner a short time later, as she shook the snow from her hair, she saw Drs. Saroyan and Vaziri eating lunch.  Waving, she didn’t receive a response back from either of them, who seemed to not notice her.  Shrugging it off, she paid for her order, took her bags, and walked over to the FBI with glee.

* * *

                Jessica unlocked her apartment door and entered, followed by Angela.  The redhead looked around cautiously, making sure it was as she left it yesterday when she came by with Andie.  Satisfied, she visibly relaxed.

                “I need to get my dirty laundry around as well as grab some clothes, Angela, if that’s okay?”

                “Of course, Sweetie.”

                “It won’t take me long, so help yourself to something to drink.  I’m sorry I don’t have much to offer food wise, but I’m sure most of my stuff has gone bad.”

                “Can I help you with anything?”

                The anthropologist shook her head.  “No, this won’t take me long.”

                The artist watched the young woman take the short walk towards her bedroom.  Sitting down, she looked at the living room wall and smiled at the pictures, noting that several contained Aubrey and the intern together.  Deciding she wanted a bottle of water, Angela got up and was about to open the fridge door when she heard Jessica’s shaky voice.

                _“Angela?  Can you bring me a gallon sized Ziploc baggie, a roll of tape, and a Sharpie?  The baggies are in the third drawer.  The tape and pen are in the junk drawer…or bottom drawer.”_

Unsure of what the young woman was up to, Angela found the requested items and ran them back to the single bedroom.  When she got there, she saw a teary-eyed Jessica kneeling on the floor surrounded by what looked like piles of clothes spread out around her.

                Rushing over, she put her hand on the intern’s shoulder.  “Sweetie, what’s wrong?”

                The redhead looked around and found a pen by her bedside before using it to pick up a gray Jeffersonian t-shirt.  “I-I found this while I was sorting my dirty clothes.”

                Angela noticed how it was bunched up on one side as it was held up.  “Jessica, what the hell did you get on it?

                “Nothing.  I had worn this t-shirt Monday night when Aubrey stayed over.  The only thing that I had gotten on it was when I cried and wiped my eyes with it after fighting with him Tuesday morning.”

                Grabbing a Kleenex from nearby, the redhead turned the shirt around so her friend could see the bunched up area.  “If I pull it back a bit, it looks like bodily fluid...” 

                Angela realized what Jessica was saying.  “Oh, my God.  You think Gerald left this here, don’t you?”

                The redhead took a deep breath.  “Somebody left it here.”

                Angela opened the bag.  “What are we waiting for, Jessica?  Get it in here so the lab can test it.”

                “What if Gerald’s attorney says something about me finding this?”, Jessica realized as she dropped the shirt in the bag.  “What if they think I planted it?”

                The artist’s face sobered.  “You’ve never had that prick in your apartment, have you?”

                “Oh, hell no.”  Jessica cringed in disgust.  “Since I moved in here two years ago, besides my brothers and my dad, the only men who’ve been here are Wendell, Arastoo, Clark, Curly, and obviously Aubrey.  Booth hasn’t even been here.”

                “How many men have been in this bedroom, Jessica?”

                Jessica blushed.  “Only one.”

                “Well, unless you stole either his snot or cum, you’ve got the person who broke in here.”,  Angela said.  “Obviously, the prick swiped your underwear and jacked off in here before leaving.  We know it wasn’t Aubrey because he was with Booth Tuesday.”

                “Of course not.  Aubrey would never wipe himself off on my clothes.  He does it in the shower...”  Jessica trailed off, realizing she revealed a personal tidbit her boyfriend probably didn’t want revealed to the world.  “Oh shit…”

                The artist saw Jessica’s cheeks turn bright red.  Putting her arm around her, she smiled.  “Honey, if it makes you feel better, Hodgins has been known to do the same.  I’m sure Booth, Wendell, and our other guy friends have, too.”

                Jessica’s face was still red.  “Don’t tell Aubrey I said anything.  It’ll really embarrass him.”

                “Your secret is safe with me, Jessica.”,  Angela replied.  “Now let’s this sealed and back to the lab.  The sooner we nail this asshole, the better it will be.”

                Taping the top of the Ziploc bag to protect the chain of evidence, Jessica and Angela both initialed the bag and left.

* * *

                 Hodgins got off the elevator onto the ICU floor.  Wheeling his way to Aubrey’s room, he signed in on the visitor’s log before entering, where he found the SAC watching his IPad.  Hearing the dialogue, the entomologist smiled.

                “ _Return of the Jedi_ …classic movie, Aubrey.”

                Turning toward the door, the agent saw his friend and smiled.  “Hey, Hodgins.  Yep, the classics never go out of style.  Jess prefers _The Empire Strike Back_ , but _Jedi_ is it for me.”

                “Of course…the Ewoks were awesome.”, Hodgins replied as he wheeled his way to his friend’s bed.  “So, how are you feeling today?”

                “Well, I got Dr. Elias to change my meds from that damn morphine drip.  I’m still fuzzy at times, and I’m sore, but it’s better than being stoned.  Plus, I’m finally done with the blood transfusions, and I get to finally eat some solid food.”

                “Not enjoying the Jell-O, huh?  Maybe you’ll get to graduate to pudding.”,  Hodgins said with a smirk.  “Jessica said you may be going home Sunday.”

                “Yep… then I can finally help Booth with our case.  Of course, I’m stuck at home for a few days, but then we can figure out what the hell happened with that scum Sipoletti.”

                “Dr. B said he’s staying home and resting this weekend.  He can go to work on Monday, but he’s on desk duty for a few weeks since he has to do a couple weeks of PT for his shoulder.”

                “That’s what he said when he and Dr. B came by after he was discharged this morning”,  Aubrey said.  “He’s not happy.”

                “So the doctor’s going to just let you go back to work, huh?”, Hodgins asked.  “Jessica said you would probably be off for a few weeks.”

                “I’m sure Jess is just being cautious.  Dr. Elias says I’m doing much better and I’ll be back up and running in no time.”

                “I’m glad, Aubrey.”,  Hodgins replied, knowing that his intern would have something to say about that.  Looking around, he saw an MSU comforter and pillow on the couch.  “I’m assuming Jessica is staying here again tonight?”

                “Yeah…I told her not to, Hodgins, but she insists.  I’m doing alright and I’m sure that couch isn’t very comfortable for her.”

                “Well, I’m sure she feels better being closer to you than staying with Dr. B and Booth at their house in McLean.”, the entomologist said.

                Aubrey made a face.  “Why would she stay there?  Her apartment is ten minutes from here.”

                Hodgins realized that Aubrey didn’t know about Jessica’s apartment being broken into.  “Oh, you know…she didn’t like sleeping alone…you know, with everything that’s happened...”

                Aubrey gave his friend a surprised face.  “Hodgins…what aren’t you telling me?”

                “Oh…” Hodgins’ phone suddenly rang.  Checking the caller ID, he saw it was Angela.  “It’s Angela…my wife.  Be right back, Aubrey.  I’ll just go out here so you can have some quiet and I’m not being rude talking over your movie.”

                Aubrey watched as his friend wheeled out into the hallway.  He listened as the man talked on the phone.  _“Hey Angie, what’s up…you found what at Jessica’s…holy crap, that could be what Caroline needs to get that warrant…it has to be Gerald who broke into her apartment Tuesday…I totally see that entitled asshole doing something like that to her…”_

                Aubrey sat in stunned silence as he continued to listen.  _‘Jess’s apartment was broken into?  Wait, she must have told me…right?  Shit, I was so hopped up on drugs yesterday that I can’t remember what she said.  I can’t let her know that I forgot…only shitty boyfriends forget things like that.’_

Then Aubrey sobered as another thought hit him.  _‘But I was a shitty boyfriend anyway.  Instead of making love to her Monday night, I pushed her into a wall and used her as a glory hole because I was pissed off about my father.  I treated my girlfriend like an annoyance Tuesday morning before she gave it back to me.  Then I shut her out again…’_

Aubrey’s thoughts were interrupted by Hodgins’ return to the room.  “Angie says I have to get back to the lab, Aubrey.  Nice visiting you…”

                “Stop right there, Hodgins.  You don’t get to leave until you tell me what happened at Jessica’s apartment Tuesday.”

                Hodgins didn’t want to be the one to tell the agent what was going on.  “Aubrey, you should talk to Jessica…”

                “I’ll talk to her, but if she did tell me something while I was hopped up on meds yesterday, I don’t want to look like a dick for forgetting.  Be a friend...help me out...”

                “Dude…”

                Aubrey smiled and played his trump card.  “Hodgins…don’t make me tell Angela you spilled…”

                Hodgins looked up with fear in his eyes.  “C’mon, Aubrey! Angie would kick my ass!  That’s blackmail.”

                “Yes, it is.”, Aubrey said quietly.  “But right now I’m more worried about my girlfriend, so spill.”

                Hodgins knew he was stuck.  “Okay…Jessica was really upset when she came to work Tuesday.  She was all quiet, which is not like her.  Dr. B actually sent her to her office when she broke down crying in the Bone Room.  I don’t know what happened but…”

                “We had a fight, Hodgins.”, Aubrey said, feeling sadness erupt in his soul.  “Moving on…”

                “We got a call about a crime scene out at the Antietam Battleground and Dr. B elected to take Jessica, so they were gone for the rest of the day.  The museum closed at 3:00 due to the horrid weather, and I did the same at the lab, so there was no one here when they, along with Dr. Boyd, got back sometime after 5:00.”

                “Booth must have talked to Dr. B while they were on their way back here.”, Aubrey said, relieved that Jessica hadn’t been ignoring him Tuesday afternoon.  “Keep going, Hodgins.”

                “Well, Dr. B was going to take Jessica home before getting the kids from our house.  Jessica went to get her stuff, but she found her locker had been vandalized.  Her phone was destroyed, her coat was cut up, her pictures from inside the door were ripped up, and her purse was missing.”

                “Wait, her Epi-Pen is in her locker.  Did that bastard do something to it?  I’m going to find that son of a--”

                “No, Aubrey, he left that alone, but there’s more.”  Hodgins said, holding up his hand to interrupt Aubrey’s angry retort.  “As they were leaving, the security guard found her purse in a trash can outside the lab, also with a big tear in it.  Her credit cards and license were all cut up, her...medication was messed with…”

                Aubrey’s ears perked up at this bit of news, knowing his girlfriend only had one prescription that she kept in her purse. “What do you mean…messed with?”

                Hodgins cleared his throat, alarmed at the intensity in Aubrey’s expression.  “The last pills were missing, along with her keys.”

                The agent felt a ball of anger in his stomach as he considered what had happened to his girlfriend.  “And…”

                Hodgins hesitated as he saw the usually easy going Aubrey’s eyes go cold with rage.  “To play it safe, they called Genny, who met them there with her landlord’s grandson.  When they got to her apartment, they saw it had been broken into.  Jessica was freaked out, so Dr. B insisted she come home with her, and Genny took the case because since it had originated from the lab, which is a federal institution.”

                “So Jessica hasn’t slept at her apartment since, has she?”, Aubrey said quietly.

                “No.  She spent the night with Dr. B, and then you all were shot Wednesday.”, Hodgins answered plainly.  “Aubrey, she’s been scared to death since you were shot.”

                Aubrey suddenly had a realization.  “Wait, she’s working in Limbo today.  She said it was because Caroline wanted to keep her away from the Sipoletti case, but if Genny’s working her burglary, the evidence would go to you, Hodgins.”

                When the scientist’s head bent down, the agent continued.  “…so she’s staying away from the main lab because you’re working her case, aren’t you?”

                “Yeah.”, Hodgins said.  “Aubrey, she probably didn’t want to worry you…”

                “I know.”, the agent replied.  “I also know that I was doped up beyond belief yesterday and if she told me, I don’t remember.  If she did tell me, she can’t know I forgot.”

                “That’s possible, too.”, Hodgins said encouragingly.

                “So what did Angela and Jessica find at her apartment?”, Aubrey asked.  When he saw hesitation, he pushed the issue.  “Hodgins, I want to know.”

                Hodgins finally relented.  “Jessica found a shirt in her hamper that had what looks like bodily fluids on it.  She and Angela are heading back to the lab now.  Hopefully there’s some DNA we can match it to.”

                Aubrey nodded.  “Good.  That will help get Caroline a warrant.”

                The scientist saw that Aubrey was holding back his temper.  “Don’t be mad at Jessica, Aubrey.  She’s been worried sick about you.”

                “I’m not, Hodgins.  I’m just pissed right now because there’s nothing I can do for her.”,  Aubrey said with a catch in his voice.

                “Yeah, there is.”, Hodgins said.  When the other man looked up, he continued.  “Tell her you love her, and then remember that whatever you guys fought about Tuesday that had her so upset can’t be more important than the fact that she has been here since you got shot.  She loves you so much that she’s trying to keep you from worrying about her.  You know how strong willed and independent Jessica is, Aubrey.”

                “I do.  Thanks for being straight with me.”, Aubrey said, trying to quell the sick feeling in his stomach.  “I won’t tell anyone you told me.”

                “Did Jessica say when she was coming tonight?”

                The agent swallowed hard to control his anger.  “She said she’d be by after she leaves the lab.  I’m still iffy on foods, but Dr. Elias said she can bring me soup and a chocolate shake from the Royal Diner later.  God, I miss the diner…”

                “I’m sure the diner misses you, too.”, Hodgins replied with a smile.  “Oh, just to give you a heads up.  When you and Booth are all healed up, we’re having a party for you guys…”

                “Hodgins…”

                The entomologist turned his chair to face the doorway.  “Don’t try to argue your way out of it, Aubrey.  It’s Angela’s decision.  See you later.”

                Resigned to his fate, he smiled.  “Bye, Hodgins.”

                When the scientist was gone, Aubrey stared at the ceiling as a tear fell.  Besides Jessica worrying about him, which he didn’t deserve, someone had invaded her privacy by burglarizing her home.  She must have told him yesterday and he was too hopped up on drugs to remember.

                At least he hoped so.  Of course, it would be like Jessica to handle things herself, hating to depend on other people for help.

                Then he thought about what Hodgins told him.  Bodily fluids on a shirt in her hamper _.  ‘He didn’t say blood…he said bodily fluids…no way someone blows snot on to a woman’s shirt.’_

The last implication caused Aubrey to tremble violently as he tried to control his emotions.  His girlfriend’s privacy had been violated and there was nothing he could do about it because he was stuck in bed after being shot.

                _‘Obviously, Jessica is scared but she’s worried more about me and my stupid ass.  How can I help her without letting on that I might have forgotten what she told me about all that shit?’_

Suddenly, he realized that he needed as much information as possible.  Knowing Jessica like he did, she asked Shaw to sit on the info as well as to not worry him.  However, that wasn’t going to happen.

                Picking up his phone, he made a phone call.  “Genny…it’s Aubrey.  Doing better…yeah, still ready for you to pop by this afternoon…I want to hear how your hearing went…hey, can you bring all the case files so we can go over everything?  I want to see what you have on Jessica’s case.”

                Aubrey listened to his ASAC on the phone.  “Great…thanks…yeah, see you at 2:30…bye.”

* * *

                 Walking onto the 4th floor, Karen smiled at everyone.  Stopping at the break room, she noted Shaw was eating lunch with Hunter, whose arm was in a sling, and ignored that their conversation ceased when she entered the room.  Grabbing two waters, she turned to them.

                “Hello, Agent Shaw...Mr. Geren.  You’re from the SEC right?”

                “Yes.”, the blond man replied.  “I’m a forensic accountant from the SEC’s Enforcement Division.”

                “Glad to see you’re not holding being shot against Agent Shaw.”  Seeing Genny’s irritated expression, Karen smirked as she moved away.  “Have a nice lunch.”

                Karen walked to the bullpen but was surprised to see that Steve wasn’t at his desk working.  Figuring he stepped into the men’s room, she sat in the chair opposite his and started laying out his lunch.  When he didn’t return after five minutes, she waved when she saw Agents Haggarty and Thompson returning to their desks with take out containers.

                “Agent Haggarty, where’s Steve?”

                The female agent set down her lunch and took her winter coat off.  “Last I checked, he was running out to the food truck outside with Candi, one of our new CSIs.”

                Hearing that he was with another woman, Karen’s good mood vanished.  “When is he coming back?”

                “Not sure, Dr. Delfs.”, Thompson replied before opening his can of Coke.  “Jill and I were focused on getting lunch so we can work on our own cases.”

                “Thank you.”,  Karen replied tersely. 

                 Waiting ten minutes, she started eating her own lunch while Steve’s sat unopened.  When she was almost done, her boyfriend finally came back into the bullpen with a hot dog and a smile.  Seeing his girlfriend, he was unpleasantly surprised.

                “Karen, what are you doing here?”

                “It’s about time.”, the profiler said with frustration.  “Why weren’t you here?  Why were you with another woman?”

                Steve pulled a large pile of files out of his IN folder and putting it on his desk.  “Sugar, I’m entitled to get a fucking hot dog so I can eat my lunch and work at the same time.”, he replied defensively, not happy with Karen’s interrogation.

               “But you don’t need some slutty CSI tech to accompany you, because you’re _my_ boyfriend.  Now, I brought you lunch as a surprise and it’s better for you than that disgusting hot dog.”, Karen replied before taking it from him and tossing it in the trash. 

               “What the fuck!”

                Karen slid the Styrofoam box and matching bowl in front of him.  “Here.  There’s a turkey club in here and soup.  Oh, by the way, tonight you and I are going to see Aubrey and take him some food.  I bet he’s starving...”

                The agent sat down and stared down his girlfriend.  “I have things to do later, and they don’t involve visiting my boss--”

                “They do when his girlfriend is spreading bullshit about you chasing her and other women.  I’m not going to take it, and neither are you.  Aubrey needs to learn about the lies she’s spewing.  He’s my friend and I need to make sure he gets his head out of her well used hoo ha and do something about it.  I’ll meet you here at 5:30 and we’ll run to Founding Fathers to pick him up a burger, fries, and some other snacks on the way to the hospital.”            

                “Whatever…”, Steve replied, not wanting to debate the topic in the bullpen in front of fellow agents.             

* * *

                 Hodgins brought the shirt, still its plastic bag, into the pathology room, where Dr. Boyd was looking at her computer.  Wheeling up to the scientist, Hodgins saw she was working on an Excel document.  As he got closer, he became alarmed at what he saw.

                “Dr. Boyd, what are you doing to the intern schedules?”

                The blonde woman turned to Hodgins with a disdainful glare.  “I’m fixing the schedule for December, obviously.  You and Dr. Brennan took Jessica Warren off the schedule for next week and you’re pulling the other interns around to cover for her, which is unacceptable.  Pathology needs an intern, too.  Dr. Brennan can survive on her own for a day or two...or she can call Dr. Saroyan’s husband or that weirdo Dr. Fisher that was covering here today.”

                The entomologist was incensed.  “Dr. Saroyan doesn’t feel that Pathology requires its own intern, which is why she doesn’t have one for her department.  When needed, she utilizes one of Dr. Brennan’s or mine.”

                “That is very unfair to Dr. Saroyan.”

                “No, it’s the system she helped create when Z…”  Hodgins stopped himself, not wanting to think of his friend, who was serving his final months in prison.  “...when she and Dr. B created the anthropology rotating internship program in 2008 so the students would be more well-rounded in their experience here.  In turn, the student has more opportunities in their post-graduate careers, including working in a medical examiner’s office or as a crime scene technician.”

                “At the FBI lab, an intern shadows the pathologist each day, Dr. Hodgins.”,  Dr. Boyd countered.

                “If that’s how the FBI chooses to train, that’s great.  However, our system has been successful for several years with no issues and is part of the reason our graduates are in such high demand in North America and around the world, Dr. Boyd.”  Holding back a smirk at the woman’s shock, he continued.  “This schedule was also created for the needs of all the scientists for this lab, not just you.  You will stop changing things immediately.”

                “I’m the pathologist covering for Dr. Saroyan, and she’s the director of the lab.  Perhaps I should call her and tell her my needs are not being adequately met.”

                “You could, but then she’ll send you right back to me...the acting director of the lab.”, the entomologist said calmly, fed up with the woman trying to undermine his authority.

                “Better yet, I think I will let the Governing Board know my needs are not being adequately met here.  I’m sure they will listen to what I have to say, Dr. Hodgins.”  The blonde replied with a smirk. 

                “If you feel that way, then you should.  However, this lab and its leadership has the support of Amanda Marshall and several other members of the Governing Board.  Also, the Jeffersonian had run efficiently with the personnel we have before you came along.  We do not adapt to you, Dr. Boyd...you will adapt to us.  Now I need this shirt examined for DNA right now.”

                Not happy with her threat not being taken seriously, she took the bag and tossed it on the desk before going back to what she was doing.  “I’ll do it when I’m done here.”

                Hodgins controlled his temper before pulling the power cord from the floor.  When the monitor went black, the pathologist turned to Hodgins.  “What the hell!  All my changes…”

                “…are gone, because you have no business changing our intern schedules.  Now, test this shirt immediately, Dr. Boyd.”

                “I’m a respected pathologist, Dr. Hodgins, and you’re lucky to have me.  I’ve already had to tolerate disrespect from Dr. Brennan, and others here and it’s unacceptable.  I will have respect—“

                “You’ll get it when you earn it, not by throwing your non-existent weight around.  Dr. Brennan told me about what happened yesterday.  In case there was some confusion, I’ll reiterate what she said.”  Hodgins wheeled closer to the desk.  “You will not talk down to the interns or other employees here...and contrary to what you think, you were not our first choice, so you’re lucky to be here, not the other way around.  Remember that.”

                The blonde gave him an icy look.  “I don’t have to put up with this at the FBI.  I have friends in high places, Dr. Hodgins.”

                “Well, you’re not at the FBI, Dr. Boyd. and I don’t give a rat’s ass who your friends are.  I don’t report to them.”, Hodgins replied.  “Now, either you get over there and pull any DNA from that shirt, or you can go home and I’ll take this to your employer, where I will speak to someone about finding us another temporary pathologist...preferably one who is a team player that can adapt to a new environment.”

                Taking a deep breath, the doctor took the shirt over to the table.  As Hodgins plugged in the computer, she opened the sealed bag, she laid it out carefully before gingerly pulling the bunched area open.  Taking several samples, she used the centrifuge before placing the samples in the machine.  Hodgins watched as she completed the procedure.  When done, she added the results to a second computer nearby.

                “We have DNA.  I’ve input it into the database, but we have no match.”

                “Damn.”,  Hodgins said.  “Well, at least it’s in there.”

                “What case do I file it under, Dr. Hodgins?”

                “Email me the profile and I’ll take care of it.  Thanks.”, he said before wheeling out of the autopsy room.  When he was out of hearing range, he muttered to himself as he wheeled back to the Ookey Room.  Going to his computer, he opened up all schedule programs and the electronic binder program.

                “I was hoping to not have to do things like this while you were gone, Cam, but I have no choice.”

                Going through all Word and Excel documents, he restricted Dr. Boyd’s access in all programs to READ ONLY.  In the case binder program, he did the same as he smirked.  He was about to stop when he changed his mind.  Going into the master log, he took full access away from most programs except for the ones essential to the pathologist’s needs.

                “Lets see how much respect you get from that, Dr. Boyd.”, Hodgins said before completing the action.  When done, he sent out an email to Cam.  “Cam, I hope your proposal of getting a part time assistant pathologist next year becomes reality.  I’m tired of this woman’s shit.”

                After he sent it, Angela rushed into her husband’s lab.  “Honey...I think I have an idea to help us nail Gerald.”     

* * *

                Genny arrived on the ICU floor holding a brown accordian folder of case files.  After signing in, she entered the room, but stopped when she saw her boss asleep as he held his IPad.  She was about to leave again when Aubrey opened his eyes.

                “Genny…hey, come on in.”

                The ASAC walked through the doorway.  “Are you sure, Boss?  You were asleep.  I don’t want to disturb you.”

                “No, I’m all good.”  Aubrey shook away his sleepiness.  “Are those our cases?”

                Genny sat down on the chair by the bed.  “Yep.  Which one do you want to start with?”

                “Can we start with Jessica’s case?”

                The woman exhaled.  “So she told you everything?”

                Aubrey nodded.  “Yeah, she told me last night but I was hopped up on meds and I don’t want her to know that I don’t remember all the details.  I don’t want to bug her at work either, so have you found out anything new?”

                “Well, I—“,  Genny started before her phone rang.  Looking at the Caller ID, she looked up at her friend.  “It’s my mom.  Do you care if I take this quick?”

                “Yeah, I’ll just read the file while you’re doing that.”, Aubrey said. 

                “Alright, be right back.”, the agent said.  Handing him the file, she briskly stepped out into the hallway.

                Aubrey picked up the file and perused it.  When he got to his girlfriend’s account of her confrontation with Gerald in the locker room, he became angry, not just at the asshole, but with Jessica as well.

                _‘Damn it, Jess, why didn’t you tell me about this?  He had his hands on you!  No one touches you and gets away with it.  Why the hell do you insist on taking care of everything yourself?’_

Aubrey was angry at being shut out, but pushed it aside as he realized the truth.  _‘She’s independent...but I have no room to talk, since I handle things the same way...I can’t be mad at her...it’s unreasonable…’_

                Reading further, he found the account of her slashed tires, including the video and the parking garage attendant’s story.  Closing his eyes, he remembered when Jessica came to him for a ride after her Jeep was taken to the shop.  What was his reaction?

                Being all wrapped up in himself and his anger over his father.

                All she’d wanted Monday night was a ride to work the next day and to spend some time with him.  She had blown off his assholeness that afternoon and seemed ready to move past it.  What did he do?

                Fucked her without any emotion or love and then blew her off.

                Tuesday morning she was trying to comfort him as he was frustrated with the Vacchio case.  What did he do?

                He was a dick to her until she pushed back and told him to leave.

                Her locker was broken into less than twelve hours later.  Her cell phone destroyed, her personal effects torn to shreds, and her purse was missing.  When it was found later, essentials were also destroyed but the person stole her keys and her birth control pills.  To make things worse, her apartment was then broken into.  When he saw that several pairs of her underwear and her trust fund bank book were the only items stolen, the ball of anger graduated to fury as a few tears fell.

                Next, then they found the shirt she wore to bed Monday covered in what was probably that motherfucker Gerald Maxwell’s semen.  He felt nauseous as he realized that the son of a bitch masturbated in his girlfriend’s bedroom...the same room where he and the redhead spent many intimate nights together.

                Which was probably why the bastard did it. 

                To make matters worse, he used her sleep shirt to clean himself up and then left it behind…almost like another way of making sure Jessica knew who was boss.

                This wasn’t just some prankster or someone after money for drugs.  It was personal.

                And what was he doing Tuesday?  He was focused on seeing his father and got Booth to drive with him through a horrendous storm which caused them to stay the night in West Virginia, while she stayed in town not knowing where he was.

His Wednesday was so focused on Genny’s shooting and on questioning Vinnie Sipoletti that he just assumed she was still pissed off at him and had ignored his calls and texts.  But she wasn’t, because her phone was destroyed and she couldn’t call…

                Then he and Booth got shot.  She was not only scared for her personal safety, but then she had to worry about his stupid ass as well.  What kind of man was he? 

                A selfish asshole…that’s who.

                And he couldn’t help her…because he was stuck in this bed nursing a bruised spleen and gunshot wounds to the abdomen and thigh.  That son of a bitch was running around free and Jessica had to constantly look over her shoulder in fear. 

                Obviously she didn’t tell him as to not worry him, but perhaps she also didn’t say anything to teach him a lesson about keeping secrets.  Once again, his anger at her keeping something this from him was pushed aside because he had no right to be...because he did the same thing.

                _‘Lesson learned, Jessica.  I won’t shut you out again.’_

                Wiping the tears from his eyes, Aubrey promised himself that for Jessica there wouldn’t be a second time...because when he could, he would make sure Gerald Maxwell, or no one else, would hurt her again.

                As he got control over his emotions, Genny walked into the room, keeping the fact she could tell he’d been crying to herself.  “All good.  Mom just called to tell me that Danny went home early because a water pipe burst at school with the icy weather and the kids are being sent home.”

                “Glad things are all right.”, Aubrey said as his assistant sat down.  “Thank you for letting me get up to date on Jessica.”

                “I’m sorry for not telling you, Boss.  I know I should have but she didn’t want to worry you while you were here in the hospital.”

                Pushing his unreasonable anger with his girlfriend aside, he smiled faintly.  “I know.  I figure she did tell me but I’ve been so doped up.  I just don’t want her to know that, you know?”

                Relieved, Genny smiled.  “I get it.  No worries.  Now, ready to go over everything else?”

                “Sure.”

* * *

                 “So what do you think?”, Hodgins asked the person across the desk in the large office.  “I know I have access, but do you?”

                “Yes I do.”, Dr. Miller said.  “Let’s see what I can find out.  Let’s make some room first for you both.”

                After Angela and Hodgins moved out of the way, the antiquities expert moved the desk forward enough for the couple to see his computer monitor.  They watched as the PhD accessed a program on his computer before opening another one.  Entering in November 29, 2016 as the day requested, the three waited for a moment before a screen with locations and times popped up.

                “Scanner 216 is outside the locker room, correct?”, David asked.

                Hodgins flipped through a few pages.  “According to this log Security gave us, yes, it is.”

                “Well, employee code 74652, which is Maxwell, punched out at 3: 17 PM before accessing the intern locker room at 3:29 PM.”, Miller said.  “It was used again later that evening to access our employee entrance at 5:22 and then the intern locker room again at 5:36 PM.”

                Something clicked with Hodgins.  “Wait...when I got payroll caught up this morning, Jessica punched out at 5:37…”

                “After she and Bren put all the equipment away, Jessica must have punched out like she usually does at the time clock by the intern locker room before going in.”, Angela said.  “Hodgins…”

                “That SOB was in there…”, Dr. Miller said.

                “He probably intended to return the putty and epoxy to Antiquities, but weren’t you working late, David?”

                “Yes.”, the scholar said.  “I wanted to get some things taken care of in case weather prevented me from coming in Wednesday morning.  The supply room is next door to this office.”

                “Hodgins, because David was here, Gerald probably took stuff to the first place he could hide it until he returned to work.  That way if he was caught leaving…”

                “He wouldn’t have her keys or the putty stuff with him and it would be safe until he could get rid of them again.”, Dr. Miller added.

                “There’s only one place Gerald could throw that stuff and leave quickly without getting caught if Jessica was coming in the locker room.”  Angela said. 

                “His locker.”, Hodgins said. 

                 “Hodgins...will Caroline have enough for a warrant to search it?”, Angela replied.

                “We don’t need a warrant, Angie and we don’t have to rush, either.”, the entomologist replied.  “David, when is his next shift?”

                “Wednesday 8:00 - 4:00.”, Dr. Miller replied.  “However, one of the things I was going to talk about at Monday’s meeting was a refresher on the Jeffersonian’s policy on locker searches.”

                Hodgins thought for a second before laughing which confused Angela.  “What are you two plotting?”

                “Oh, just a little plan for your husband and myself to get rid of a mutual problem legally and in a way that will get his butt tossed in jail at the same time for all his crimes, Ms. Montenegro.”,  the antiquities expert replied.  “I love when a plan comes together.”    

* * *

                 At 6:30, Aubrey was highly anticipating Jessica’s arrival with food from the diner.  He still felt some residual hurt at her for not telling him what happened, but then he realized it was tit for tat as he’d done the same thing to her.  Anyway, with him getting shot, she probably was still nervous, and there was no reason to upset her any further..

                _‘Jess and I need to move forward.  I can’t dwell on stupid, petty issues...she means too much to me.’_

                Hearing footsteps into his room, he smiled to greet his girlfriend, but instead got another surprise instead.  “Karen…hi.”

                Walking in, she sat down in the chair next to the bed and held up a bag.  “Steve is just parking the car, but I wanted to hurry and get this to you while it’s still hot.”

                Aubrey groaned inwardly.  “What is it?”

                Karen smiled and set the bag down on the bed tray before pushing it towards the patient.  “It’s a triple bacon cheeseburger with pepper jack cheese, and onion rings from Founding Fathers...just the way you like it.  I forgot to get you a Coke from there, so I got you a Pepsi from the cafeteria.  It’s almost the same thing.”

                _‘No, Karen, Coke and Pepsi are not the same thing.’_   Aubrey thought.  He usually salivated at what she brought him, but his stomach was still a little dicey from the pain meds and he hated Pepsi with a passion.  He was also uncomfortable with taking anything from the profiler.

                “Karen, thanks for the food, but I have to say no. Dr. Elias hasn’t cleared to eat anything besides bland, soft food today because of my surgery, and my gut is a bit messed up from the Norco they have me on for the pain.”

                Miffed at Aubrey’s refusal to take her gift, Karen sat back and crossed her arms.  “Are you going to let some bimbo surgeon tell you what to eat?”

                “Um, Dr. Elias isn’t a bimbo, Karen.  She graduated at the top of her class at Johns Hopkins, and Jess’s brother Aaron said she was one of the best trauma surgeons on the East Coast, so yes, I’m going to listen to her on what to eat because like I just told you, I don’t think I can handle all that food yet.”

                Karen gave Aubrey a look one would give a silly child.  “I remember the man who had a fit when I stole his triple bacon cheeseburger three days after he got bomb shrapnel taken out of his back last year.  Now, come on.  I went to all this trouble to get this for you.”

                “Karen…no.  Jess is bringing me dinner later.” 

                 “What Jessica doesn’t know won’t hurt her, Aubrey.  Now, I’ll just take it out--”

                “Karen!  I don’t want the food.”

                “Fine.”, Karen said in a hurt tone before grabbing the bag and tossing it on the floor next to her.  “Since you won’t take my gift of dinner, we’ll just talk instead.”

                Feeling a sense of dread, the agent steeled himself.  “What about?”

                “Your girlfriend.”

                _‘Oh, good Lord.’_   Aubrey thought.  “Karen, I’m not in the mood right now to hear you talking shit about Jess.”

                “I’m not talking shit, Aubrey.  Jessica said horrible things to me while you were in surgery Wednesday night.  They were uncalled for, and she owes me an apology.”

                Aubrey made himself remain calm.  “I’m sure Jessica was stressed out because I was in surgery, Karen.  Did you do anything to provoke her?”

                “No...she was just being a bitch to me when I told her off for she was making everything about her.  I mean, it was her fault you got shot because you two had a fight.  What kind of crap did she throw at you this time?”

                Aubrey took a deep breath. wishing for patience, which he was not feeling at the moment.  “Karen, what goes on between Jess and me is our business...not yours or anyone else’s.  As for the other thing, we’re not going to go there because I’m sure you won’t listen to a word I say.  Now, what else did she supposedly do and say to you?”

                “She’s still was jealous of my friendship with you, although once again she denied it.”, Karen responded, ignoring the agent’s eye roll.  “Aubrey, you always blow my concerns off, but she can’t stand the fact that I care about you a hell of a lot more than she does.  When I confronted her with that and her actions, she bragged about how much sex you two have to make some point.”,

                Karen saw the smirk on the agent’s and became frustrated.  “An OR waiting room is not the proper place to discuss sexual intercourse, Aubrey...it’s very rude, distasteful, and not everyone wants to hear about how magical and creative you are in bed or how frequently you two screw each other.”

                _‘Pot...meet Kettle.’_ Aubrey thought as he recalled their lunch at the diner the month before.  Turning to the woman, he kept himself calm.  “Karen, don’t ever call Jessica a bitch or any other names again.”

                The profiler became put out at the agent’s lack of sympathy.  “But she called me names and was mean to me, Aubrey.”

                Aubrey rubbed his eyes, certain that there was much more to the story and that Jessica was provoked.  “I’m not going to scold my girlfriend like a child because your feelings got hurt.  You and Jessica are adults, so either work it out or don’t talk to her.” 

                “The worst thing of all is she’s also lying about my boyfriend, Aubrey.  She is saying these horrible things about him and did it in front of everyone.”

                “Jessica doesn’t lie, Karen.”

                “She did this time.  She’s spouting off about how Steve has made several passes at her and that he has other girlfriends.  Of course, not only did Steve assure me that all her stories are not true, but he says that she’s the one making passes at him.  I’m not going to tolerate your little graduate student going after my boyfriend because she’s getting tired of you.”

                Aubrey’s ears perked up as he took a deep breath.  “Steve hit on my girlfriend?”

                “No, of course not, Aubrey.  I just told you that Jessica is lying about that.  She alleges that he tried playing footsie with her when the four of us had lunch together at the diner after the Gala.  The alleged second time was supposedly after she talked to you Monday.  After you left the division, he allegedly suggested that she needed to fuck him because…ugh…he could make her squeal.  Jessica also accused him of grabbing her hand at a crime scene Tuesday before she injured him to get him away from her, and Dr. B is backing her up in this bullshit.”

                “My agent…who works for me...hit on my girlfriend…”,  the SAC said with as much calmness as he could muster.

                “Aubrey, pay attention.”, Karen said as she was talking to a wayward child.  “Steve has also been getting mysterious phone calls from an unknown number.  He traced it back to some burner phone, but I know it’s Jessica.  She’s always checking him out because she’s jealous of what I have.”

                Aubrey didn’t buy any of what Karen was telling him for an instant.  Jess was many things, but he knew she was always faithful to him.  “Karen, am I just chopped liver?  If my girlfriend wanted Steve so bad, why is she with me?”

                Karen rolled her eyes at him as she explained her reasoning.  “Because after all the work she put in to get you back, she has to put in some time with you before she dumps you again.  She’s just counting down the days until she can trick me into dumping Steve, but it’s not happening.  We are in a committed, passionate, and monogamous relationship.”

                Aubrey wanted to laugh but he saw the profiler was serious.  “Okay, fine, so she’s just waiting for the right time to dump me so she can steal Steve from you.  So then, explain to me why she’s spent every night with me since I’ve been here in the hospital.  Wouldn’t this be a prime time to try to hook up with him or sleep with another guy while I’m temporarily out of commission?”

                “No, because you’re her boyfriend and she feels obligated…duh.  To not stay makes her look like a shit.”, Karen said, as if it was obvious.  “Now, tell your girlfriend to quit making goo goo eyes at Steve and spreading lies about him.  It’s bad enough she’s doing it, but she’s got some of her little friends to make up stories about him as well.  I’m not going to tolerate it anymore.”

                Aubrey was tempted to tell Karen about Steve and Mitzi, but held his tongue instead.  “Karen, you don’t know what you’re talking about.  My girlfriend doesn’t cheat on me, and even if by some wild sense of the imagination she did, it sure as hell wouldn’t be with Steve Bower.”

                “Damn it, Aubrey.  Now, I know you need to believe that you made the right choice choosing Jessica over me, but obviously you didn’t and you have to accept the consequences.  For crying out loud, get your face out of Jessica’s overused hooch and realize that she needs to grow up and quit being a slut.”

                The lanky man was finding it harder to keep his temper in check.  “Karen, don’t ever call my girlfriend a slut, a liar, or talk about her the way you just did ever again.  Yeah, she’s a flirt but, if she says Steve hit on her, I believe her.  If any of her friends say he did, I believe them, too.”

                “She’s a liar, Aubrey!”,  Karen said, her voice rising in anger.  “It’s bad enough she caused you to be distracted before you got shot by picking a fight with you—“

                “Enough!”, Aubrey shot back, fed up with Karen’s lack of respect for Jessica.  “Jessica did nothing of the sort, and for the second time, anything that occurs between my girlfriend and me is none of your damn business.  I was shot because a suspect wanted to commit suicide, and he used Booth and me to do the deed because he didn’t have the balls to do it himself.  This conversation is over, Karen.  You need to leave.”

                “You need to promise me you’ll get her to leave Steve alone and stop spreading these lies.  Sexual harassment claims can destroy a person’s career.”

                Just then, the ICU elevator doors opened, and Jessica exited, carrying dinner from the diner and her overnight bag.  As she went to say hi to the nurses, she saw them looking down the hall before she heard loud voices coming from Aubrey’s room.  Eyes bulging and her cheeks turning red, she stomped over, putting her hand up as one of the nurses was heading down to the room.

                “I apologize for the disruption and I’ll take of it.”

                Confirming her suspicions by looking at the visitor’s log outside Aubrey’s room, she heard Aubrey’s voice rise as he became agitated. 

_“Karen, if your boyfriend is hassling interns at the lab, or any other female, it stops now.  I will not tolerate sexual harassment from any of my agents.”_

_“I’m not leaving until you do something about her—“_

                Quickly, Jessica entered the room, barely holding her temper.  “Karen, what the hell are you doing here?”

                “Visiting my friend, obviously, and telling him about the shit you’re spreading around about Steve.  He needs to know the truth.”

                “I told you yesterday when you DM’d me on Twitter about visiting Aubrey that you were not welcome because I won’t have you upset my boyfriend while he’s recovering.  I had also said until you apologize for those offensive things you said to me, to Dr. B, and my other friends, that you are to leave us alone.”

                “I was just telling the truth.  It hurts, doesn’t it, Jessica?”,  Karen said.  “Steve came to visit Aubrey, too and will be here in a few minutes.  You will treat him with respect and stop spreading rumors about him hitting on you, do you hear me?”

                Jessica put her purse and overnight bag down on the visitor sofa and walked up to Aubrey’s bed.  “I will be as respectful as he was when he promised to make me squeal like a real man should since my _‘skinny putz’_   boyfriend wasn’t enough man for me.”

                “You’re so full of it.  Steve told me that you said Aubrey wasn’t enough for you anymore and you needed a real man.  Well, you can’t have mine.”

                “I don’t want him.”, Jessica replied quietly.  “Most normal, smart women wouldn’t either.  Now, my boyfriend is recovering from major surgery and you’re upsetting him, so say your piece and go home.”

                Karen waved off Jessica’s words.  “He’s fine.  He’s going to recover...no thanks to you...and I’m not leaving.  He’s my friend, too.”

                Aubrey had heard enough.  “Karen, leave!”

                As always, the profiler was surprised.  “But Aubrey—“

                “No, get out now.  Until you apologize for whatever you did Wednesday—“

                “All I did was tell the truth.  Dr. Brennan was just on her high horse as always.—“

                “Dr. B is pretty tolerant, Karen, and if my girlfriend says you were offensive to everyone, then I don’t want to be around you until you apologize.  I’ve asked you politely to leave, and now I’m telling you...get out.  Turn around and walk out that door…”,  Aubrey stated strongly before pointing to the bag on the floor.  “...and take that bag of garbage with you.”

                “But Steve’s coming up here and I bought that for you—“

                “Meet him at the elevator and toss this stuff for all I care.  I can’t eat it and I don’t want it.  As for Steve, he’s just lucky I’m stuck in this bed right now, Karen, but I will deal with him later.”, Aubrey said with forced calmness.  “Now go, before I ask the nurse to call security.”

                Stiffly, Karen took her bag, got up, and walked around Jessica to the doorway.  Turning around, she stared the redhead down.  “This isn’t over, Jessica.”

                “Whatever, Karen.”  When the profiler left, Jessica reluctantly looked at her boyfriend, who had hurt in his eyes.  “This is not how I wanted you to find out about Steve.”

                “When were you going to tell me, Jessica?”

                The redhead set the bag and drink tray down on the bedside tray before taking a seat.  “Honestly, I wasn’t planning on it.”

                “Why?”

                “It’s not the first time a man has hit on me, Aubrey and it won’t be the last—“

                “Steve is not some unknown man, Jessica.”, Aubrey said in a restrained tone.  “He’s one of my agents, and you are an employee of the Jeffersonian.  What he did was sexual harassment, and the FBI has strict rules against that.  All I have to do is put a note in his file and his career is toast.”

                “Well, I think he got the message to leave me alone after I had almost broke his fingers Tuesday before he slipped in the mud.”, Jessica said trying to bring some levity into the situation, but she saw that it failed as she caught the serious look on Aubrey’s face.  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.  I took care of the situation and I didn’t want you to get upset, Superman.”

                “Well, I am very upset at him for being a first class douchebag by hitting on my girlfriend more than once and for calling me a _‘skinny putz’_ —“

                Jessica exhaled.  “In the event of full disclosure, he called you a _‘scrawny nerd’_   and a _‘beanpole’_ , too.  Oh, and a _‘dick’_ because you wouldn't help him Monday with Karen...whatever it was he wanted.”

                “He wants to me to help him dump Karen so he can marry his fiancee.”

                 “Fiancee?”  The redhead’s eyes bulged. “Steve Bower?  Are you sure he said he was getting married?”

                “Yep.”, Aubrey said before describing what happened in the bathroom Monday morning.  When he was done, Jessica was biting her lip to keep from laughing out loud.

                “I know it’s not funny but...it is.”,  the redhead replied.  “Superman, what’s wrong?  I know you feel bad about Karen, but she’ll survive.  Bower deserves whatever he gets because not even Karen deserves to be cheated on like that.  If you’re worried about me saying anything I won’t--”

                Aubrey shook his head.  “I’m not worried, Jess.  I can trust you with that.  I’m upset because one of my agents was harassing my girlfriend and she didn’t tell me.”

                “Aubrey, I don’t want to fight with you, but I’m going to hit on again at some point.  A woman is going to hit on you at some point.  I don’t expect you to report every incident to me...”

                “Why?”

                “Because I trust you, Aubrey.  I trust you to be faithful and committed to me.”, Jessica said quietly.  “I trust you to do the right thing by me…always.”

                Aubrey calmed down as he thought about what Jessica had said.  Perhaps he did blow it a out of proportion.  He also still had Gerald Maxwell fresh on his mind which didn’t help either.

                Taking her hand, he looked at his girlfriend.  “I’m sorry, Jess.  I guess I was feeling a bit insecure.”

                “Insecure?”,  Jessica questioned before pointing at the door.  “Over that piece of shit?  Aubrey, you’re ten times the man he is and one hundred times the man Philip Aubrey is.”

                 The anthropologist hit the nail on the elephant in the room.  “Jess…about my father—“

                “Hush.”, Jessica said, wanting to keep the peace.  “You screwed up and you apologized.  We’re good, Superman.  Now, let’s move on to dinner.”

                Aubrey felt a little uncomfortable brushing his father and what happened aside, but if Jessica wanted to move on, he could do that.  “Okay, Jessica.  What do we have tonight?”

                Relieved at Aubrey’s acquiescence, the redhead grabbed the bag.  “For the patient, I have…”  Jessica pulled out a Styrofoam box and set it on his tray.  “…one large order of fries…”

                “Cool…did you get the garlic mayo?”

                “No garlic mayo, Aubrey, per Dr. Elias’ orders.  No salt either, but I did grab some ketchup.  Then…one large order of chicken noodle soup, followed by a large Royal Diner chocolate shake and a ginger ale.”

                “Awesome…”

                “For me, I have a Sprite, a chocolate shake, and a bowl of chicken noodle soup.”, Jessica said.  “If you like, when we’re done eating, I brought my _Doctor Who_ box set to watch.”

                “Sounds great.”

                Jessica put her soup aside, stood up, and kissed her boyfriend.  Stunned at the simple gesture, Aubrey smiled.  “What was that for, Jess?”

                “I’m just glad you’re going to be okay.  I don’t think you’ll ever know how much I love you, James Aubrey.”

                The agent felt a wave of emotion in his girlfriend’s simple words.  “It will never be as much as I love you, Jessica Warren.”

                The couple shared another kiss before the redhead sat down.  Getting their food, they ate while exchanging glances at each other.


	42. Pot Meet Kettle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Aubrey finally gets to come home from the hospital and things are all good now, right? Maybe...or maybe not. Read on to find out...

            It was a cold, clear Sunday afternoon in DC as Jessica drove Aubrey home from George Washington University Hospital.  After a spirited discussion about whether they’d be able to go to the premiere of _Rogue One_ on December 16th, they enjoyed a comfortable silence for the last few minutes of their ride home. 

            Jessica turned her brother’s SUV onto Janus Street and admired the large homes that lined the block.  They were nice, but not pretentious.  If someone had asked her a year ago, she would’ve said that she wasn’t cut out for life in the suburbs, but now she could see herself living here with Aubrey someday...after she worked through more of her fears. 

            Seeing the familiar mailbox, Jessica pulled into the driveway of Aubrey’s house.  Putting it in park, she turned to him and was frustrated to see Aubrey about to climb out of the vehicle.  Looking at him pointedly, she shook her finger at him before pointing the clicker at the garage door.  “Wait until I get over there to help you…the doctor wants you to avoid any sudden movements.” 

            “I’m not a cripple, Jess…”, Aubrey groaned as he shifted in the passenger seat to unbuckle his seat belt.  “I can get out of the car by myself.  I could’ve driven myself home, too.  I’m fine.”  He frowned as he looked towards his garage.  “Where the hell is my truck, anyway?” 

            “It’s still at the Hoover.  Shaw is going to have someone from the motor pool drive it over here later today.”   She pretended to glare at him as he rolled his eyes like a surly teenager.   “And no, you can’t drive yet, since you’re still on pain meds, and no, you can’t get out of the car by yourself because of your injuries.  Stay right there…” 

            She quickly moved around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door.  “Okay, now listen.  I’m going to grab your knees and help you turn towards me.  Don’t fight me.”  

            She reached under his knees and gently spun him toward the passenger door until his feet were dangling over the pavement.  “Now, one hand on each shoulder...good.  Lean on me...Right foot down...use my shoulders for support…” 

            “Jessica, you can’t hold me up.”, Aubrey complained.  “I’m too heavy.” 

            “I’ve helped my dad many times, and he’s heavier than you are.  No more arguing.  Now, right foot down...and now left foot.  Stand up slowly...that’s right.  Good…”  Jessica offered him a smile of encouragement.  “Are you feeling steady enough to walk?” 

            “Yeah, I think so.  I think if you help me, I can walk through the garage to the back door.  There aren’t any steps that way.”  

            Grimacing slightly as he leaned on his girlfriend’s shoulder, he hitched up his Doctor Who Dalek pajama pants as he slowly moved toward the house.  “Oh, wait...get my house key.”  He gave her a flirty wink.  “Front pants pocket…be careful digging around in there...” 

            “Down, boy.”  Jessica rolled her eyes at him as she helped him up the driveway.  “It’s gonna be awhile before you get to indulge in that sort of extracurricular activity.”  

            Pausing to unlock the door, she helped him slowly maneuver over the threshold to the mud room, through the kitchen, and into the living room.  Stopping in front of the sofa, she gently eased him into a sitting position.  “There you go…that’s good enough for now.  We’ll get you up on your crutches pretty soon, and you’ll be able to get yourself to the bathroom when you need to go, but let’s not push it, okay?  You’re going to feel unsteady at first since you’ve been off your feet for a while.” 

             “Yeah, okay.”  Closing his eyes, he leaned back against the sofa.  “Shit...I walked...what?  Twenty steps?  And I’m already exhausted…” 

            “Not surprising, since you were shot twice, almost bled to death, had surgery, and then had to stay in the hospital for four days.  That’s why I’m going to stay here with you while you recover.” 

            “Yeah, but I was on bed rest until last night.  I shouldn’t be this tired.”  He leaned back on the sofa and groaned.  “I don’t get it.  I’m a grown man, in good shape.  I shouldn’t need to have someone stay with me. Anyway, I don’t want you to stay with me if it’s gonna mess up your hours for your internship.  The Bureau’s workers comp insurance will pay for a home health nurse to visit.” 

            “Blood loss will make a person feel really weak.  Besides, your spleen took a beating and you were lucky it didn’t rupture. On top of that, you bumped your head when you fell over, and your pain meds might make you feel a bit loopy.  It’s no wonder you feel bad, right? But it’s only temporary.  Just give it a day or two.   Now, you just relax while I find us something for lunch.” 

            Jessica bustled around the family room, propping up Aubrey’s feet on the coffee table and finding the television remote for her boyfriend.  “There you go.  And you don’t have to worry about my hours.  Dr. B said I had plenty for this semester so I can take some time off and help you around here as long as I’m needed.  Wouldn’t you rather it be me that helps you instead of someone you don’t know?” 

            “Yeah, I guess so…”  He sighed noisily as he pointed the remote at the television.  “...if you say so.” 

            In the meantime, Skinner had come out from his favorite nap spot to affectionately greet his man, meowing loudly as he rubbed his head against Aubrey’s hand.  “Hey, there, Furball. I guess you missed me, huh?  Can you find something for him to eat, too, Jess?”            

            Jessica picked up the cat and scratched his ears.  “I think so.  C’mon, buddy...I know where Daddy keeps the canned food.” 

            “Then maybe you can come back and help me relax?”  Aubrey wore a hopeful smile as he patted the spot next to him on the sofa.  “Maybe we can snuggle a little bit.  I promise I’ll be good.  You know you can trust me...”

             “No snuggling.”  Jessica pretended to be stern, much to his chagrin.  “I know your pain medications may have caused you to have selective amnesia, but you were there when Dr. Elias said only light activity because you have to rest your spleen for three weeks and you also need to be careful of the stitches in your thigh and abdomen.” 

            “She said I could do normal activities after a couple of weeks…” 

            Jessica gave her boyfriend a knowing look as she put a bowl of wet food in front of Skinner.  “She meant walking or--” 

            “Sex is a normal activity for us!”, Aubrey whined. “Besides, I have a post op recheck scheduled for December 14th and she’s removing my stitches.” 

            Jessica was prepared for this conversation, as she knew her Superman too well.  “She also said that it’s essential for you to avoid any strenuous activity to make sure the graft she did to repair the circumflex artery in your thigh isn’t compromised, which means using the crutches and resting your leg for the next few weeks.” 

            “It’s been seven days.  Seven...very long...very lonely...days, Jessica.  I’m starved for affection, and that’s what I need now to help me recover.  You don’t want me to have a setback, do you?” 

            The redhead rolled her eyes at her boyfriend’s overly dramatic complaining.  “Now I know you heard her when she specifically mentioned that while your recuperating you’re not to use your Total Gym downstairs or engage in sexual intercourse.  She wants to avoid the risk of the graft not adhering properly, because then she’d have to do another surgery, and you’d have to wait longer...” 

            “You can sit on my lap and do all the work, and I’ll stay completely still.  I’d look at not moving as a challenge, okay?”  Aubrey grinned as he arched an eyebrow suggestively.  “That should work, right?” 

            “No, that won’t work, Aubrey, because my body weight would also compromise the graft...and, besides, I know you.  There is no way could you stay completely still.”, Jessica replied, feeling exasperated but also amused at his persistence.  “I’m not happy about being unable to make love either, but your recovery is more important to me than relieving my sexual frustration.  Now, unless I hear Dr. Elias personally state otherwise, you have to behave yourself until your final recheck on December 26th.” 

            “That’s almost four weeks!  I might as well check into a monastery.  I’m gonna forget everything I ever knew about sex.”  Aubrey was aghast as he watched his girlfriend move around the kitchen.  “Goddammit...now I’m really angry.  Damn that bastard Sipoletti!  Four weeks without any tender, loving care from my sweet girlfriend?  No way…” 

            “At least you’ll have something to look forward to, right?”  Jessica giggled as she spread some mayonnaise on a couple of pieces of bread.  “Okay, I’m gonna make myself a sandwich.  Do you want one?” 

            “I guess so...maybe a small one.  Only two slices of cheese and six or seven pieces of ham...mustard, no mayonnaise...maybe some chips...”  Crossing his arms across his chest, Aubrey grumbled to himself as he pouted.  “Four weeks?  No way…I can’t wait that long.”  

            He offered a dimpled smile as she brought his plate and a glass of water to him.  “Hey, here’s an idea.  Maybe you could walk around in the nude.  I mean, I’d enjoy it, and it wouldn’t really be like we’d be having sex...you know...I mean things might happen on their own, but without the actual physical contact.  There wouldn’t be any weight on my leg to damage the graft...” 

            “Eww...you’re almost as bad as Steve Bower!”  Seeing the disgust on her boyfriend’s face, Jessica laughed as she shook her head.  “I’m kidding!  And no, I’m not going to walk around your house naked.  For one thing, I don’t want to give the neighbors a show, and I don’t want to take any chances on causing a setback in your healing.” 

            “But we had our naked breakfast last weekend in the kitchen…and you really liked it...” 

            “Which turned into our naked lunch, and it wasn’t just me.  You were naked, too, remember?  Anyway, we didn’t have many neighbors to worry about since it was a holiday weekend, Aubrey.” 

            “But--” 

            “But nothing.  You have to behave.”  Jessica smiled as she watched her Superman grumble under his breath.  Combing her right hand through the silvery hair at his temple, she continued.  “You know, we’ve been apart for that length of time before.  Remember when I was in the UK for my class this summer?”            

             “Yeah, but if I remember correctly, we had some pretty intense Skype sessions, right?  Sex via the internet was a lot of fun.  You’re so good at talking dirty, Jess...”  He squirmed slightly as he remembered some of her more creative suggestions. “I’m getting horny just thinking about that, and it’s gonna be worse now that you’re here in the house with me, curled up next to me in bed all soft and warm while I have to keep my hands to myself.  Maybe you can just come over here and whisper some of that stuff in my ear...”  He tried to pull her close to him.  “C’mon, please?  I promise I’ll just keep my hands in my lap...I won’t grab your super awesome butt...much...” 

            “No!  Listen, four weeks will fly by if you don’t focus on it, and then, if you’ve been really good, I’ll spend a week breaking your fast with you, okay?” 

            “Okay…I guess so.”  Aubrey continued to pout, and made another suggestion on how they could avoid waiting that long when Jessica’s phone rang.  “Hey, maybe you can help me when I shower...you should get naked, too, so your clothes don’t get all wet…or maybe you can give me a really slow and sensual sponge bath...and then you could use some of that scented massage oil you got at that dirty store in Scotland and give me a good rub down...” 

            “No!  Behave yourself...oh, just a minute.”  She held up a finger as she listened to the caller. “Hello?  Oh, hi...what’s wrong?  Really?  Well, I...I’m kinda busy...I know, but...I just got Aubrey home from the hospital and he needs to rest….I know...I understand, but…”  Jessica sighed heavily.  “Okay, I guess so.  See you soon…Yeah, okay.  Bye.”  She put her phone in her pocket and ate another bite of her sandwich. 

            “Um...who was that?”  Aubrey watched Jessica suspiciously as she avoided eye contact with him.  “You might as well tell me who’s coming over here.  It didn’t sound like it’s going to be someone like Booth or Shaw…” 

            Jessica grimaced as she sipped her water.  “That was...um...Daisy.  She and Beau had another argument.  She’s on her way over here...she needs to talk to someone, and since I’m one of her closest friends…” 

            “Jesus!  Really?  Jess, I just got home from the hospital.  I really don’t feel like dealing with that shit right now…I don’t even feel like getting dressed for company.”  He grimaced as he tugged on the hem of his tee shirt.  “I’m exhausted…you said yourself that I needed to rest.” 

            “I know, but she’s been there for me through some tough times, and I couldn’t turn her down.  She doesn’t have any family, you know.  I mean, other than the people at the Jeffersonian, it’s just me and Andie, and Andie is pulling a twelve hour shift today. I think Daisy feels like she shouldn’t be bothering Angela and Dr. B with her marital problems since she’s _‘out on her own’_ , now.”  Jessica bit her lip and shrugged slightly.  “I’m sorry, Aubrey...I guess I should’ve checked with you first…I know what an imposition it is...”

             Sighing softly, Aubrey couldn’t help but smile.  Of course his tender hearted girlfriend couldn’t turn Daisy away in her time of need.  “No big deal, okay, Jess?  But I really don’t want to listen to all her troubles…” 

            “I completely understand that.”  She glanced around the room.  “Maybe we can move you into the den.  You can stretch out on the futon in there…” 

            Just then the doorbell rang.  “Shit…”  Jessica raced to look at the video doorbell.  “It’s her...she must’ve called as she was driving over.  She’s already here.” 

            “Great…”, Aubrey growled as he tried to get comfortable on the couch.  “Hey, toss me that blanket.”  Covering up his pajama pants, he nodded as he picked up his sandwich.  “Okay, let her in.  I’ll just sit here and pretend like I don’t know what’s going on…” 

            “Okay.”  Jessica smiled apologetically before she opened the door.  “Hi, Daisy…” 

            “Oh, Jessica!”, Daisy sobbed as she rushed into the living room, throwing up her hands in despair.  “I don’t know what to do!  I can’t believe he’d do that to me.  He’s just so...thoughtless...so uncaring.  It’s like he doesn’t love me or respect me at all, you know?  What happened to the wonderful man I married?” 

            It took all the skills Aubrey had learned as an experienced interrogator to avoid laughing out loud at the idea of Beau being such a wonderful man.  Instead, he just nodded quietly as he took another bite of his sandwich.  

            Jessica caught his fleeting expression out of the corner of her eye and gave him a pointed look before turning back to her friend.  “Daisy, I’m not sure I understand…what happened?” 

            “It’s Beau!  He’s lost his position on the second string.”  Daisy paced the room as she continued her rant.  “He’s been moved to the practice squad, and you’d think it was the end of the world!  He seemed to think that his career was over just because he wasn’t starting, so now this is even more of a catastrophe! I mean, he’s going to make 7,200 dollars a week for the next 6 weeks.  It’s not like we’re going to be broke, but to hear him talk, you’d think that we were going to have to move to the poorhouse!  I just don’t get it!  It’s just a little boy’s game, after all.  It’s not like it’s a real job, anyway.” 

            “Well…”, Jessica began, but Daisy slumped into a chair and started ranting again. 

            “So now Beau wants to try out for another team in the NFL.  Can you imagine?  He thinks I should just give up my job and follow him wherever he decides to play...even if it may only be a year or two.  He has no idea what I’d be giving up, does he?  I’d never be able to regain my position at the lab.  All my hard work would go right down the drain.”  She wiped her eyes with a tissue.  “Then, when I didn’t just jump on the idea of moving...when I hesitated and mentioned how long I’d worked to get my position at the NFL, he said _I_ was the one being completely unreasonable.  He says that since he’s the husband, he should be the breadwinner, and my job should be secondary to his...like for luxuries and stuff like that. Do you believe that?”           

            “Um, that’s hard to deal with…but I can understand how he feels...”, Jessica stammered. 

            “It’s like he doesn’t even know what I do, Jessica.  All he knows is that I go to work and come home.  To hear him tell it, I’m just a glorified secretary or something. I mean, I work long hours at an intense job, and then when I come home, he complains because his dinner isn’t ready.  He doesn’t ask about my day, or anything!   I bet he doesn’t even know how many years I went to school...how long I interned...he has no idea what I went through to get this job.”  Twisting a tissue in her hands, Daisy choked back a sob.  “He won’t even listen…” 

            “Well, Beau had to go to college, too, right?  He’s worked hard to get where he is…”, Jessica said softly.  “He has a lot on the line, too, right?” 

            “That’s true, Jessica, but we all know that the actual time that a man gets to spend as a player in the NFL is short.  Most of them can’t go more than ten years before they get too injured to continue playing.  He should’ve already planned on having a second career after his playing days were done.” 

            Aubrey nodded to himself.  That was why he’d already made plans to move up in the Bureau.  He knew he didn’t want to be a grunt forever.  “Has Beau made any plans for his future after football?”, he asked as he picked up a handful of chips.  “He has a college degree, right?” 

            Both women looked at him as if they’d forgotten he was there.  Daisy cleared her throat slightly as she shrugged.  “He has a degree in business, but he hasn’t really made any plans for his post-football career.  My idea was that he should just give up on football for good and take a more active part in the barbecue company.  I mean, he’s played professional ball, so he could be easily be a spokesman for the restaurant chain.  He could make personal appearances all up and down the east coast…he could make television ads.  His father has been anxious for Beau to take over the company, so maybe the time is right....” 

            “But he doesn’t want to give up football, does he?”, Jessica asked quietly.  

            Daisy shook her head dramatically.  “No.  He’s the one who’s being completely unreasonable.  He says he’s gonna continue to play football, no matter what, even if it means we have to move halfway across the continent.  I’ve worked my whole life to get where I am now.  I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor…” 

            “But he wants to enjoy the fruits of his labor, too.  Have you looked at any jobs in the places where he wants to play?”  Jessica glanced at Aubrey.  “James has told me that he can work almost anywhere the Bureau has an office, but I’d make sure there was a field office nearby before I took a job.” 

            “Well, all of the satellite NFL labs are in cities that have football teams, but unfortunately, none of those teams are interested in him now, especially since he’s been injured.  If he were to get on with the Raiders, the 49ers, or the Chargers, there would be plenty of places to work in California.”  Daisy groaned in frustration.  “Jessica, he’s even talking about trying out for the Canadian Football League!  Moving to Canada presents a whole new set of problems for me.” 

            “Not necessarily, Daisy.”, Jessica said.  “What about the Detroit Lions or the Buffalo Bills?  I’m sure there are enough opportunities for both of you in either city, plus if you did get an job in Ontario, you could commute from either city.  One of the interns at the lab this semester got his undergraduate from Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, and he had a job in Sault, Ontario.  He said all he needed was a Canadian work permit.  Adam, another intern, grew up in Blaine, Washington and his father commuted into British Columbia to work every day for twenty years.” 

            “Detroit and Buffalo aren’t interested in Beau, either.  Even if they were, there are currently no job openings for a forensic anthropologist at the Michigan State Police crime lab in Detroit or the other two labs within commuter distance.  If he tried out for the CFL team in Hamilton, I might be able work in Buffalo, even though it’s over an hour one way.  However, there aren’t any good anthropologist jobs in that area since all the New York State crime labs are in the southern tier.” 

            “Sorry, Daisy--” 

            “If Lance and I moved to Canada with Beau, I might be able to get a permit under NAFTA, but since I won’t apply to be a citizen, I would have to apply under a different set of regulations...” 

            “What about--”, Jessica started to say, but she was interrupted by Daisy again. 

            “He isn’t even interested in a place like Montreal or Toronto, where I could offer my skills to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...or even Vancouver!  Not even in Ottawa where I could work for the Canadian government.  No, he wants to go somewhere out in the boonies like Saskatchewan.  There’s also a team in Edmonton, Alberta he’s interested in as well, but who knows what I could do for work there?  But, see, Beau thinks I shouldn’t work at all…he wants me to be a stay at home wife and mother.  He once again brought up having another baby, but I don’t know about that.  Why would we have another child if we aren’t sure of where he stands with a job?”             

            “Maybe it would be nice to stay home with little Lance for a few years.  You’ve never really gotten to do that.  You might enjoy it.”  Jessica fidgeted with one of the sofa cushions.  “It sounds like it would be for just a few years...it might be fun to live in another country on a temporary basis…you could take a break from all the stress of working so hard.  Or, if you still wanted to work, you might be able to find a teaching job at a university...” 

            A new wave of tears threatened to appear as Daisy jumped up from her seat and began pacing the room again.  “But that’s not the point, Jessica!  Teaching at some college may be what you want to do, but I want so much more than that from my career!”  

            Daisy missed Jessica’s pained expression as she continued her tirade.  “The real problem is that he doesn’t respect what I do!  He just doesn’t care.  I’m beginning to think that Oliver is right.  He says that Beau is threatened by my intellect, and he that he tries to subjugate me by reducing my role in our relationship to that of merely being a helpmate instead of an equal partner.” 

            “You’ve talked to Oliver about this?”  Jessica was surprised by the revelation.  “Oh, Daisy...I’m not sure that was such a good idea…Beau would be really upset if you talked to Oliver about this, especially since you and Oliver…” 

            Aubrey pretended to concentrate on his sandwich as he pondered what Daisy just said.  _‘Holy shit...this is not good…fuck...”_  

            Wanting to avoid another argument with her friend, Jessica shrugged, avoiding eye contact with her friend.  “...you know, since you two used to be really close.  That might not be the best thing for your relationship with Beau.  I think he’d be angry if he found out you were talking to your former boyfriend about your marital problems, especially since it really isn’t anyone else’s business.” 

            “Oliver and I are just good friends, that’s all.”  Shrugging off Jessica’s remark, Daisy bit her lip as she thought things over.  “He just happened to stop by my lab the day before Thanksgiving as he was leaving the physics department, and he saw that I was preoccupied.  He asked me what was going on, and I told him.  He’s so easy to talk to…and he understands my situation.  He knows how hard it is to get a good position as a forensic anthropologist.    It’s nice to look forward to something at the NFL besides my work.  We have a lot in common, you know? He gets me in a way that Beau doesn’t...” 

            “Really?  Oliver Wells?”  Aubrey rolled his eyes as he took a big bite of his sandwich to avoid saying anything unkind about the obnoxious man.  “Hmm.  That’s surprising.” 

            “I know he’s not always pleasant to everyone else, Aubrey, but he listens to me, unlike my husband.”  Daisy turned to Jessica and sniffled loudly.  “Get this.  Beau told me this morning that since he’s the man of the house, he gets to decide what we’re gonna do and where we’re gonna live.  As you can imagine, I told him where he could stick that idea…and he wasn’t very happy about it.” 

            “That figures.”, Aubrey mumbled.  Seeing Jessica’s glare he took another bite of his sandwich and chewed thoughtfully.  “Not that I actually agree with what he said, exactly, but he’s probably feeling a lot of pressure, wanting to provide for his wife and child, and now his livelihood is threatened.  I’d be upset, too.” 

            “But he doesn’t have to provide for me.  I can provide for myself!”  Daisy shook her head emphatically.  “I don’t want to rely on anyone to support me and my child…Lancelot would’ve understood that if he was still here.” 

            “However, in a monogamous relationship like this, you both have to give a little, you know?  You might need to compromise.”  Jessica patted Daisy’s hand, trying to console her friend.  “You don’t have to be completely self-reliant anymore, because you have Beau to help you, right?  He helps with Lance…he helps with the bills...you’ve been able to pay down your student loans, haven’t you?” 

            “The extra money has been nice, and he does help with Lance.”  Daisy sighed heavily as she brushed away her tears.  “I just don’t know, Jessica.  I thought our marriage would be so different...that we’d be equals.  It never occurred to me that Beau would be so traditional in his views on marriage.” 

            Aubrey choked back a laugh, sipping his water to hide his smile.  “Well, he is kind of a good ol’ boy...it can’t be all that surprising that he’d want an old fashioned wife.” 

            Jessica turned to glare at her boyfriend once again, who shrugged and mouthed the word _‘what?’_ as he turned back to his lunch.  Fortunately Daisy was too wrapped up in her own troubles to hear what Aubrey had said. 

             “You know, I could leave him if I wanted to.  I make enough money to support myself and Lance.”  Suddenly she looked panicked as another thought occurred to her.  “But what if Beau’s parents try to take Lance away from me?  Maybe they’ll say that I’m an unfit mother, since I work long hours and put him in daycare…maybe they’ll claim that Beau is trying to be a good parent, but I won’t let him. No way are they taking my baby.   I’ll fight them every step of the way.” 

            “I don’t think that would happen.  They know you’re a good parent.”  Jessica studied Daisy closely.  “But would you actually consider leaving Beau over this, Daisy?  Maybe you can work it out instead.  Maybe you two should talk it over.” 

            Daisy grimaced as she chewed on her thumbnail.  “I’m not sure I want to work it out.  I’m so tired of dealing with all of the drama.  Why can’t he understand how I feel?”            

            Aubrey was about to answer that question, but a warning look from Jessica stopped him.  He took another bite of his sandwich and shrugged.  “Hmm...maybe Beau _is_ trying, but he’s not sure what’s actually going on between the two of you.  Maybe you should talk to him about this problem instead of talking to Oliver.” 

            Jessica cleared her throat as she squeezed her boyfriend’s knee, hoping he’d get the hint and keep his comments to himself.  “I think you ought to talk to Dr. Brennan about this.  She’s helped me a lot with stuff like this in the past.”  Jessica smiled at Aubrey as she continued.  “I’m sure she has some insights on how to balance work and your marriage.  She and Agent Booth have a lot of experience with that sort of thing.” 

            “That’s true.  She and Agent Booth seem to have an excellent marriage.”  Sniffling slightly, Daisy wadded up her tissue.   “Maybe I’ll call her…we can have lunch...she can tell me how to convince Beau that my job is more important, and that there is more out there besides football...” 

            About that time, the doorbell rang.  Daisy grimaced as she looked over her shoulder.  “That might be my husband…please don’t tell him I’m here. I need to think things through without some big ox moping around.” 

            After checking the video doorbell, Jessica turned back to Daisy.  “I’m not going to lie to him, okay?  You two need to talk this thing out.”  She opened the door and ushered Beau into the house.  

            “Hey, Honey.”  Beau offered his wife a sheepish grin as he came into the room.  “Are you still mad at me?” 

            “No, of course not.”  After wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, Daisy held out her hand to her husband and offered an artificial smile.  “You know I can’t stay mad at you.” 

            “Let’s go home, okay, Babydoll?”  Beau put an arm around his wife and hugged her.  “We can stop on the way home and get some barbecue for dinner.” 

            “That sounds good.”  Daisy picked up her purse and grabbed her coat.  “I’m ready to go whenever you are.” 

            Jessica was in shock, watching Daisy and Beau stand hand in hand as they got ready to leave.  “Thanks for letting me rant, Jessica.  It really helps a lot to have a friend I can talk to.” 

            “Yeah...no problem...I guess.”  Surprised at the sudden turn of events, Jessica walked them to the door.  “I hope everything goes okay this evening…it seems like you have a lot to discuss...” 

            “I’m sure it will.”, Daisy bubbled.  “I’ll talk to you in a few days...maybe we can have dinner together again...this time we can come over here.”

             “Um, it depends on how Aubrey is doing, but we’ll see.  Bye…”  Jessica shut the door behind them and turned to her boyfriend, shaking her head in amazement.  “That was crazy…those two have such a bizarre relationship.” 

            “I’ll say.  Daisy and her problems just ruined a perfectly good lunch.”, Aubrey snarked as he picked up a bit of ham from his plate and popped it in his mouth.  “It’s obvious they had no premarital counseling…they’re both so thoughtless and immature.  I’d say they had no business getting married in the first place.” 

            Jessica stared at her boyfriend.  “Well, there’s no reason to be rude about it.  I feel sorry for Daisy.  I can’t believe Beau treats her that way.”  

            “Treats her what way?”  Aubrey laughed sarcastically.  “You mean the way he acts towards her because he wants to work in a field he enjoys in order to support his wife and child? He wants to make a lot of money and provide a good life for them, right?  What’s so wrong with that? I may not agree with everything that he says, but I can understand where he’s coming from, Jess.  It may seem old fashioned to you...maybe even sexist, I guess, but a man wants to feel like he’s taking care of his family, no matter how much money his wife makes.  I think we’re just wired that way.”  

            He groaned as he bent over to put his plate on the coffee table.  “Besides, I think there are a lot of things Daisy could do with her degree.  Granted, she has a great job at that fancy lab, but I think you’re right...she could teach like Dr. B does, or work forensics with a local police department somewhere.  After all her years interning with Dr. B and after working with Hodgins and Cam at the Jeffersonian, she could practically write her own ticket. She could have any job she wants if she’d just look, okay?   The problem is that she just doesn’t want to put in the effort to look for one.  Besides, what’s so bad about teaching?  She makes it sound like it’s an awful job, but that’s what you want to do, right?  She kind of made it sound like it’d be beneath her...” 

            “Maybe it would be beneath her, with all of her skills and her experience, or maybe she just doesn’t like it...” 

            Aubrey had seen the look on Jessica’s face when Daisy put down his girlfriend’s career ideas and he hadn’t liked it.  “Okay, fine if she doesn’t like it, but it seems like she thinks she has to work at some fancy ass state or federal lab or else do nothing.  Teaching is a perfectly good career choice...or working for the local police or in a local forensic lab...all of those are lofty goals.  I don’t think I like how she made it seem like your career plan was almost...slumming...like it was beneath her.  Dr. B teaches...Arastoo has talked about it...and you want to do it.  I think it’s a great thing to help other people learn new things.  So she has to compromise and do something that isn’t her first choice for a few years in order for Beau to finish his football career.  What’s the big deal?”           

              “The big deal is that different people like different things. Maybe she doesn’t think teaching is a good fit for her.  It’s not like just anybody can walk into a classroom and do a good job of instructing students.  It takes skill, and you have a lot of outside work to prepare for your classes.  Maybe she doesn’t want to take that time away from her family.”  Crossing her arms over her chest, Jessica was obviously aggravated with her boyfriend.  “Anyway, why would she need to look for a new job when she has a great job here in DC?  She might not make as much money as Beau, but she has the prestige he’ll never get playing third string defensive tackle.”  

            Aubrey shrugged off her comments.  “Why not let Beau be in the limelight for awhile?  Who cares about prestige, or which one of them makes more money?  Maybe it should be Beau’s turn to take a job he wants instead of Daisy’s job always being first.  After all, Beau’s set of football skills are just as unique as Daisy’s anthropology degree. Instead of thinking of herself and her precious job at the fancy lab, maybe she should put him first for a change.” 

            Rising from the sofa, Jessica picked up Aubrey’s plate before turning to face him.  “So let me get this straight.  You’re saying that if we’re together, you should get to decide where we live and where I work?  That’s never gonna happen…” 

            “Don’t put words in my mouth, Jessica.  As you just told Daisy, we’ve discussed it, and we’d both be willing to compromise as necessary, right?.  I’ll be able to work wherever you get a job.”  Annoyed, he sat back on the couch and gazed up at Jessica. “I’m just saying that Daisy should’ve gone into their relationship with her eyes open.  She should’ve known what to expect when she decided to accept Beau’s marriage proposal.  Maybe he’s an old fashioned guy, but she knew that from the beginning, and she chose to marry him anyway.  Trust me...people don’t change once they get married.  It’s not supposed to be all about one person and only what they want, or the other person expecting their family to follow blindly along with their plans, no matter what the cost to is them.  There has to be compromise and consideration on _both_ sides, and right now, it looks like neither one of them is willing to do so.”  

            “Since when are you such an expert on what a good marriage should be?  You’ve haven’t been married before, have you?”  Jessica tapped her foot anxiously.  “How do you know what Daisy and Beau need to do to save their marriage?” 

            “No, of course I’ve never been married, but you don’t have to be Dr. Phil to figure out that they never talk to each other honestly.  I think each of them is trying to avoid making the other one angry, and in the process, they’re actually making each other angry.  They’re both afraid...afraid to tell each other the truth, because neither one wants to be forced into changing their mind.”  He lightly pounded the arm of the sofa with his fist to make his point.  “Until they sit down and tell each other exactly what they want from their marriage, nothing's gonna change.  Daisy will be mad because Beau doesn’t understand her, and Beau will be mad because he doesn’t know why Daisy is mad, since he doesn’t understand her, either.  They really need to talk to each other.  In fact, it kind of makes them both look like chicken shit that they don’t sit down and hash things out.  They’re just cowards, pure and simple.  They hope that if they don’t talk about things, the problem will go away...”  

            He took a sip of his water.  “Did I hear her say she’s been confiding in Oliver?   That’s about the stupidest thing I ever heard...talking to a friend about your marital issues instead of talking to your spouse.  Dumb...just really dumb.” 

            “Dumb?  Well, at least she’s talking to someone.  At least she’s not keeping secrets about what’s going on in her life.”  Jessica brushed away a tear.  She knew she was being irrational, but it seemed she couldn’t help herself.  “She trusts Oliver…”             

            “Well, of course she trusts Oliver.  It’s not like he’s got any friends.  She could tell him anything and it’ll stop with him because nobody wants to talk to the fucking jackass except her.”  Aubrey chuckled softly.  “He’s not exactly the kind of guy I’d go to for relationship advice.  You have to be in a relationship with someone first, right?  You know, like you and me...I know what I’m talking about because of how well you and me get along.” 

            “Oh, my God.  You’re serious, aren’t you?  You think we get along well?  You think we trust each other?  Do you think we talk to each other honestly?  Your pain meds must be making you high.”  She turned and walked quickly into the kitchen, hoping he wouldn’t see her angry tears.  “No way...talk about the pot calling the kettle black.  You are the last man who should be giving anyone relationship advice.” 

            Surprised by her sudden irritation, Aubrey tried to get off the couch to follow her, but he groaned loudly in pain.  “Owww...Son of a bitch!  Jessica, what are you talking about?  We get along fine…” 

            She shook her head as she stood with her back to him.  “We do not get along fine.”, she said coldly as she put things in the refrigerator, slamming the door behind her.  “You don’t trust me.” 

            She put the plate in the dishwasher and slammed it shut as well.  “You’re the coward, Aubrey, plain and simple.  You didn’t tell me about your father and his involvement in the Vacchio case, did you?”  She saw the stricken look on his face and bit her lip to keep from crying.  “No, of course not.  Why tell me about that shit, right?  Why expect me to understand?I mean, you know all about my crazy family, but I’m not supposed to know anything about yours, am I?  I guess I’m supposed to be happy being in the dark when it comes to your dad.” 

            Suddenly Aubrey was scrambling for an explanation.  “It wasn’t like that, Jess...honest.  I wanted to tell you…but it was part of the case...you know...we have protocols.” 

            “Bull shit!  I don’t think you really wanted to tell me anything, so don’t even give me that excuse.  I think you were probably hoping I wouldn’t find out anything about the little excursion you took with Booth.  You were hoping you could go to see your dad secretly in West Virginia and then get home without me knowing anything about it, but then, instead, I had to find out the news from Dr. B _again,_ just like I did when you were offered the position in Los Angeles.  I was so embarrassed as I tried to explain why I didn’t know what was going on because we’d had another fight and then you’d left without telling me where you were going.  You didn’t mention it at all when you came over the night before you left, did you?. How cowardly is that? You haven’t got the balls to tell me the truth. All you wanted was a nice piece of ass.”  

             She pinched her lips together, hoping to control her tears before continuing quietly.  “What else are you hiding from me?  Why should I believe anything you say?  This sort of thing happens over and over again with you.  You’re never gonna change, are you?  It’s always gonna be a lie of omission, because you don’t want me to get too close.” 

             She sighed audibly before venting her frustration.  “I thought you were different, Aubrey.  I thought you were better than that, but now it seems the only reason you want me around because you need a good fuck once in a while.  You don’t love me...you’re just using me to take the edge off, right?  I’m just an available fuck buddy, and then you take advantage of me…you use me to get your rocks off when you feel stressed about something.  It has nothing to do with being in a relationship with me.”

             Aubrey was horrified.  “How could you say that, Jess?  You know I love you!”  

            Seeing the anger in her eyes, he hesitated, deciding that maybe some sort of explanation was in order.  “Okay, look.”  He cleared his throat nervously as he tried to get comfortable on the sofa. “The truth is that I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid you’d dump me when you found out my dad was a murder suspect.  I couldn’t risk that...I love you too much…so I decided to keep things to myself until after I’d handled that matter.  That’s all.  I really was going to tell you...” 

            “Don’t give me that ‘my dad’s a criminal’ sob story.  I don’t need any more bull shit from you, okay?  You should know by now that I don’t care about that stuff with your dad.  We’ve been down that road before, and I’ve told you many times...that doesn’t make any difference to me.”  

             She walked over and stood with her hands on her hips, her voice shaky with anger.  “So after all this time, you still think I’m that shallow...that I’d dump you because of something your father has done?  Of all the stupid things...you’re a fucking jackass, Aubrey.  You don’t know anything about how to have a loving relationship with me...about how important it is to tell me the truth.  You have to be honest with me, but you’re not capable of that, are you? You’re too much into the cover up, right?  You’re too busy trying to keep yourself from getting hurt somehow, so you hide the facts from me.  You always keep me at arm’s length, hoping I won’t see the real you, never once thinking that I’d be able to deal with the man you really are instead of the facade you project.” 

             Jessica wiped tears from her cheeks as she continued. “God forbid you might fill me in on everything that happens in your world the first time around, of your own free will, instead of waiting until I finally call you on your fucking lies and hidden agendas.  Listen...if I ever did decide to dump you, it wouldn’t be because of your father’s criminal activities.  I’d dump you because no matter what excuses you give me...no matter how you try to sugarcoat it, you’re still a liar!  The fact of the matter is that after all we’ve been through together, you’ve never trusted me.  I don’t know why, but you don’t, and I can’t be with a man who acts like that around me.  I need to know that you’ll always tell me the truth the first time.  If we can’t trust each other, then we might as well give up on this relationship!” 

            Aubrey was incensed at her accusations.  “Well, if we’re gonna talk about who trusts who, then maybe we also ought to talk about your buddy Gerald, okay?  It seems that big ape has been harassing you at the lab, but you didn’t see fit to tell me for some reason…”  

            Aubrey’s eyes were blazing as he looked up at his girlfriend.  “You don’t think I can handle it professionally, do you?  You thought I’d lose my shit and hurt the fucker...break his arm or something...” 

            “You’re too busy to mess with my petty problems…”, she said quietly, avoiding eye contact with him, ashamed that he hit the nail on the head.  “I didn’t want to bother you.” 

            “Right.” His voice was brittle with angry sarcasm as he continued.  “So I’m too busy to take care of the woman I love, but I guess you’re too busy minding everyone else’s business to tell me shit like you’ve been sexually harassed and that both your lab locker and your apartment have been vandalized.  Yeah, that makes perfect sense.”  

             He nodded slowly as he realized the truth.  “You weren’t gonna tell me.  You made Shaw promise not to tell me, either, right? And Angela and Hodgins?  Maybe even Dr. B, right?  So practically the whole world knows what’s going on in your life, with the exception of the person who has the most right to know...the man who loves you.  I suppose you don’t have any problem with that?” 

            “It would seem to me that solving a murder is more important.”, Jessica countered as she turned away.  “Besides, I can take care of myself.” 

            “Yeah, how’s that working for ya?”  Aubrey’s voice rose in anger.  “I get that.  Little Miss Independent doesn’t need anybody’s help.  In that way, I suppose you’re just like Daisy, right?  Perfectly capable of solving your own problems.  But let’s think about what you just told her.  Sometimes it’s good to have help, to compromise...but that’s not what you want.  It makes me wonder, you know?  Maybe you like having that bastard Gerald around, right?  Maybe you wanted to have a guy on the side.”  

            “Oh, God, I hope that’s your Norco talking, Aubrey.  You know I’ve only been dating you…”  Jessica stood with her hands on her hips.  “That’s a crock of shit…I wouldn’t have that disgusting asshole if he was the last guy on earth.” 

            “Yeah, but how would I know that?  How can I trust you if you won’t tell me the truth?”  Aubrey’s fists were clenched in rage.  “So let me get this straight...I’m supposed to tell you everything about where I go and what I do...everything about my dad and all of his shit, but you don’t have to tell me everything about Gerald and how he’s tried to ruin your life?  Oh, Hell no…not when you’ve flat out lied to my face.”  He shook his head at her.  “We’re not gonna play the Daisy and Beau version of Russian roulette…” 

            “I didn’t lie to you…I just…I didn’t…” 

            “You just hid the truth.  You didn’t tell me the whole story, so it’s a lie of omission...you said so yourself.  If you can’t tell me everything, then there’s something really wrong between us, Jess...something terrible.  I don’t know if I can handle it…” 

            “So you really don’t trust me…”  Tears were streaming down Jessica’s face as she shook her head.   

            “Apparently with good reason.”  Aubrey tried to push himself up from the couch.  “What else have you forgotten to tell me?  What else have you lied about?”  He sneered in disgust. “Jesus...hand me those crutches.  I don’t even want to be in the same room with you right now...” 

            “Oh, no.  We’re gonna hash this out right now.  You’re gonna tell me the complete truth about your dad, Aubrey…” 

            “Nope, not until you’re ready to tell me everything about Gerald...and I do mean every single thing…” 

            “It’s none of your business.  It’s my problem, and I’m handling it…” 

            “With Shaw, Hodgins, and Dr. B to help you.  So basically you’re using all of the resources of the FBI except for your own goddamn boyfriend.  That’s great.  Just great.  Well, how I handle dealing with my dad is my business, too, okay?  You don’t need to know anything else about it.”  He moved closer to the edge of the sofa.  “I’m gonna go rest in the den.  You can go on home.  I can take care of myself.  I don’t need you here.” 

            Jessica refused to budge.  “No fucking way.  I said I’d stay and help you, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”  

            “Fine.  You can stay, but don’t expect me to talk to you anymore, alright?  We’re done here.  I’ll call the Bureau first thing in the morning and tell them I need a home health aide...someone I can trust...and you won’t have to worry about being here with me.”

            “Aubrey, just listen…I don’t want to leave you.  I want to work this out, but I need you to talk to me, or we’ll end up like acting like Daisy and Beau...” 

            “I think we’re already there. Jess.  It looks like our relationship is just as fucked up as theirs is…”  Pulling himself up on his crutches, he held up a hand to stop her.  “Just drop it, okay?  I can’t talk about this any more.  Leave me alone.”  He hobbled over to the door of the den, slamming it behind him as he entered. 

            Jessica stood in the middle of the family room sobbing, wondering how things had gotten so out of hand so quickly.  Maybe she’d let her anger get the better of her, but she couldn’t help it.  Her emotions had poured out of her before she knew what was happening.

             It seemed like everything that had happened the last few days came crashing in on her, and Daisy’s visit had been the catalyst that had triggered her tantrum.  All of the thoughts that she’d kept to herself had spilled over in anger...and that anger had been directed at the person she loved the most. 

             And now...now that person had walked away from her before she’d had a chance to explain how she really felt…and who knew if he’d ever walk back? 

            Sniffling softly, she sat on the edge of the sofa.  She’d said she’d stay with him until he healed, and she would...as long as he needed someone to help him recover, she’d be there, whether he wanted her there or not.

 


	43. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the last chapter our favorite couple had a fight. Are things any better now? Read on to find out...

               In the den, which was now almost as dark as the sky outside, Aubrey lay on the futon with his eyes closed, but he wasn’t asleep.  All that kept going through his head was the fight he’d had with Jessica earlier in the day.

_‘She has a hissy fit about me not saying anything about my father, but she can keep her issues with Gerald to herself?  No way...not happening.  I’m not dealing with that shit again.’_

                Just then, he heard _‘Something Just Like This’_ ring on Jessica’s phone before it stopped.  _“Hello?  Hey, Aaron.  How are you?...I’m fine...yeah, Aubrey was discharged today and I brought him home a few hours ago..he’s sleeping right now...yeah, they have him on Norco and he’s really tired…”_

                He knew eavesdropping was wrong, but he continued to listen anyway.  ‘ _I mean, they’re talking about me, right?  I have a right to know..’._

                _“How are the kids?...A visit?  Um, I’m not sure he’ll be up for company tomorrow, so I would hate for you all to drive down here for the day for nothing...”_

“So, she makes decisions for me now, does she?  It’s not like I’m an invalid.”, Aubrey said to himself.  Deep down, he knew that he sounded petty, but their argument still cut him deeply.

                _“Do you have any suggestions for him while he’s home?  I know it’s not your specialty, but Aubrey isn’t one to relax and do nothing.  However, I want him to recover fully, and I want to help him in any way I can without hovering over him.”_

Interested in her end of the conversation, Aubrey listened intently.

                _“No, Aaron, I remember how bad Mom got when we tried to help her, and I’m sure Aubrey will get sick of me hovering over him eventually, too. I can’t...what?  Of course, I’m fine...why are you asking?  No...I do not sound upset...”_

As he continued to hear Jessica blow off her brother’s concern, his anger at being left out came back to the surface.  _‘She pulls this crap with her brother, too?’_

                _“Nothing is wrong, Aaron...I’m just a little stressed because my boyfriend was almost shot to death last week and my semester is ending next week, so I have a lot of my plate...if I need anything, you’ll be the first person I call, I promise.”_

“Anyone but me...what a shocker.”,  Aubrey said to himself bitterly.

_“Aaron, I said I was fine..no, I don’t need my big brothers to swoop down and save me, alright?  I’m 28 years old now and you guys had to do that too many times when I was younger.  I’m fine.”_

“Jesus Christ, Jessica.  Your brother is just concerned.  All he wants is to help you.”, Aubrey muttered to himself.

_‘If Aubrey and I need anything, I’ll let you know, I promise....okay, how about you, Nadia, and the kids come over here for dinner one night during Christmas Break?  Aubrey should be healed by then and we can catch up since you’ll be here for a few weeks...sounds good.  I have to go now.  I have to start dinner so he has something to eat before taking his Norco...yeah, talk to you later, Aaron.  I love you, too.  Good night.”_

Aubrey shook his head, still warring between being pissed at his girlfriend for refusing to discuss things with him and feeling guilty for the frustrated spill of verbal diarrhea he’d unleashed on her before storming away...or rather, hobbling away on his crutches before slamming the den door that still didn’t close completely.

                Deciding that a nap would be best, he shut his eyes again to attempt to sleep.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

In the kitchen, Jessica ended the phone call and tossed her phone on the counter.   Lying to Aaron was always so hard because he knew her so well.  She hadn’t lied when she said Aubrey wouldn’t be up for company, but she also didn’t want her brother’s family to make the trip south while things were...difficult between her and her boyfriend.  It would raise too many questions, and she couldn’t handle that right now.

                Getting ingredients out of the fridge, she chopped up smoked sausage, potatoes, carrots, onions, and green beans before dumping them in a large pot.  Adding water and some garlic pepper mix and salt, she set the temperature to HIGH.  Satisfied that the boiled dinner was cooking, she prepared the Crescent rolls, planning to bake them right before their meal.

                For the next hour, as the food cooked on the stove, Jessica sat at the kitchen table and worked on dissertation research...or tried to, as Aubrey’s words kept coming back to her.

                He shouldn’t have to step in and deal with her shit.  She was the one who’d gone on the date with Gerald Maxwell...she was the one who’d agitated the bastard.  Therefore, she needed to clean up her own mess, not Aubrey.

                Then there was his hissy fit about Gerald. Yes, she was scared because her locker and apartment had been broken into, and she felt personally violated because the son of a bitch had stolen her panties and masturbated in her bedroom.  Yes, she was terrified since Gerald’s behavior was only escalating.

                However, Aubrey had so much on his plate.   He was in charge of fourteen agents in an important FBI division, and he still worked cases, including the one that got him and Booth shot last week.  He had a busy career to navigate, and he didn’t have time help her pick up the pieces of her warring emotions.

                In conclusion, her boyfriend was angry because she didn’t come running to him with all her baggage and he had no right to be.  All her life, people had felt the need to swoop in and protect her, and it didn’t need be that way.  It wasn’t like she was some scared little kid.  She was an adult, and she needed to deal with her problems on her own. 

                Then there was last Monday. 

                She thought she was over what happened regarding Aubrey’s father.  However, it still hurt that he thought so little of her...that he believed that just because his butthole father may have ordered a hit on someone that she would leave him.  He always said she was his best friend, but obviously she wasn’t, if he thought she would just take off at the first sign of trouble.                 

                Hearing the buzz on her phone, she looked and saw it was 6:20.  Going to the stove, she stirred the boiled dinner and saw it was almost done.  Picking up the pan with the rolls she’d prepared earlier, she put it in the oven, set the timer and closed the door. 

                Opening the fridge, she pulled out a bottle of water and got a Norco out for Aubrey.  Walking towards the den, her stomach fluttered nervously.  Taking a deep breath, she knocked lightly on the door.  Not hearing anything, she opened it to darkness but saw Aubrey lying on the futon with his eyes closed.

                Walking up to the man, she shook him gently.  “Aubrey, wake up.”

                “What?”, the agent answered sharply as his eyes remained closed.

                Shaking her head, she set the pill and the water on the end table.  “It’s 6:30...time for you to take your Norco.  I brought a bottle of water for you to chase it down with and I wanted to let you know that I also have dinner on the stove if you want something in your stomach.  If you’re going to be ugly, I’ll just bring it to you in here so you can pout some more in the dark.”

                Jessica’s sharp words fueled Aubrey’s irritation, ignoring the fact that his initial response to her kindness had made things worse.  “I’ll be out shortly.  You don’t need to do me any favors, Jessica.”

                “Fine.”

                Stomping out of the room, she slammed the door, forgetting it didn’t close all the way.  Ignoring the loud boom, she was steaming when she got to the kitchen.  As she pulled two dinner plates out of the cupboard, she looked down when she felt Skinner rubbing against her leg.  

                “I was tempted not to give Daddy his pain pill for being an asshole earlier, but...I love him too much.  I guess I’m just fucked for life.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Aubrey winced when he heard the den door slam and the resounding boom as it rebounded back.  The agent felt guilty as he knew she was only trying to be nice and he was being a dick.  _‘I’ll have some dinner, then I can come in here and watch television.  I just can’t deal with her tonight.’_

                 The agent swallowed the pill and chased it with the bottle of water.  Setting it down while it was half full, he grabbed his crutches.  Lifting himself up, he hobbled to the door, where he was assaulted with a wonderful smell.  His stomach began to overrule his head.

_‘I’m still pissed at Jess, but there’s no reason why we can’t have a meal together.’_

                Before he opened the door, he overheard her speaking to his cat.  _“I was tempted not to give Daddy his pain pill for being an asshole earlier, but...I love him too much.  I guess I’m just fucked for life.”_

                Feeling more guilt over his behavior a few minutes ago, he hobbled his way towards the kitchen where he saw his girlfriend had set another bottle of water and two plates at his usual place at the table.  When he got to the dinner table, he saw smoked sausage surrounded by vegetables.  Next to it were two crescent rolls on a plate with honey butter nearby.

                Propping his crutches up on the other side of the table, Aubrey noted where she moved the bench on the end and put a chair in its place.  Sitting down, he propped up his leg up on the moved bench and he waited to eat until she joined him a moment later with food of her own.

                Dinner was a quiet affair as for the next twenty minutes, they ate in silence, the only sounds being silverware hitting the plates in between polite requests to pass salt, pepper or butter.  Both felt like they should say something, but anger and frustration held them back.  Finally, the agent spoke up as he cut a piece of sausage. 

                “Thank you for dinner.” 

                Jessica finished chewing her potato.  “You’re welcome, Aubrey.  I kept it simple because I wasn’t sure if you could tolerate spicy food yet.”

                “This was good, Jessica.  I think as long as I eat before taking the Norco I’ll be fine.”

                “Good.”

                They ate in silence for another five minutes.  “Jess, can you feed Skinner?”

                “Already done.”

                “Thank you.”

                The couple finished their meal as they started it.  When done, Jessica picked up the dinner plates and took them to the kitchen.  “You can have the television, Aubrey.  I have research to do for my dissertation.  I’ve also turned over the blanket on the bed in the downstairs guest bedroom for you when you’re ready to go to bed.”

                The lanky man got up and moved slowly into his living room, where he was surprised to see two pillows and blankets in the chair.  “Jessica, what’s all this?”

                The redhead finished loading the dishwasher.  “That’s for me.  I’m sleeping in the living room tonight after you go to bed.  That way I can make sure you get your 12:30 pill and 6:30 one tomorrow morning.”

                Aubrey felt a momentary punch in the gut as he realized they’d rarely slept apart since they’d gotten back together.  _‘Of course she won’t sleep with me.  I’m just the annoying pain in the ass boyfriend who wants to be involved in Ms. Independent’s life.  Well, I don’t want to sleep with her, either.’_

                Putting her laptop back on the table, she walked up to Aubrey.  “Do you need anything before I go upstairs and take a shower?”

                “No, I’m fine.”

                Jessica turned her back on Aubrey and walked towards the stairs, barely holding back tears.  Getting into the en-suite bathroom, she got undressed while composing herself.  _‘I won’t cry...I won’t cry...I’m strong...I’m independent…’_

But the tears fell as Jessica purged herself in the shower.  She was angry...frustrated...and scared.  She was in true danger of losing the one man she loved...and she didn’t know what to do.  Getting herself together, she finished what she needed to do.  Putting on her Michigan State pajama pants and matching shirt, she headed downstairs, hoping that Aubrey couldn’t tell that she’d been crying.

                In the living room, Aubrey’s attention kept drifting to the stairs, still warring between irritation and guilt.  When he heard footsteps, he put his attention back to the movie, but his focus turned to Jessica when she sat down at the dining room table and began working.  She didn’t say a word, but the red eyes and nose said it all as his girlfriend’s porcelain complexion couldn’t hide anything.  In spite of himself, he felt himself softening, but he wasn’t ready to give in just yet.

_‘I’m tired of people feeling the need to keep secrets from me!’_

                It didn’t take long for the FBI agent to start falling asleep while watching the _Twilight Zone_.  Not wanting to take his girlfriend’s place for the night, he got himself up.  “I’m going to bed, Jess.”

                Jessica looked up.  “Do you need any help?”

                “Nope….got it covered.”,  Aubrey replied as he got himself situated and headed past the redhead.

                “Okay.  Night.”

                “Night.”, Aubrey said.

                Entering the downstairs bedroom, he was glad Jessica turned on the bedside lamp for him.  Slowly making his way over, he sat down and propped up his crutches.  Settling in with his leg propped up on the extra pillows his girlfriend set out for him, he plugged in his phone and shut the lamp off.  Lying on his back, he stared at the ceiling in spite of his drowsiness.

                “What are Jess and I going to do now?”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Jessica was attempting to watch television when her phone alarm went off again at 12:30.  Getting Aubrey’s pill, she walked into the darkened bedroom and woke him up.  He was half asleep but he took his pill and downed the entire glass of water.  Leaving him to go back to sleep, she shut the door until it was open a crack.

                Deciding to get some sleep, Jessica turned off all the lights but the lamp by the couch.  Making up her bed, she laid down and contemplated her day for a moment but it came back to one question.

                “What are Superman and I going to do now?”

                Seven hours later, Jessica lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling.  Every time she closed her eyes to sleep, all she heard were either the angry words she and Aubrey had slung at each other or the deafening silence that had accompanied them the rest of the night.

                She’d laid into Aubrey for getting on his high horse regarding trust, because he obviously didn’t trust her.  She didn’t need a man to come to her rescue all the time, damn it.  She didn’t want her boyfriend to play hero by swooping in and kicking ass because then his career would be in jeopardy.  Aubrey loved working for the FBI and to lose his life’s work would destroy him. 

                Of course, he would eventually realize that she was to blame and would resent her forever….just like her mother resented always putting her family ahead of her own needs. 

                Her mother’s Bipolar II Disorder had required a delicate balance of an antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs, along with counseling, but, according to her mother, the side effects had made her life impossible, and she wasn’t shy about letting Jessica and her siblings know about it.  When her mother was off her meds, her family walked on eggshells as she entered her hypomanic phases.  When she was in her depression stages, they bent over backwards to help her, but it seemed that no matter how much they tried, it wasn’t enough.

                Her brothers often had to come to the rescue when she ran away from her parents’ fights. Even worse, her father always had to step in when her mother became too much to handle.  Finally, he stood up for her one too many times, and he’d pay the price for the rest of his life.

                As she contemplated their fight earlier, she remembered the hurt in Aubrey’s eyes...and recalled the frustration in his words.  Once again, the question flashed in her head.  _Why did her boyfriend get put out when she solved her problems herself?_

                The redhead exhaled.  As much as she hated to admit it, her past was what drove her to refuse help when she should’ve asked for it.  Jessica felt ashamed as she realized that Aubrey didn’t want her helpless and dependent on him.  He only wanted to help her…because he loved her. 

                Like with Gerald sexually harassing her.  As the events of the last week had demonstrated, what began as irritation at her rejection had turned into escalating behavior…and it had her scared to death thinking of what the joker would do next.  Yes, she was afraid of Aubrey’s rarely seen temper taking over, but her attempts to protect him had only hurt him, making him think she didn’t trust him to be a professional.

                Of course he would be professional.  He didn’t become a Special Agent in Charge at his age by being a hot head.  Just because her mother flew off the handle at everything didn’t mean Aubrey couldn’t contain himself.  She should have trusted him to know what to do.  But it was hard to give up that control...or her fear that he might resent her one day.

                Then his father.  She was still angry that he’d hidden what happened from her, but she began thinking about what Aubrey said yesterday...actually listening instead of hearing and reacting.  Looking at things from another angle, she conceded that finding out that his father may have ordered a murder was an obvious shock to him.  Perhaps it wasn’t lack of trust in her so much as fear of losing what they had if that accusation was true. 

                Phillip Aubrey obviously still made her boyfriend feel jumbled up inside, but maybe what she needed to do is make it safe for him to talk about it...not jump down his throat demanding every detail.

                Remembering her words accusing him of just wanting her for sex made her feel even more guilty.   Yes, her boyfriend had come to visit her for a stress fuck, but he was in pain and needed an escape.  While it didn’t excuse what he did, she could understand.  She knew him well enough to know that he respected and cared for her as more than a friend with benefits.                

                Jessica was afraid she may have pushed James Aubrey’s patience too far this time...and it would be all her fault.

                Needing to be occupied, the redhead got up and walked into the kitchen, where the neon green stove clock glowed 5:12.  Turning on the light, she looked in the cupboard and pulled down ingredients to make oatmeal.  She wasn’t sure if Aubrey would still be having nausea, but the oatmeal would help if he was.

                He would probably sleep past his scheduled time, Jessica realized, and it was important to keep ahead of the pain.  Finding the pill bottle, she took out one, grabbed a bottle of water, and tiptoed into the downstairs guest bedroom.  As she was sitting the items down, Skinner left his position between his owner’s legs and walked over.  She winced as he barely missed her boyfriend’s injured thigh.  She pushed a few buttons on the agent’s phone and walked out.

                While the food was simmering on the stove, she felt Skinner weave in and out around her legs.  Jessica couldn’t help but snicker at the cat.

                “Somebody wants food, apparently…okay, just a minute.”

                The redhead found the bag of food and measured it out.  Dumping it into the tabby’s bowl, he almost knocked her over to get to it.  “You’re welcome, Skinner.”

                Needing comfort, she kicked herself for not bringing some of her catnip tea here from her apartment.  Knowing that Aubrey kept some hot tea around for her, she reached for the cupboard above her and opened it, where she was surprised to see the same catnip tea.  He hated the stuff, always making fun of it when she drank it.

                Of course Aubrey would get some of her favorite tea and keep it around for her...because he loved her and wanted her happy.

                She filled the electric kettle with water and waited a short time until the water heated.  Catching it right away to avoid the whistle waking up Aubrey, she poured into a cup along with a bag of tea.  After letting it steep for several minutes, she walked to the kitchen table.  Sipping it slowly, she contemplated the last 24 hours and debated what to do next.

* * *

                Aubrey was sound asleep in bed when a loud buzz went off next to his ear.  Startled, he woke up and turned to his left, where his phone was flashing.  Shutting off the alarm, he saw a bottle of water and a large white pill next to it.  Next to them was a slip of paper propped up in a familiar flowing script.

                **_Take the pill with all the water.  Your next pain pill is scheduled for 12:30._**

                Aubrey closed his eyes for a moment.  They had screamed and hollered at each other sixteen hours earlier and then had given each other the silent treatment the rest of the night.  He’d practically kicked her out of his house, but she’d still stayed to make sure he was taken care of, even though he told her he didn’t need her.

                _‘I can take care of myself my ass…’,_ the agent thought.  _‘there’s an ass all right…and it’s me.’_

But his anger was still there.  Jessica had torn up his ass for not trusting her, but she didn’t trust him, either.  It hurt that she didn’t think enough of him to know that he could control himself in a professional manner regarding Gerald Maxwell, or even his dumbass agent Steve Bower.  He knew she wasn’t a damsel in distress and he didn’t expect her to be, but he wanted her to let him help her once in a while instead of doing everything herself.

                Just like his mother.  Never asking anyone for help, including him, Rachael Aubrey would do everything herself.  She never wanted to bother anyone with her struggles.  Her independence was admirable...until it wasn’t anymore.

                Thinking about the two women in his life, it amazed him how similar they were.  Both were beautiful, smart, and kind.  However, both were also independent and stubborn to a fault...neither wanted to burden other people with their pain.

                Suddenly, he flashed back to the conversation he’d had with Jessica the night of the Star Wars convention back in October:

               _“I didn’t feel like such a burden to anyone here.  I didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to take care of me. My dad had enough things to do without worrying about me more than he already did, you know…”_

                Then he remembered what she said after that.

                _“I’ve never trusted someone like I trust you, James Aubrey.”_

                It finally hit him like a ton of bricks.  It wasn’t that Jessica didn’t trust him...she didn’t want to burden him...much like his mother didn’t want to trouble him with her struggles.                  

               She did trust him with the story of her family and her life...things that he knew no one at the lab knew.  Of course, she anticipated he would return the sentiment, but what did he do whenever she asked about his father?  He would change the subject…or distract her, sometimes with sex.  He wanted to tell her so many times, but he could never quite get the words out.

                Aubrey felt so many things about his father.  He loved him…he despised him…he missed him…he wished him pain and misery…just so the man could get an inkling of what it was like to be Phillip James Aubrey’s only son. 

                His many thoughts were interrupted by a lovely aroma in the air.  Recognizing the scent, he realized Jessica had made oatmeal this morning.  Hearing noise from outside the bedroom, Aubrey found his crutches and hoisted himself up. Getting himself to the door, he peeked out and saw his girlfriend steeping what looked like tea before sitting at his kitchen table.  For several minutes, he watched her as she seemed lost in thought.  On and off, she would wipe away a tear or two. 

                Suddenly, he felt the call of nature hit him.  He didn’t want to call attention to himself, but he wouldn’t be able to hold it much longer.  Being as quiet as he could, he tried to be inconspicuous, but it didn’t work.

                “Aubrey, I know you’re there.  You don’t have to sneak around your own home.”

Taking a breath, he made himself look up.  “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

                “It’s fine.”, Jessica replied in a bland tone.  “I made you some oatmeal.  Come out and eat when you’re done or the Norco will mess with your stomach.”

                _‘She doesn’t seem like she’s going to murder me…a good sign.’_ , the agent thought to himself before he ambled to the downstairs bathroom.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Making his way to the dining room, he sat down to the table just as Jessica put a bowl of oatmeal in front of him.  It had been topped with maple syrup, apples, and cinnamon…just the way he liked it.  A few seconds later, she brought him a cup of coffee in his Darth Vader cup, the shaker of cinnamon for his coffee, and rye toast just the way he liked it, dark with real butter.  Taking a bite, he enjoyed it immensely.

                “The oatmeal is really good.  Thank you.”

                Jessica sat down and put blueberries in her bowl.  “You’re welcome.”

                They had eaten in silence for the next ten minutes before Aubrey realized something.  “I need to feed Skinner…where is he?”

                “Napping on the couch…I took care of it already, after I woke up.”

                Once again, she’d come through for him when he didn’t deserve it.  “Thank you, Jess.”

                “You’re welcome, Aubrey.”, Jessica replied before sipping her tea.  “How’s your leg today?”

                “Sore…but alright.”, the agent replied before sipping his coffee. “I shouldn’t have moved so fast yesterday.  Dr. Elias said I had to take it easy…”

                “Yes, you do.”, the redhead said quietly.  “Even Superman would have to rest if he was shot by a Kryptonite bullet two millimeters shy of his femoral artery.”

                “Thank you for having my pain pill out for me.”

                “You’re welcome.”, Jessica said before taking a bite of her oatmeal.  “Did you drink the entire bottle of water?”

                “Yeah.  Prefer not to take a laxative if I don’t need to.”

                “Good.”

                They continued to eat their breakfast, the only sounds being the clanging of spoons in the bowls or when they stirred their hot drinks.  When done, Jessica cleared the table and put all the dirty dishes in the sink.  Turning around, she saw her boyfriend looking at his hands at the table, like he was afraid to say the wrong thing.  Suddenly, before she could stop herself, she began to speak.

                “I trust you, Aubrey...I love you...but...I’m...it’s hard...I do things on my own because...I have to.  Too many people have had to...put their lives on hold...or help me and they somehow get screwed over...or just resent me being around...”

                Aubrey saw that Jessica was about to burst into tears.  Getting up, he hobbled over to stand by her and took her hand.  Realizing that this was something she needed to say, he sat down on the nearby stool, ready to listen.

                “As you know...my father’s stroke was devastating to me and...I find it difficult to talk about.”

                “I know.”, Aubrey said, remaining silent as he saw his girlfriend struggle with her emotions.

                “I-I hate thinking about it...it makes me cry…”, Jessica said, wiping a tear away.  “But...I can’t pretend it didn’t happen.  I accused you of holding back on me about your father, but it was hypocritical of me, because I did the same thing.  Sometimes, it’s still just so painful to think about.”

                A light bulb went off in Aubrey’s head and it put Jessica’s hesitance into clarity.  Taking a chance, he asked the question on his mind. 

                “Did your mother have anything to do with your father’s stroke?”

                She knew he would ask.  James Aubrey was smart and observant, and an excellent investigator.  Of course he’d observed the tension between her parents on Thanksgiving.  No doubt he knew something was up everytime she avoided talking about her father’s stroke except in general terms.

                “Not directly.”

                The agent watched her squeeze the edge of the center island as she tried to come up with what to say.  Seeing her obvious distress, Aubrey decided to put a stop to it.

                “Jess, I’m sorry. Forget I asked, alright--”

                “James Robert Aubrey!  You asked a question and I’m trying to give you an answer.  Just give me a minute!”

                Chastised, the injured man sat and waited for his girlfriend to speak.  If her mother was involved, the story would be a doozy.  He hoped he was prepared for whatever she had to say.

                “You know my dad had his stroke when I was 20, right?”,  Jessica asked quietly.  When Aubrey nodded, she took another breath to compose herself and continued.  “The previous week were my final exams for the spring semester.  After my last exam, I got everything ready,  and then I got up first thing the next morning to drive home to Maryland.   That day was also my birthday.  My plans for the summer had included being at home until I had to return to Michigan to work on the dig of Fort Michilimackinac the first week of June.”

                Deciding another cup of tea was best, she filled the kettle with water and turned it on.  Finding another bag of catnip tea, she continued.

                “We had a family birthday dinner for me and my brother Jack, whose birthday was April 30th, at Old Ebbit Grill with my dad, my brothers and their significant others, including Mike’s now ex-wife and Stephan’s former girlfriend.  My mother said she couldn’t come because she was busy with work.”

                Seeing Aubrey’s face, Jessica explained.  “By this time, my parents had been divorced for over three years, but things were still...dicey.  My father always made attempts to be cordial with her when my siblings and I were in the room.  If he couldn’t, he would either leave for a few minutes or just not talk.  My mother, depending on if she was on her meds or not, would either just sit and glower at him or try to focus all the attention on her.”                

_‘Her mother couldn’t be enough of an adult to be polite with her ex-husband to help celebrate two of her children’s birthdays?  What a crock!’_ Aubrey thought.

                “My dad was committed to giving speeches at Columbia and Cornell regarding the latest discovery from his research, so he left that next Sunday morning with a plan to return on Saturday afternoon.  Jason was in and out studying for the Bar exam, and I didn’t mind so much staying at the house alone for a few days.  After all the chaos surrounding my exams, I wanted some quiet.”

                Looking up, the redhead saw her boyfriend was paying close attention.  “Before he left for New York, Dad let me know that he pre-signed some checks for me from my trust fund.  One was for my housing that fall in East Lansing that I could send after I chose my meal plan for the next school year.  He also had a few checks for me for some books and equipment I would need for Mackinaw City that weren’t available until Friday.  He also left me his debit card for emergencies.”

                “That was nice of your father.”

                “He always took care of me.  Stephan and I took my dad to the airport before he took me to Camden Yards to see the Nationals play the Orioles...which they lost…”

                “No big surprise….”, Aubrey muttered.

                “Nope.”,  Jessica said in agreement.  “Aaron and Nadia came by with the kids on Sunday.  Jack and Greg were playing catch up at the winery after going to Montreal for my brother’s birthday, but they were going to come hang out with me later in the week.  Michael lived in Alexandria at the time and...he took me out to lunch Tuesday.”

                Aubrey heard the shift in tone.  “You sound...annoyed.  I would think seeing your brother would have made you stoked.”

                “Yes, Michael is my oldest brother and I was happy to see him.”, Jessica said as the whistle blew on the kettle.  Getting it, she poured the water into the cup and let her tea steep.  “However, he’s 14 years older than me, and considers me flighty and sometimes a pain in the ass who always gives my mother a hard time.”

                Remembering the comments about her brother Mike and how his marriage broke up, Aubrey was annoyed at the attitude of a man he had never met.  “That doesn’t sound very nice.”

                “In answer to what I’m sure is your next question, much like today, he was always my mother’s champion.  He was always the one who picked up the pieces after one of my mother’s...episodes.  Paying fines, smoothing over relations after my mother pisses someone off, cleaning up her messes…”

                “Wow…”

                “He loves me, Superman, but...we’re just different.”,  Jessica said quietly.  “Lunch was nice, but it seemed like my brother was there more out of obligation as opposed to seeing his sister.  Near the end, he let me know that he didn’t have time to deal with any trouble I might get into and suggesting that I be more considerate of our mother...like keeping my opinions about the environment to myself.  He said I should be more open to her suggestions about how I should dress and people I should meet...stuff like that.”

                “Sounds kind of judgemental to me.”

                “It is what it is, Aubrey, but we’re not talking about Mike right now.”,  Jessica said before sipping her tea.  “That night, my mother came over to see me.  She said hi, gave me a quick hug, and immediately went to the liquor cabinet where my father kept his best sherry.  A man was with her...and he was about my age.”

                Wiping a tear away, she continued.  “Aaron and Jason had warned me, but it was obvious she was off her meds again.  The boy toy was obviously a boyfriend, because they were pawing at each other while they drank all my father’s alcohol as she talked about a person she had met who could get me into Harvard since I was wasting my intelligence at Michigan State.  Like I always did, I told her I was happy where I was.  After another lecture on how I was wasting my intellectual potential, we sat there for about twenty minutes as I was subjected to the very...overt PSA my mom was enjoying with her boyfriend.”

                Aubrey shook his head, annoyed once again at Eleanor's obvious disrespect for her daughter’s feelings.

                “Suddenly, my mother let me know that she wanted to have dinner with me the next night...so we could catch up and that she had already made reservations at Bistro Provence.  She seemed so sincere...so I agreed.”

                Jessica sipped her tea and continued.  “We got to the bistro and after we were seated, we ordered drinks.  I got a Coke and my mom ordered a $600 bottle of cabernet sauvignon with two glasses.  I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that it wasn’t just a mother and daughter dinner.  Unfortunately, I was proven right when a man came over to our table and she greeted him like he was an old friend.”

                Aubrey felt a rock in his stomach as his mind raced.  “Can I assume that the gentleman wasn’t there to see her?”

                “You assume correctly.  She acted like it was a coincidence, but he sat down without either of us asking if he would like to join us.  Mom introduced him as Dr. Michael Warner, a doctor she had met recently at a luncheon in Alexandria.  He was 36 and had his own successful practice in Baltimore.  His father was also in the the Virginia House of Delegates...just the kind of man my mother thought was well suited for me.  She was trying to fix us up, I guess.”

                “I’m sorry, Jessica.”

                “Oh, there’s more.”, the redhead responded before sipping her lukewarm tea.  “At dinner we talked about monotonous stuff like his recent foray into Botox injections.  My mother was enthralled and I was bored.  Just after we ordered dessert, he…”

                The rock in Aubrey’s stomach turned to nausea as he had a bad idea where the story was going.  “He what, Jess?”                

                “They were talking about a recent party they both attended in DC, and I was checking my phone, counting down the minutes until we could leave.  Suddenly, a hand went up my skirt and...caressed my inner thigh.”

                The agent trembled as he barely controlled his temper.  “You mean...he molested you in public?”

                “Yeah.  I was in shock for a second, but right before he would have reached...between my legs...I reached down and wretched his hand away before I got up and excused myself for a minute.  I went to the restroom where I took several deep breaths and calmed down.  I decided that he got his free feel up for the night.  If he tried it again, I would smack him and threaten to call the police on him.”

                The redhead inhaled and exhaled.  “I came out, but when I got back to the table, I only saw my mother.  She looked angry and I thought I would going to be yelled at, but instead, she said she was sorry for his behavior.  Of course I forgave her and she brought up a medical procedure that she had to have that Friday.  It was to get a series of precancerous moles removed from her back and she talked about how she hadn’t heard back from her insurance yet on whether they could cover the procedure.  She then said she wasn’t worried about it and we decided to get the check.  When it arrived, my mother discovered that she’d forgotten her Mastercard in her other wallet.  I only had a couple hundred in my checking account, so...I had to use my father’s debit card to pay for dinner.”

                “Really?”, Aubrey asked dumbfounded.  “Was your dad pissed about that?”

                “I’m not done yet, Aubrey.”

                He got another sinking feeling in his stomach.  _‘How much worse could this get?’_

“She apologized profusely about dinner on the ride back to the house.  It wasn’t long before I was debating on how I was going to tell my Dad that I had to use his bank card to pay for an almost $1,000 dinner with my mom.  Two night later, it was about 10:30 when I heard a knock at the door.  Jason was at the library studying so I was home alone.  Walking to the door, I saw it was my mother, so I let her in.  She was hysterical and all over the place, but once I calmed her down, she explained that when she’d gotten home from working late, she got a letter from her insurance company stating that her procedure that she was having wasn’t going to be covered.”

                Jessica closed her eyes for a moment before continuing.  “It was going to be about $2500 and if she couldn’t pay at time of service she would have to delay the procedure, which could enable to the moles to become cancer.”

                “I’m sorry, Jess.  You must have both been pretty scared.”

                “I couldn’t let my mother delay her medical treatment, but...I didn’t have the money to give her.  So...I gave her one of my father’s signed checks from my trust fund account because she swore to me she would repay it in two weeks.  I knew my father would be pissed, but she was desperate, Aubrey.  Mom said she would call my father next week to explain and smooth everything over.  ‘Jessica, I will take care of everything…’ she said.  She promised me...”

                Taking a minute to compose herself, she wiped a tear away.  “The next day, she had her procedure and sent me a text letting me know everything had gone well.  My dad arrived home Saturday afternoon and things were all good again.”

                “I’m glad.”, Aubrey said, scared for what was coming next.

                “Two days later, my father asked to talk to me in his den.  He didn’t look happy, but I complied.”  Jessica drew a shaky breath.  “When he closed the door, he told me that he’d gotten a call from my trust fund accountant.  Apparently there was a $2500 check that was cashed on that account.  The cancelled check was made out to Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center.  My father wanted to know if there was something wrong with me medically that I was keeping from him.  I told him no, but then said Mom was going to call and explain everything.”

                Aubrey could only watch as his girlfriend struggled with what she was going to say next.  His disdain for her mother was increased the further Jessica went with her story.

                “He said he hadn’t heard from her yet and asked what I was talking about.  So...I told him about the mole removal that her insurance didn’t cover and needed to get right away.  I told him that she promised to repay my trust fund before the 30 day deadline and also to pay him back for the dinner I had to cover with his debit card.”

                “Can I assume your father wasn’t happy about what you told him?”

                “Yeah, it’s a safe assumption.”, Jessica said with a nod.  “My father was quiet, but then he proceeded to explain that after he received the phone call about the trust fund that day, he’d called the outpatient center’s accounting department.  After telling the clerk that the check they received may have been stolen, he asked who wrote the check and where it had been paid.  They legally couldn’t give the patient’s name, but they told him that it was out of the office of...Dr. Michael Warner.”

                “The plastic surgeon guy who groped you?”,  Aubrey said angrily.

                “Yes.”, Jessica replied.  “My father didn’t know who that was, so he called Aaron, who told him he was a plastic surgeon and that he did not do mole removals.  Aaron also told him that through the grapevine Dr. Warner was known as the go to guy with the elite because of his work with Botox injections.  When I told my father that Dr. Warner had dinner with us and that he made a pass at me...he was, really, really angry.”

                Aubrey heard what wasn’t said.  “Are you saying that your mother tried offering you up to pay for her Botox?”

                “I don’t know, Superman.  She was always trying to fix me up with rich, successful guys.  I don’t think even my mother would go that far.”

                _‘Charlie must have had steam coming out of his ears.’_ Aubrey thought.  “Go on, Jess.”

                “My father came to the same conclusion you did and was also angry that she used my trust fund to pay for what he considered was a _‘bullshit procedure’._    He then asked me to step out of the den for a few minutes and go into the living room with Jason.  When I got there, my brother asked me what happened.  When I told him, we both knew that another fight was coming.  Before we could talk further, my father found my brother and I, gave us eighty bucks, and told us to go out for dinner and not to come back for a couple of hours.”                

                “Your mother was coming over and he was going to confront her?”

                Jessica nodded.  “Yeah.  Jason and I knew better than to argue, so we put our raincoats on and left, deciding to get pizza while we drove through a torrential downpour.  We got as far as looking at the menu while waiting for a table, but both of us had a bad feeling.  When it was our turn to be seated, we changed our minds and we ordered two pizzas and salad to go.  We weren’t looking forward to hearing our parents scream at each other, but at least we would be there eating at home.”

                Looking up, she saw Aubrey looking at her, waiting patiently for when she was ready to continue.  “We got back about forty-five minutes later and we saw my mother’s car still there.  I remember Jason turning to me and said, _‘Come on Jessie, let’s get this over with.’_ ”

                The redhead wiped a tear away.  “So we got everything and walked up to the house.  Just as we reached the steps, my mother raced out of the house, yelling, ‘I called an ambulance for him!’ before she jumped in her car and took off.”

                Jessica wiped a few more tears away.  “Jason and I ran into the house and called out for Dad.  Hearing a crash in the den, we raced there and found him on the floor barely conscious before the medics ran in with a gurney.  When Jason asked what happened, the EMT told him the caller said my dad was having a stroke.”

                “Your mother left him alone?”, Aubrey asked, disgust written all over his face.  “How the hell could she do that?”

                Ignoring Aubrey’s question, she continued.  “Jason drove us to the hospital while I called our other brothers.”, Jessica said.  “My brothers got there pretty quickly, although Mike arrived as the doctor came out and told us my dad had experienced a hemorrhagic stroke.  According to my father’s chart, he had been diagnosed with high blood pressure several months before and was on medication to bring it down.  He was also instructed by his family doctor to slow down in order to control his stress.  It wasn’t hard to connect the dots.  Worked hard at his job, finds out his ex-wife conned him and their daughter out of around 3000 dollars, and that same daughter was also groped by the surgeon who put botulism in his ex-wife’s face.”

                “Oh my God…”

                “The doctor said my dad might have died if my mother hadn’t called for an ambulance when she did.”, Jessica said, obviously choked up.  “As we waited to go see him, Jason let everyone know what happened earlier.  When he got to the part about Mom running away, Mike...said that Jason needed to consider her side and that she was probably scared and panicked.  Jason and Aaron argued with him, but it escalated, with Mike saying that Mom wanted to apologize and come visit.  Jack...jumped him and we had to pry them apart.”

                “Holy crap…”

                “Security came to escort them out, but before they left, Aaron said Dad had talked to him earlier in the day.  He told Mike to let Mom know that the check had been canceled per my father’s request.  If she tried to fight it or get money from any of us to cover it, he would get her removed as trustee on my trust fund due to fraud.”

                “Wait, why didn’t she just try to withdraw the money?”

                “One of the conditions that my grandparents set up with all the trust funds was that for any cash withdrawals, both parents had to be there and sign off on it.  I guess my mother tried getting around it once, but she was...warned not to do it again or she would be removed.”

                “I know that summer you did work up in Mackinaw City.  When did you go?”

                “End of June.  I planned to stay home and look into transferring to George Mason so I could help with Dad.  However, my dad refused, insisting that I go back to Michigan State in the fall.  I was going to fight him on it, but Aaron knew of a rehabilitation/nursing home in Towson that had a physical therapist whose specialty was working with stroke victims.”

                “Is that the place he’s at now?”, Aubrey asked.

                “Yeah.”, Jessica said.  “Aaron used his connections to get him admitted into the home two weeks after he was discharged.  My father had health insurance through the university, but luckily, my grandparents had left him their entire estate in his name only, including the winery, money, stocks, and real estate collecting interest.  He has enough that he will be comfortable the rest of his life and that he’ll never have to worry about medical bills.”

                 Aubrey thought of his mother and her less than ideal financial circumstances.  “Your father was very lucky, Jess.”

                 Jessica knew he was thinking of his mother and she felt bad, but she had to press forward.  “He exceeded the doctor’s expectations, but going back to teaching, or running the neuroscience program...wasn’t possible.  As you know...he tires easily and he has difficulty with his speech.  Aaron became his health care Power of Attorney while Mike became his financial Power of Attorney because he’s an accountant.  He pays for all medical expenses not covered by Medicare and his retirement insurance through GMU, including a check to his home every quarter….and that’s the way it’s been for the last eight and a half years.”

                 The redhead looked up and saw the sympathy in her boyfriend’s eyes.  Suddenly, she felt overexposed and suffocating.

                 “I have to go.”,  she said as she walked quickly towards the front door.

                 Aubrey saw the sudden shift in demeanor.  Grabbing his crutches, he attempted to follow her, but by the time he got to her, she had her boots and coat on.  “Jess, sit down...you’re upset.”

                 “I can’t, Aubrey.”, Jessica said through tears.  “I have to get out of here…now.”

                 “Jessica, don’t--”, Aubrey said as he tried to stop her, but she was too quick for him, hobbled as he was by his injury.

                 “Please just let me go, James.”, Jessica said, nearly hyperventilating by this time.  “I need some air…I need...to get out of here...”

                 Grabbing the doorknob, she raced out of the house and slammed the door behind her before walking away briskly, leaving an astonished Aubrey standing alone in the foyer, wondering what had just happened…


	44. The Whole Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In our last chapter, Jessica told Aubrey about a painful memory before running away. Will she come back? And how will Aubrey respond? 
> 
> Read on to find out... 
> 
> PS: There's a blast from the past. Can anyone guess who it is?

                Aubrey watched Jessica disappear behind the front door before it slammed shut.  Despair and fear ran through him as he contemplated whether she would ever return to him.  She’d bared her soul to him before she’d panicked, and then she’d bolted like a scared rabbit.

                He was afraid she would never come back…and then he would be alone again.   While in the past he was always mentally prepared to be on his own, this time it was different.   No one had ever gotten as close to him as Jessica Warren.  He felt the connection when they watched Star Wars together…when they ate lunch at the diner…when they went to movies and comic cons together.

                But he never felt it more than when they made love.  There was a bond between them that always became stronger as their bodies became one.  She wasn’t just his lover, but almost like a life force.  He didn’t think he could breathe without her.

                If he lost her this time, there would be no one else.  No other woman would ever take Jessica’s place in his heart.  Last week, he’d ripped a hole into their relationship when he shut her out regarding his father and then treated her like a stress ball.  Foolishly, he thought things were okay until Daisy came over to whine about her latest marital crisis.  Seeing her go all Jekyll and Hyde had made him more determined to make sure he and Jessica would be different.

                But were they?  The things they’d said to each other…when one gained the upper hand, the other struck back.  Their words were hurtful…but at least they were finally being honest with each other.

                Then Jessica took a step forward this morning and exposed her greatest pain…her mother.  He hadn’t liked Eleanor before today, but now he despised her.  How could anyone treat a wonderful person like Jessica as…a way to gain a notch up in society?  How could a woman use her child, first by trying to fix her up with a surgeon, then as a piggy bank, using some sob story to get her daughter to pay for Botox injections.

                Jessica didn’t want to consider it, but he did.  It was obvious that Eleanor had offered the plastic surgeon a date with her daughter to get free shit in her face.  It was extremely disgusting...immoral…just plain ass wrong.

                But he couldn’t talk, because his father wasn’t above using his family for gain, either.  His gain was more financial…but just as devastating.  To the outside world before his arrest, the Aubreys had the American Dream.  His father was a handsome, successful man, with a beautiful wife, and a darling son.  But the gilded cage around their townhouse hid a world of disappointment, lies, cruelty, and humiliation.  Phillip Aubrey was a man who was never happy until he had more…and he always wanted what he couldn’t have.

                When it caught up with him, instead of being the family man he bragged that he was, he skipped town, leaving his long suffering wife and son alone and destitute.  His mother’s family didn’t lift a finger to help them after his father left, only saying _‘I told you so’s’._

               His thoughts were interrupted by his doorbell ringing.  Getting on his crutches and moved slowly to the display by his front door.  Recognizing the face, he walked away, ignoring the subsequent ringing of the doorbell as he laid back down and got lost in his memories again.

                His mother had always said there was a side to Phillip Aubrey that only she saw.  Of that, he was certain.  It was the side he used to woo her and get her to marry him.  Perhaps his father did love his mother at one time, but he loved himself and his own needs more.

                Rachael Aubrey had waited years for his father to return to her.  She cried when she saw updates on his case on the news.  Her birthday in September came with no card or call…as did his 14th birthday a month later.  Still, she saw the good in the man, and planned to wait for his return so she could stand by him.  She’d only divorced him when she discovered that her son would get more funds for college if she were single.

                Still, she had promised that his father would come home someday, proud of how strong she was for him and proud of their only son’s many accomplishments.  She’d waited, confident that her husband would come back for their son’s high school graduation, which he never did.  Then she promised that his father would show up for his 18th birthday…his college graduation…his law school graduation…when he passed the New York Bar…and finally when he graduated third in his FBI Academy class.

                But Phillip Aubrey never came…and then his mother died…and now he was alone...an orphan.       

                Determined to make his mother proud so her sacrifices were not in vain, Aubrey pushed himself to be successful in his chosen endeavor.  He didn’t want to come back to New York, but when he was needed, he didn’t hesitate.  Knowing how lucky he was to be part of that field office so early in his career, he put all his efforts into moving up in the FBI.  He dated here and there, but when a woman got too close to him, he pushed back until they moved on to someone new.  For him, the risk of losing himself in someone like his mother did was too great.

                Being offered a chance to transfer to DC was a godsend for him.  He’d always enjoyed the city, even when his father would drag him there on his trips to visit his friend Frank Kwiakowski.  Coming back was emotional, but it was good to get away from the awful memories hidden on every street corner of New York.  He was nervous when he came to work in the Homicide division, as Seeley Booth’s reputation in the FBI preceded him.  He knew what people were saying about the fallen agent, but he didn’t believe that a man like that would just murder three agents for no good reason.  

                Three weeks into his new assignment in mid-August 2014, Lance Sweets asked to meet with him.  After exchanging some small talk, the profiler asked his opinion of Booth’s case, and Aubrey didn’t hold back in expressing his belief that had what happened made no sense.  

                Sweets became his first friend in DC, telling him about his friends at the Jeffersonian.  When they discussed women one night at Founding Fathers, Sweets’ talk of his future with Daisy diverged to his fling with an intern named Jessica Warren that previous spring.  

                _“She’s a really great person...pretty fantastic...and not just for the sex.  If it wasn’t for her, Daisy and I may not planning a future together to raise our baby.  Heck, she and Daisy are friends now!”_

_“I’m glad you guys are all friends now after all that shit went down.  However, this Jessica sounds a little wild to me, Sweets.  Not my type at all.”_

_“Trust me, Aubrey.  There’s more to Jessica Warren than meets the eye.”, Sweets said with a grin before drinking his beer._

                 Aubrey chuckled as he remembered that conversation.  No matter what the profiler said, the girl sounded like a whirlwind…and definitely out of his league.  Besides, he had plans to take Capitol Hill by storm with his _‘Ten Year Plan’,_ which began when he prepared to enter his first year of law school.

                 Of course, his mother’s opinion of that plan differed from his own...and she didn’t hesitate to tell him.

_‘Ambition can drive you, but it’s love that will sustain you.  Someday the right girl is going to find you, Jamie. when you least expect it.  When you get it, hold onto it and treasure it…because all the riches and success in the world don’t mean a thing if there’s no one there to share it with you…the one that completes you.’_

His mother was right…as always.  Deep down, he wanted that special person, but he was terrified to go down that road as well.  Besides, he was 30 years old and still a bachelor when he arrived in DC.  The dream woman his mother had promised him would never come, so instead of dwelling on it, he put his attentions back to his Ten Year Plan. 

                Over the next several weeks, he got to know Booth and the people from the lab.  It was slow, as they were all reeling from Sweets’ death and the betrayal Booth faced from the FBI.  Eventually, they accepted him into their group, and he became part of a family that he never realized he had missed.  He had everything he could ever want.

                Then he almost collided with a redhead as he was leaving Angela’s office one day.  Aubrey could only stare in fascination as Jessica Warren talked a mile a minute about how his video had helped her discover how the victims’ injuries came to be, even demonstrating how the vic’s wounds occurred in her excitement.  Heading back to get the victim’s arms from Hodgins, she left as she came…and he was smitten with the cute squintern.  When Angela told him who she was, his former thoughts about her being out of his league flew out the window.  

                They danced around each other for months before their friendship truly began.  Deep down, they both knew that their course was moving towards something deeper, but they were both enjoying the pace. 

                Of course, they had a hiccup when he got spooked by her past.  He was torn until her blunt reminder that people grow as they experience life.  Seeing the disappointment in her eyes made him realize that his Ten Year Plan wasn’t what it was cracked up to be.  Between that realization and a very...loud lecture from Booth, he finally got the balls to finally throw his hat in the ring, so to speak.  It took a bombing and almost six months of dating before he got the courage to kiss the girl...and it was just as amazing as he thought it would be.  Of course, he didn’t think it would be on a cold, wet sidewalk after pulling her out of the way of a fast moving car, but clichéd and normal was something they never were.  As Jessica said that night, what they had was more special than that.

                Luckily, it didn’t take six months until they were ready to make love.  After they passed that final hurdle, he could never get those three words out to Jessica, electing to show her how he felt in their moments alone.  Of course, when he finally got the courage to speak up, she freaked out…which caused him to freak out.

                Even nineteen years later, his father’s abandonment had affected him.   He’d hidden parts of himself away…afraid to become broken like his mother had been.  But he was already broken…and Jessica was the key to his being put back together.

                She wasn’t innocent, as she had similar fears.  However, she’d taken a big step today when she confessed about a dark moment she’d never shared with anyone else.  Once he took it all in, it was obvious how the events surrounding her father’s stroke still affected her today.

                But then his thoughts went back to Jessica’s panic before she ran out his door.  Her previous actions warred with Booth’s advice to believe in their friendship.  It was a constant battle until he realized that he had to trust not just in that friendship, but in her as well.

                Looking to his right, he saw several boxes that had been sealed shut for years sitting on a shelf.  Taking a deep breath, he exhaled in resolution as he made a decision.

                Jessica Warren wouldn’t abandon him again. He was not about to let that happen.  Yes, they would struggle, but they had to fight together.  Earlier, she’d thrown the first punch, but now…he had to end the fight.

* * *

                  Jessica sat on the swing and looked around at the empty playground by Aubrey’s house, stumped at the fact that there were no kids around, until she realized that it was Monday morning.  Judging by the sun that was starting to come out, it had to be after 8:00...maybe.  Time didn’t matter right now anyhow.

                When she ran out of Aubrey’s house, she had no destination in mind.  However, before she knew it, she was in his backyard and walking through the trees on the path, the  mud hardened by the cold.  It was supposed to be in the 50s today, a change from the cold and nastiness of the week before.

                In the corner of her eye, she saw a white van pull up, but gave it no attention as she pulled out her phone.  Seeing all of her important apps organized into folders, her finger swiped across the screen until she saw a screen with only her wallpaper, the picture of Aubrey and her with Mark Hamill at the Star Wars convention.

                That night had changed her life for the better.  She and Aubrey had said things that should have been said a long time ago.  Both were terrified for the future, but they’d promised to work through them together.

                But they hadn’t...and they’d fallen back into their old patterns.  She’d refused to ask her boyfriend for help when a man sexually harassed her and, until an hour ago, she’d held a part of herself back...a part she showed to no one.  She was so scared of being too vulnerable...much like she was when she was younger.

                Aubrey wouldn’t take advantage of that...because he understood.  He understood too well, because he’d held part of himself back, too.  He, too, was afraid to be vulnerable.  She knew that his father abandoning him had made him wary of trusting anyone, and that his mother’s death several years earlier had left him completely alone.

                She wanted to help him, but he wouldn’t let her.  Of course, she wouldn’t let him help her, either.  Both were guilty, and she knew that if they were to move forward, they had to confront those fears together...and it was time to tell him that.  If she could open up, he would do the same, or she would have to walk away...this time for good.

                Deciding on her course of action, her thoughts were interrupted by a woman’s voice.  “Excuse me, aren’t you James Aubrey’s girlfriend?  Jessica Warren, right?”

                Looking up quickly she immediately recognized the face.  “Hannah Burley...you’re on Channel 7.”

                The older woman smiled softly.  “Yes, I’m Hannah Burley.  I’m sure you recognize me from my recent story on the historic 2016 Presidential Election--”

                “And the work you did in Afghanistan while Agent Booth was there.”, Jessica said, suddenly annoyed.  Seeing the surprised look in the other woman’s eyes, she narrowed her own.  “Why do you want to know who I am?”

                “Because Booth and Agent Aubrey have been the top news story all week.  We’ve been trying to talk to them, but the hospital is a tightly run ship, it seems, and we were refused access...”

                “You know Booth and Dr. B.”, Jessica said frostily.  “Get a quote from them.”

                “That...has proven difficult.”

                “Yeah?  There was a reason for that.”, the redhead replied.  “You still haven’t explained why you want to know who I am.”

                Hannah sat down on the swing next to Jessica, shivering as she felt the cold material.  “Wow...still pretty cold...I’m asking because I don’t want to talk about Booth.  I’ve been there and done that.  I want to talk to Agent Aubrey and do his story.”

                “There’s no story about James.”,  the redhead said, remembering what she’d heard about the reporter from Angela, Daisy, and the passing mention from Dr. B  one day as they caught the news after the election last month.

                “No story?”, Hannah said, giving her most charming smile.  “James Aubrey has had a fascinating life…”

                “Fascinating?  That’s an interesting choice of words.”

                Hannah seemed to realize she misstepped and began her approach another way.  “More...eventful.  Think about it, Ms. Warren...the son of the man considered to be Madoff’s predecessor who later became an FBI agent before getting shot by a suicidal murder suspect last week.  The story writes itself.”

                You can do research.  Good for you.”,  Jessica said in a snarky tone.  “Now if you’ll excuse me--”

                “Wait.”,  Hannah said, trying to appease the young woman.  “I’ve done more than research.  I have plans to do a series on him.  So, let’s walk back to his house and first I will interview him, then you--”

                The redhead pushed back against the reporter’s  bulldozing.  “If you want to interview him, why are you talking to me?  Obviously you know where he lives if you followed me here.”

                “Well...reaching out to him has been difficult.  I rang his doorbell, but he never answered.  When I saw you walking away from the house, my cameraman and I drove around the area until we saw you here.”, Hannah said before getting out her digital voice recorder.  “Now tell me, what’s the story behind two FBI shootouts in six hours?  Senator Winters announced yesterday that she wanted to start a commission to investigate the incident--”

                “I’m not the one you need to ask.  Talk to the FBI.”,  Jessica said, feeling a desire to flee.  “Now, I’m leaving--”

                Hannah stepped in front of the graduate student and stuck the recorder in her face.  “Okay, let’s talk about Agent Aubrey instead.  Now, how is he coping with the fact that his agent, his second in command, shoots a man dead, and then he does the same only a few hours later?  What impact will that have on his job?  Is it true that he got a tip from his father, convicted felon Phillip Aubrey?”

                The redhead pushed the device out of her face.  “Ms. Burley, I have no comment.  I’m not sure how the press found out that Aubrey was home from the hospital, but I’m going to make damn sure you all stay away from him.”

                “I’m going to get this story one way or another, Ms. Warren.”,  Hannah said matter-of-factly.  “I’m offering you a chance to give your side.”

                “No, you want a story but can’t get it, so you’ve resorting to stalking me and my boyfriend for some morsels.  Since you didn’t seem to understand the first time, let me try it again.  You’re not getting anything from me...from Aubrey...from anyone.  Now, get out of my face.”

                “Ms. Warren--”

                Jessica turned around and walked away.  “I’ll tell Booth and Dr. B you said hi.”

                Not looking back, the anthropologist walked back towards her boyfriend’s house.  She was scared, but her and Aubrey needed to have it out.  However, as she began to see his back yard, she could feel her courage ebbing, but she knew she had to do this.  Hopefully, they they would come out of it together on the other side.

                Going around the garage, she was almost to the front door when she saw multiple news vans parked across the street.  Before she knew it, several people got out of them, a man leaving the one labeled FOX 5 leading the pack until they were at the end of the driveway. 

                “Ms. Warren, how is Agent Aubrey coping after being shot Wednesday?”

                 Feeling around in her pocket, she was relieved to feel Aubrey’s spare key from when she brought him home yesterday.  Racing back to avoid to barrage of questions, she unlocked the back door, ran in, and locked it.  As she leaned back in relief, she recalled Dr. B stating Saturday evening when the kids visited their Uncle Aubrey that the media had been hounding her and Booth also.  She felt bad that Booth’s ex-girlfriend was trying to exploit her connection to them for a scoop.

                 She wondered how they knew where Aubrey lived, but it didn’t matter right now.  Nobody was going to exploit his connection to Phillip Aubrey for a cheap story.  They weren’t going to touch him. 

* * *

                Aubrey debated back and for several minutes as he alternated between the boxes on the shelf and his thoughts.  Taking a breath, he got his courage up and hobbled on his crutches until he stood in front of the shelves.  In each were his past…his pain…and his triumphs.  He wanted to share them with Jessica…because he was crazy, insanely in love with her, and he wouldn’t give her up without a fight…not this time.

                He hadn’t looked in those cartons since he’d taken them from his mother’s house after her death.  They had sat in a New Jersey storage unit after that before they went to a DC storage unit when he moved here.  He couldn’t hide from them now, because he lived in a five bedroom house and there was no excuse to have a storage unit.

                For several minutes, he stood in front of the bookshelf and took a deep breath.  “Quit being a pussy, Aubrey.  They’re just pictures and stuff.”

                Just then, he heard a door slam and what sounded like music to his ears.

_“Aubrey?”_

_‘She came back!  But that’s good…wow, this is scary…quit wussing out, Aubrey.  It’s now or never.’_ , Aubrey thought before gaining control of his nerves.  “In the den, Jess.”

                He began reaching for the box when he heard his girlfriend yell at him.  “Superman!  What the hell are you doing?”

                “Getting these boxes down, Jess.”,  Aubrey said, trying to balance the box while holding himself up on his crutches.  When he turned, he couldn’t balance the box in one hand while holding his walking aid with the other and the box fell to the floor.  Pictures and scrapbooks scattered all over.

                “Fuck me….”

                “James Robert Aubrey, sit on the futon right now!”  

                Seeing her annoyance at the way he was pushing himself, he made his way to the futon and carefully lowered himself down.  He watched as she put everything back in the box before carrying it over and setting it between them.

                 “Now why were you trying to take this box down alone?  Why didn’t you wait for me to return?”

_‘Because a part of me was scared you weren’t coming back.’,_ Aubrey said to himself, ashamed at his earlier thoughts. “Well…”

                Jessica waited, but when she saw Aubrey’s face and his reluctance to speak, it hit her like a ton of bricks.  _‘He wasn’t sure if I would return.’_

                She wanted to yell at him for doubting her, but she knew his fears were legitimate.  After all, she did have a history of running when things got too close for comfort, including this morning.  However, it was time to stop because things had to be said and then they had to have it out.

                “You didn’t know if I would return...but I did, James.”, Jessica said.  “I returned because we’re not going to run from each other this time.  If we are going to have a future, we have to talk...and be honest.”

                “I know.”  He knew Jessica was serious…and right.  “You got the courage to tell me things that were painful to you.  Takes a lot of guts...something I haven’t had, Jessica...but that changes now.”

                Running his hands along the top of the box, he got choked up, fearful of facing his past.  Pushing that aside, he looked into her green eyes.  “I didn’t know where to start, so...I decided to get this out for you to look at...and we would...talk as we did before...together…”

                Aubrey didn’t realize he was still on the edge of his seat until she squeezed his hand.  Then she said what he needed to hear.

                “Okay Aubrey...when you’re ready...”, Jessica said.  “...but we need to put the futon down so you can stretch out.  I’m going to get some pillows and I’ll be right back.”

                Aubrey watched her walk out and let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.  When she returned with several pillows, she put the futon down and helped him get comfortable.  When he was sitting up with his leg stretched out, she moved the box in front of him and sat nearby so they could go through the items together.  Waiting patiently, she gave the man in front of her time to collect himself.

                Taking a breath, Aubrey exhaled before he pulled a photo of him out with his mother.  “This was taken when I was ten.  It was my 5th grade graduation ceremony at my prep school.  My mom made me wear a tie…and I hated it.”

                Jessica noted who wasn’t there.  “Where’s your father?”

                The agent exhaled.  “He had a meeting in Oyster Bay that he couldn’t miss.  Turned out to be the wife of one of his clients.  I found out when I overheard my parents arguing after he came home at half past 9:00.”

                “I’m sorry, Aubrey.”, Jessica said before looking into the box.  Pulling out a ribbon she read it and smiled.  “New York State District Choral Festival, 3rd place.”

                “All the junior high and middle schools competed in this competition in Elmira.”, Aubrey said.  “I had a solo in one of my prep school’s entries.  My mother was scheduled to have an interview that day with an exclusive, snooty club for my parents to join, but she canceled it so she could drive there to hear me sing.”

                Jessica could see her boyfriend was struggling, so she took his hand and squeezed.  Getting courage, he continued.

                “My father was on Wall Street all day and couldn’t make it.  Of course, he got home late…and he was angry.”,  Aubrey said while facing the wall.  “My mother told me to go upstairs so she could talk to my father.”

                “But you overheard them, didn’t you?”, Jessica asked quietly.

                Aubrey nodded.  “He screamed at her…telling her that she fucked up our lives by choosing some silly musical competition over a chance to get into the most exclusive club in town.  Membership there was an important status symbol and would help get him more clients.  My mother didn’t care, saying I was more important.  My father disagreed, saying that his son singing in a sissy competition wasn’t what real boys do, anyway.  He said…a real wife stands by her husband.  I heard her apologize…then I heard banging against the wall.”

                Jessica’s eyes got large.  “He hit her?”

                Aubrey shook his head.  “Nooo...my father was a schemer and an asshole, but I can truthfully say that he never hit her...or me.”

                Jessica made a realization.  “Make up sex?”

                The agent nodded.  “Assuming so…but then he left to go get some paperwork at the office.  She came up to tell me good night.  Her hair was mussed…she looked happy.  She told me not to worry about my father and that he would come around because he loved us.”

                Jessica dug through until she found a trophy.  “1st place Van Cortlandt Park Teen Invitational June 13, 1995.”

                “Ah…that was a day to remember.  I learned to play in gym class and I was pretty good.  My father always had a cow about me playing golf as opposed to a sport like hockey or basketball…before he realized the fat cats he wanted to woo played there.  I moved a little bit up Phillip Aubrey’s food chain, and while my father played the elite, I played with the elite’s sons and daughters.  Most were spoiled assholes.”

                Aubrey took a deep breath.  “There was a tournament coming up with the prize money of $500.00 to the winner.  I wanted a computer so I could play CD-ROM games, and my mother said I could use my prize money to get it and she would contribute the rest.  I signed up and practiced out at the golf range.  I was ready to kick some major ass.  Then, three days before the tournament, my father took me aside.”

                Jessica noticed how quiet her boyfriend got as he stared at the photograph.  “What happened, Aubrey?”

                “One of my competitors’ father was a real estate developer...and a man whose portfolio had my father drooling.  The man was playing hard to get and my father was getting desperate.  He said if I beat the man’s son, it would make him look bad, so he asked me to throw the match.”, Aubrey said while shaking his head.  “Nine times out of ten, he barked at me about how much of a disappointment I was as a son, then when there was something I could do better than most people,  he wanted me to lose on purpose so some rich prick would give him their money to invest.”

                “That’s crap, Aubrey.  If the shit can’t play and win, then he needs to practice more.  It’s not your fault.”

                “Well, I was torn for a couple of days.  Getting my father’s approval was so hard, Jess.  I do this one thing, I would have it.”, Aubrey said.  “But it didn’t feel right.  So I went to my mom and asked…for a friend…what I should do.  Looking back now, I have no doubt that my mother knew but didn’t want to call me out on it.  She told me to do my best….so I did.  I won first place and that little shit won 3rd.”

                “Good for you, Aubrey.”

                “Yeah…it was…until my father ripped me a new asshole six ways from Sunday because the man refused to give my dad his business because I beat his son.  Of course…I was at fault, so by the time we got home, according to my father I was a miserable, sarcastic little shit who didn’t know his place.”

                “Aubrey…that’s awful.”,  Jessica said.

                “That’s nothing, Jess.”,  Aubrey said as he brushed invisible fuzz off his pajama pants.  “I would always hear it.  _‘James, quit talking your stupid Star Wars shit’…’James, quit showing off how smart you are…no one likes a show off’…’James, why can’t you be more like Marshall’s son…he’s a football player’…James, you’re too skinny…put on some fucking weight…’’_ ”

                “He treated you this way?”,  Jessica replied in a choked up voice.  “Where was your mother?”

                “Defending me when he wasn’t tearing her down.”,  Aubrey replied quietly.  “She killed herself daily for that man, doing her makeup just the way he liked it, decorating our house in the style he liked, making sure dinner was on the table by 6:00…of course, he was usually late and didn’t call.  More than once, he would announce a last minute dinner party so my mother always had to be on call to put together a meal for a group from four to twenty with a couple hours notice.”

                “Your father is an miserable asshole, James.”,  Jessica said.                

                “Yes he is.”,  Aubrey said in a matter-of-fact tone.  “But he wasn’t an asshole, though, when he needed to charm someone’s money out of their hands…or charm a woman out of her panties if he was so inclined…and he was doing that more often as I got older.  By the time I was ten, he didn’t bother to hide it.  _‘Networking’_ and _‘Doing what it took to be the best.’_ is what he called it.  I call it cruelty and adultery.”

                Jessica took her boyfriend’s hand as he continued.  “Mom would cry herself to sleep a lot…she loved my father so much…made herself into a damn pretzel to keep him happy…and he repaid her loyalty by screwing around with different women.  My mother tried to keep it from me, and I didn’t totally understand things when I was younger…I just wanted him to love her...and me…and eventually…he did.”

                Surprised at what her boyfriend said, Jessica asked what was on her mind.  “Superman, what do you mean, _‘he eventually did’_?”

                “Soon after my 12th birthday, I woke up pretty early one Saturday morning, so I got up to get some breakfast.  To get to the kitchen you have to pass my father’s study, and I heard him grumbling when I made it downstairs.  Peeking through the open door, I saw him searching through several manila folders looking for something.  Wanting to help, I came in and asked what I could do.  Of course, he said nothing.  I let him know that if he put everything on a database and used spreadsheets to keep track of his client’s money, it would make his job easier.  Of course, he told me to scram.”

                “He could have been nicer about it.”, Jessica said softly. 

                “Well, it was about 4:00 in the afternoon and  I was watching _‘Lost in Space’_ when my father came into the living room.  Sitting down next to me, he asked me,  _‘James, were you serious about the computer helping me keep track of stuff better?’_   I said yes, so he asked me to follow him to his study, where I showed him how to set up a database.  He gave me fifty dollars to set it up for him, so I spent all weekend putting in his client’s information based on what my father wanted.”

                Aubrey’s lip trembled.  “He was so happy…telling me how smart I was and offering to pay me to do more stuff for his business.  Of course…I said yes.  Anything to make my father happy.”

                The redhead knew something bad was coming.  “Superman, what happened after that?”

                “About two weeks later, he asked me to help him again, this time to find a way to figure out to take half of a percent out of each account per week for a _‘Christmas Club’_ his clients were doing.  The clients who were doing this didn’t want their spouses to know, so I had to keep it to myself.  So I wrote a basic formula in a spreadsheet and he would divert that amount for his clients.  Soon, he was taking me to DC with him to see Frank Kwiakowski…and he said I was now employed as his assistant.”

                What her boyfriend said finally dawned on Jessica and she was horrified.  “Aubrey…he made you his accomplice…”

                Aubrey nodded slightly as Skinner jumped up and head butted his hand.   Petting him, the agent turned back to his girlfriend.  “Yeah…what a fun father-son bonding activity…ripping people off for millions of dollars.”

                Jessica debated with herself before deciding to ask what was on her mind.  “How did your father get caught?”

                “Something seemed off during a trip my dad and I made to Pittsburgh that May before he was arrested.  He took me to my first Cubs game at Three Rivers Stadium, although he bitched that they were losers compared to his Yankees.  At the game, we met up with Frank, and they kept walking away during the game...a badass one where my Cubbies beat the Pirates 2 - 1.  Jess, you should have seen it….”

                Seeing the redhead’s face, he got back to the topic at hand.  “Maybe I’ll tell you another time.  Like I was saying, he and Frank kept walking away, leaving me to watch the game alone on and off.  Finally, he came back and watched the last couple of innings with me.  We were on our way out when Dad stopped at the ATM.”

                “Doesn’t sound so weird, Superman.”

                “It is, because he used the gold card, which was connected to his business.  When I asked him about it, he said he was taking money out to pay someone.  When we got to the car, Frank was there...smiling.  Dad handed over the money he’d just withdrawn and they said their goodbyes.  The next day we went back to New York and everything was normal.”

                Aubrey leaned back onto the futon as he continued.  “Three weeks later, I was on summer vacation, so I was home watching TV while Mom was out shopping and while Dad was in his study.  The doorbell rang repeatedly, but before I got up, my father answered it.  When the person stormed into our foyer I recognized him as one of my father’s clients.  Remembering my dad’s rule about staying away from the clients unless spoken to, I just watched my show and kept out of the conversation.  It was hard to ignore them as he accused my father of dodging him for a week.  He then demanded ten grand immediately or he would call the SEC.  My father apologized for being unable to get back with him and not only wrote him a check, he charmed him into another new investment he was looking into.” , Aubrey said.  “A couple of hours later, another client dropped by wanting to look at the books for her account.”

                Jessica nodded.  “Sounds reasonable.”

                “It was, but my father panicked.  He gave her a story about it being at the office, but he couldn’t leave me by myself since my mom wasn’t home.  Playing up that angle, he convinced her to make an appointment to come by his office Friday.”

                The redhead made a confused face at her boyfriend.  “But all the records were on the computer…you helped him design it.”

                “I did, but his customers didn’t know that.”, Aubrey said.  “He holed himself up in his study.  When I walked by, I overheard him asking for $1,000,000 and that he needed to pick it up tomorrow.  He then said… _’Have it ready by 2:00, Peter.  Frank has enough stuff on you to bury you.’_   The next thing he said was _‘thank you’_ before hanging up the phone. Then the phone rang again.  Picking up, I don’t know what the caller asked for but he apologized for the delay in mailing their check and would have it out in a few days.”

                “Oh my God…”

                “Then he looked up and saw me.  His face turned red and he screamed at me to get back in the living room.  I ran in there, but he followed me...and he looked...scary.  I thought he was going to hit me, Jess…”

                The redhead saw the subtle shaking of Aubrey’s body as he struggled with his story.  “Superman, do you want to take a break…”

                “NO!”,  Aubrey yelled.  “I...can’t...because I may not...be able to do this again…”

                Laying down, Jessica took his hand and waited for him to continue.  “Take your time, Aubrey.”

                He gulped and took a deep breath.  “He didn’t hit me...but...he walked up to me...he was so close I could feel his breath on my face.  He said...I was never to tell anyone what I saw...not my mother...not my friends...no one.  He said if I did, it would destroy our lives and he would make sure I would regret it.”

                The agent wiped a tear away from his face.  “The look in his eyes, Jessica...it...I can’t even describe it.  I totally believed him.  He looked me for another minute, then walked away.  I was shaking...so, like a baby, I ran upstairs and hid in my room until my mother came home.”

                Jessica could only watch as her boyfriend, her bravehearted Superman, had absolute fear in his eyes when he continued to speak.                

                “The next morning, I was home working on a Star Wars Lego model in the den.  My dad was at work and my mother was working on something in the living room...I’m not sure what.  Suddenly, I heard her yell, _‘Oh my God!’_.  Dropping the lego in my hand, I ran out to the living room but my mom was okay.  She was watching the news, which was reporting that Peter Vincent, wealthy philanthropist, very active in Catholic causes and in helping the homeless, fell 20 stories from the roof of his office building, landing on the sidewalk in front.”

                “He killed himself?”, Jessica said.  “But he was Catholic…”

                “Yeah.  He was also a business associate of my father’s.  A very nice man...whenever he and his wife would come to dinner, he always asked how I was doing.  Once, he told me that he sensed that I would do important things when I was older.”

                “And you did, Aubrey.”

                The agent merely nodded.  “My mom called my dad, but he was out of the office.  She then called Peter’s wife, who was obviously devastated.  After talking to her, Mom hung up just as my father came into the townhouse, slamming the door and throwing his briefcase across the room knocking an expensive vase on the floor.”

                “What the hell brought that on?”,  Jessica said.  “Was your dad upset about Mr. Vincent?”

                “He was.  Before my mother could say anything, he yelled, _‘that rat bastard Peter Vincent stood me up...the son of a bitch owed me money, and killed himself like a little chicken shit.’_ Mom bitched him out, telling him not to speak ill of the dead, but he was ranting and raving.  She turned to me and ordered me upstairs in her no nonsense voice, so I went.”

                Jessica rubbed his fingers.  “Did she confront your father?”

                Aubrey nodded.  “I could hear screaming at him...she said he would not speak another disparaging word about Mr. Vincent now that he was dead,  and that there was more to the world than money.  His response was, _‘Stay out of my fucking business, Rachael.’,_ then I heard the front door slam...my guess, judging by the perfume he reeked of when he came home later that night, he went to one of his more understanding girlfriends who fucked him and gave him sympathy.”

                “I’m so sorry, Superman.”

                “I haven’t even got to the good stuff yet, Jess.”, Aubrey said sarcastically.  “Two days later, we went to the funeral home for the viewing, where my father was his charming self...until he was confronted by Mr. Vincent’s lawyer.  They went to talk alone, and I followed them.  I hid behind the door to the room and heard the lawyer interrogate my father about why his client would be trying to liquidate assets in such a hurry.  Dad played dumb until the lawyer said he knew that Peter was meeting with him at 2:00 the day he died…”

                Jessica’s eyes got big as her earlier suspicions were proven correct.  “Your father blackmailed his friend?”

                “I wasn’t sure until Frank was murdered last year, but yes, he did.  Mr. Vincent was a family man, but he had a double life with male lovers who were into S & M.  My gut tells me that’s what my father held over his head to get that million dollars.”

                “No wonder Mr. Vincent freaked.  Something like that would have destroyed his life…”

                “Yeah, and my father knew it.  I couldn’t let it go, Jess.  Mr. Vincent was a really nice guy who used his wealth to help people, unlike the butthole that we call our next President.  He treated everyone like he wanted to be treated...never looking down on anyone.”

                “What did you do?”

                The agent wiped his eyes as a few more tears came down.  When he had his emotions under control, he continued.  “I left and stayed with my mother the rest of the time we were there.  My father joined us and acted all contrite, of course.  Then...the cops arrived.”

                “At the viewing?”, Jessica asked.  “Why?”

                “The NYPD had questions about Mr. Vincent’s state of mind before his death.”,  Aubrey said.  “Quietly, my dad ushered them out.  I didn’t hear what they said, but my father looked very agitated.  I got as close as I could without my mother noticing, and I overheard the detectives ask him about the phone call my father had with him the day before he died. My dad said it was just from one friend to another about business.  Next, another guy with the detective said he was from the SEC and he asked about my father dodging them for the last week.  Soon I heard about complaints of misappropriation of funds and securities fraud.  Of course, my father denied everything before berating them for asking him questions as he honored his late friend...calling them disgusting vultures.”

                “Did anything else happen?”

                “No...but I knew, Jess.  My father was dirty...and he’d used me to do the deed.  I saw Mrs. Vincent sitting there, devastated with everyone surrounding her, and I knew I had to do something.”

                “What did you do?”

                Aubrey brushed away more imaginary fuzz from his pant leg.  “We got home, had a quiet dinner, and then I went to bed, waiting for my father to do the same.  Of course, my father said he had to run to the office around 10 PM, so he left instead.  My mother went to bed sad, because we both knew what he was really going to do.  When my mother finally cried herself to sleep, I sneaked downstairs and checked out my dad’s office quickly and quietly.”

                “You searched his files?”

                “I searched his files, and then I figured out his password to get into his computer.  I searched all over and found how he was ripping off his clients, diverting funds to the Cayman Islands and Switzerland, naked pictures of other women…some with him in them.”

                “Oh no…”

                “I was hoping I was wrong about my dad...but I wasn’t.  I turned off the computer and put his room back the way it was because my father was very anal about anyone going through his stuff.  I could barely sleep, Jess, and it was hard as hell to have breakfast at the table with the man the next morning, knowing what I knew.  I couldn’t tell my mother, though...not until I did what I had to do.”

                Jessica squeezed his hand.  “You turned your father in, didn’t you, James?”

                Aubrey could only nod.  “I wrote a letter telling what I knew and where to find it, but didn’t sign it.  I took the subway to SEC’s New York office, gave the letter to the receptionist, and said it was to go to Agent Walker….then I ran out of the building.  Throughout the subway ride home, I thought about what I had done...but...I couldn’t change my mind.”

                “That was so brave of you, Aubrey.”

                “Brave?  I don’t know about that, Jess, because right as we sat down to dinner that night, the SEC and FBI came to our house with a search warrant for our home, his home office, and his Wall Street offices.  They confiscated his computer and mine.  Before they finally left, Agent Walker gave me a nod and that’s how I knew that he knew who had tipped him off.  My father ranted and raved for hours, saying he was going to kill the person who set _‘those glorified federal pissants on his ass.’_ My mother tried to calm him down, to no avail, and he spent the rest of his night in his study.

                Aubrey took a moment to collect himself.  “Two days later, while we were eating dinner, the feds came back and arrested him.  I remember him screaming at my mother to call his lawyer and get ready to post bail, which she did when he was arraigned the next morning.  His bail was $500,000, and he had to surrender his passport.”

                “Did he ever find out it was you that turned him in?”

                “I don’t know, Jess.  I do know that after my mom bailed him out, he did television interviews where he stated that he would be vindicated in the eyes of the law.  He came home and he was the model husband and father, assuring us that he would fight these charges and he would be home.  Like suckers...we bought it.” 

                “But wouldn’t have made more sense to drive it home to her?”,  Jessica asked.

                “Yeah, but he said he was going to get it around 5:00 in the morning and give it to her before we were to leave.  It made sense...until it didn’t.”

                “What happened, Aubrey?”

                “Well, he told my mother that his car was getting fixed over the weekend and would be picking up a rental as he got a few odds and ends Saturday morning before leaving town.  Friday night...we all went to bed early so we could be on the road by 7:00 the next morning…”

                Jessica dreaded what she was about to hear next, especially when she saw her boyfriend barely holding himself together.

                “I woke up about 6:00 along with my mother and got around so we could leave, but my father never came.  When we didn’t see him by 10:00, she called the police, afraid he was mugged somewhere or hurt in the hospital.  The Feds got involved as they suspected he was jumping bail, but Mom refused to believe it.  Not my dad...no, he promised that he would be vindicated because he was innocent.  However, the SEC and FBI came to the house that evening, telling us that they found the SUV he bought just outside of Clarksburg, West Virginia.”

                “But how did he get out of the US to go to Croatia?”

                “My father wasn’t stupid.  I’m sure he’d planned for this months, maybe even years in advance.  It’s why he set up small bank accounts all over the country, all which had balances of less than ten thousand dollars to avoid reporting them.  He had money that Frank probably hid for him as well.  The last sighting of my father in 1997 was at Baltimore Washington for a flight to Zagreb, Croatia.  I have no doubt that he got out of the country with a fake passport, using one of his aliases.”

                 The redhead made a realization.  “Aubrey...what about that Frank Kwiakowski?  Did he help your father at all?”                 

                “My father wasn’t stupid.  I’m sure he’d planned for this months, maybe even years in advance.  It’s why he set up small bank accounts all over the country, all which had balances of less than ten thousand dollars to avoid reporting them.  He had money that Frank probably hid for him as well.  The last sighting of my father in 1997 was at Baltimore Washington for a flight to Zagreb, Croatia.  I have no doubt that he got out of the country with a fake passport, using one of his aliases.”

                The redhead made a realization.  “Aubrey...what about that Frank Kwiakowski?  Did he help your father at all?”

                “They couldn’t prove it, but the Feds thought so...and I’ve always thought so, too.  When Frank was murdered, after Karen told me my dad had hired him again, I looked for any clues in my father’s file but found nothing.”  Aubrey gave a mirthless chuckle.  “The son of a bitch not only destroyed other people’s lives but our family’s as well.  The press jumped on us...they camped outside of our townhouse...by my mother’s car...everywhere.”

                Jessica moved the box of items to the floor before moving back up and lying on her side to face her boyfriend.  “That must have been hard for you and your mom.”

                “She kept herself positive, convinced my father was the victim of foul play...but I knew.  She couldn’t keep her head in the sand for long because the government and creditors came after her for my father’s shit.  First were our vacation homes in Finger Lakes and Oyster Bay...then the bank came after our townhouse.  It seems my father was late with the payments and it got foreclosed on.  My mother barely had enough money for us to get a small house which rented for almost 3,000 per month in Queens.  She had a degree in accounting, but it was hard for her to find work because of my father.  Eventually she did get a job with a small company, but she also had to wait tables at an all night diner a few days a week so we could survive, because the government took everything my father didn’t.”

                “I’m so sorry, Aubrey…”

                “Not yet, Jess.  The best part was when I had to change schools because she couldn’t pay the tuition for my prep school, so I went to George J Ryan Middle School, or MS 216.  People knew who my father was, and the kids made sure I knew it.  By the time I moved on to high school, things had died down and school was all right for me.  However, one kid in particular always harassed me... Andy Simmons.”

                “What did he do?”

                “He was a jock whose father owned a Ford Dealership and thought he was the shit.  For some reason he didn’t like me and made sure that I knew how much lower I was than him.  Luckily I had friends...and girlfriends who knew I was more than Phillip Aubrey’s son.  Andy didn’t like that, though, and finally senior year, he tried to beat the hell out of me...because I was dating Sara Brewer and he couldn't get her to look at him.  He was probably surprised him when I hit him back in front of his friends.”

                “What an asshole.”

                “Yeah, he was.  He mocked my goal of becoming an FBI agent, saying no one would accept me because of my father.  Rumor had it that he applied to several schools for football scholarships, including Syracuse, but only got an offer for a football scholarship from Penn State.  On the other hand, I’d applied to University of Michigan…”

                “Boo!  You were almost a Wolverine?”, Jessica admonished.  “Superman, that would have been a deal breaker.”

                Aubrey chuckled to himself. “I also applied at Duke, UCLA, and a few other schools, but I knew I had to stay in state because even after my scholarships and loans, my mother couldn’t afford the remaining money unless I stayed in New York.  Luckily, Syracuse has an excellent law program.  Between the dual enrollment, my SAT scores, and my extracurricular activities, along with working part time, I was accepted.”

                “Of course, they would accept you, Superman.  You’re really smart.”

                “Not as smart as you obviously, Jessica.”,  Aubrey said.  “I skipped one grade and graduated high school when I was 17 years old...you graduated right after you turned 15 and went to school in Michigan.  That takes guts…”

                Hearing the doorbell kept Aubrey from finishing his response.  Jessica got up and walked the short distance to the video doorbell.  Seeing who it was, she ignored the bell ringing a second time and returned to her boyfriend.

                “Another reporter.”, Jessica said before getting back on the futon.  Laying on her side, she looked at her boyfriend.  “Now, what else do we talk about?”

                Aubrey debated before finally asking his question.  “Why did your parents get a divorce?” 


	45. Nothing But the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth telling continues as Aubrey and Jessica reveal their biggest secrets. Will they grow closer, or drift apart?

_“Why did your parents get a divorce?”_

* * *

                 The redhead sat quietly for a few seconds before looking up at him. “Wow...going for the big leagues here, huh?”

                “Yeah, I am.”,  Aubrey said.  “It affects you more than you’re willing to admit...even to yourself.”

                The redhead took in a shaky breath.  “You’re pretty intuitive, Agent Aubrey.”

                “I try to be.  It helps with my job, you know?”

                Jessica gave a nervous laugh.  “You really want to know all my deep, dark secrets?  They’re not always pretty...some may not be suitable for a man who wants to run for office in the near future.”

                Aubrey looked at her girlfriend straight in the eye.  “Jess, I could give two shits less about running for Congress--”

                Jessica’s eyes got large.  “But your Ten Year Plan--”

                “Screw that!”,  Aubrey replied angrily.  “After the O’Malley case, I saw a part of government that was ugly.  If I were ever to run, and I don’t think I really want to now, it’s going to be with you by my side.  If people can’t accept that, it’s their problem, not mine.  After all, it’s not like they’re so goddamn perfect.”

                He took her hand and squeezed it.  “Jessica...talk to me...please.”

                Nodding quietly, she squeezed back before lying down and closing her eyes.  “It was my first Christmas Break after I started at Michigan State.  I was so geeked when I got on the train in East Lansing to see my dad and brothers because I had so much to tell them about school.  Dad was hung up at work, so Jason picked me up when I had arrived at Union Station.  As soon as my brother started driving on Massachusetts Avenue, he let me know that Mom was...in one of her depressions.”

                Aubrey remained quiet as he watched Jessica prepare herself to continue speaking.

                “She had taken a leave of absence from the law firm she was working for...code for she was suspended for doing something stupid.  Jason said she hadn’t changed out of her PJs or taken a shower in four days.  All she had done the last several days was sit in the living room, drink like a fish, and argue with my father.”

                “I see…”, Aubrey responded, not sure what else he could say.

                “When we got back to the house, I said hi to my mother, but I didn’t get much more than a drunken nod.  For the next three days, the only things I did were to go to the main house to see everyone, staying in my room when my father wasn’t home, or going with Jason to the library.  Things were tense, and that was alright, but….”

                Aubrey saw her hesitance.  “But what, Jessica?”

                The redhead took a breath.  “One day, Jason and I were home with our mother.  While she was holed up in the den, he and I were in the living room just hanging out.  However, he got a call asking him to run something up to the cooperative...a book, I think.  I don’t remember.  He offered to take me with him, but I told him I would hang out in my room.  He promised to take me to see a matinee of Lord of the Rings when he got back.”

                “That’s an awesome trilogy.”

                “It was, wasn’t it?”, Jessica said quietly.  “When Jason left, Mom started yelling at something in the den, so I went upstairs to avoid a confrontation.  I heard the doorbell, but when I didn’t hear it a second time, I figured my mom got it and felt bad for whomever was at the door.  Of course, as I sat on my bed, I realized I left my book downstairs.  I didn’t want to sit and stare at the wall until my brother came back, so I decided to run down, get it, and go back up.  Simple.”

                Jessica played with the hem of her Michigan State t-shirt and took a breath.  “I went downstairs, but I saw my mother yelling in the living room, this time about how my father was trying to kill her again.  I tried backing out of the room, but she saw me, so I had to go in.”

                Her voice became shaky, but Jessica continued anyway.  “I asked her what was wrong.  She responded with, and I quote, _‘Your father is trying to kill me again, that rat bastard.’”_

                “Jesus…”,  Aubrey muttered before she continued.

                “I tried to tell her that Dad loved her and no one was trying to kill her, but she didn’t believe me.  Then, she pulled a bottle of Cabernet from behind the recliner and refilled the glass she had while saying she had proof he was trying to murder her.”

                Jessica took a drink of her beverage before continuing.  “She grabbed this box of candy that was sitting on the end table and held it up.  When I told her I didn’t understand, she stood up quickly and had to hang on to the chair so she wouldn’t fall on her drunken ass.  She slurred her speech as she said it was from my father, and she knew it was poisoned because it was a box of caramels, and he knew she hated. them”.

                Aubrey kept his comment to himself, knowing that Jessica needed to get her thoughts together.

                “The box had _‘Eleanor, My Love’_   written in black letters, but it also said _‘from Allen’._..I’m assuming he was one of her boyfriends.  I told her that Dad’s name wasn't on the box, but it didn’t matter because she shoved the box in my face and said, _‘Eat these then...prove to me your father isn’t trying to murder me, or I’m calling the police.’”_

Jessica played with her hair, a tell that the agent recognized as nervousness.  “Suddenly, she stumbled backwards and landed in the chair, spilling wine all over herself.  I thought she was going to pass out but she still watched me.  I was scared to death, Aubrey and I didn’t know what to do, so I opened the box and ate one.  She told me to eat another one, so I did, but…”

                “But what, Jessica?”

                Jessica stared at the wall.  “Some of the candies were caramels...but some had fruit filling instead…’

                Aubrey realized what she was trying to say.  “You ate one with strawberries in it, didn’t you?”

                Jessica nodded.  “I knew right away because my mouth got hot, my body broke out in hives...then I fell on the floor when I couldn’t breathe….She kept saying, _‘I told you he was trying to kill me…_ ”

                “Your mother was just...yelling while you couldn’t breathe?”,  Aubrey blurted out.

                Jessica wiped away a tear before hugging herself.  “Thank God, my brother came home just then.  He saw I was in anaphylaxis, so he ran into the kitchen and found the spare Epi-Pen.  He injected me right away...then he yelled at my mother to shut up before calling an ambulance.  I felt a little better and didn’t want to ride in the ambulance, but Jason put his foot down and forced me to when the paramedics arrived.”

                “What the hell was your mother doing while all this was going on?”

                “Sitting in the chair, shitfaced, with wine all over her pajamas.  I think she was almost ready to pass out when the paramedics took me away.  Halfway to the hospital, I had difficulty breathing again and my throat closed up, so I had to get another injection of epinephrine.  Things had calmed down by the time I had arrived at the ER.  My father arrived with Aaron and Stephan almost immediately.  After Jack and Greg arrived, the doctors decided to admit me overnight when my skin became flushed and my lips swelled up.”

                Aubrey saw her hesitate.  “Jess, can I ask what happened next?”

                Nodding her head, she got her thoughts together and continued.  “When I was settled into my room, my father asked me what happened.  I didn’t want my mom in trouble, but it was obvious she was off her meds and she was...scary...so I told him everything.”

                The redhead inhaled as she felt tears form.  “I then apologized for causing trouble, but my dad hugged me and said there was nothing to be sorry about, because I didn’t do anything wrong.  We talked for a while longer before he said would go home and check on my mother.  Aaron hung out with me for a while before Dad returned.  He looked…shaken and disheveled...and his eye was swollen.  When I asked him where Mom was, he said she wasn’t able to come to the hospital to visit me.”

                “Your mother almost let you die from an allergic reaction and she doesn’t show up?”

                “Oh, she showed up.”,  Jessica said in a tone that put a chill up Aubrey’s spine.  “I woke up about...8:30 I think the next morning and she was sitting by the bed watching me.  She hugged me and said she was sorry for what happened, but now I had to tell my father that I lied about what had occurred or bad things were going to happen.  I’d done that in the past, but I couldn’t do it anymore, so I said no.  She seemed...surprised, but tried to get me to change my mind by saying my father was going to institutionalize her and take me away from her.  When I still said no, she flipped out on me, calling me an ungrateful, spoiled brat.  Suddenly, she got…very cold.  Her eyes were so….dead.” 

                  Jessica gulped.  “She then said she knew that I was…trying to take her place in my father’s life…that I was trying to ruin her life, but that I wouldn’t get away with it.”

                 “Why did your mother think her fifteen year old daughter was trying to take her life away?”,  Aubrey said.  “That’s…insane.”

                “She was very depressed, Aubrey.  She then spouted off on how my father tried to kill her last night before Aaron came in the room.  He grabbed my mother and suddenly, two orderies came in and took her away to be admitted into the hospital psych unit.”

                “What for?”,  Aubrey asked quietly.

                 “I found out later that my father had gone home to confront my mother, but she wasn’t there.  After a couple of phone calls, he found out that she’d called Michael who took her home with him.  When my father arrived at my brother’s house, they fought to the point where she jumped Dad and gave him a black eye.  He tried to stop her, but she ran out of the house and no one knew where she was...until she showed up in my hospital room.”

                Aubrey tried to picture the immaculately dressed, erudite, and sophisticated women he knew compared with the crazy woman Jessica was describing.  However, it seemed his girlfriend read his mind.

                “Hard to picture, I know, but it happened.  My mother being off her meds is bad enough, but mix that with alcohol and a depressive episode, which usually led to her being suicidal...that’s Eleanor Gordon.”

                Aubrey didn’t want Jessica to get the wrong idea.  “No, no...I believe you...it was just surprising is all.  Can I ask what happened next?”

                “When my mother was admitted for the mandatory 72 hour hold, Aaron called my father.  When he arrived about ninety minutes later, he look so...defeated.  After talking to the doctors, he came back and visited me, saying that he wanted to tell me first before telling my brothers…”

                “Tell them what?”

                Jessica closed her eyes.  “He was gone because he visited a friend of his who happened to be one of the best divorce lawyers in Virginia.  He was preparing to file for divorce, Superman, from his wife of 31 years.  Usually you had to wait a year to file for divorce in Maryland, but my dad used what happened to me, my mother’s adulteries, and her mental illness to get that waiting period waived.  He apologized for not doing something sooner, but he was always hopeful that she would get better...but she never did.  He also apologized for what happened to me...he said it was all his fault for not picking up that my mother was sliding into delusions again.  He said he couldn’t put us...or himself...at risk anymore.”

                “That...must have been devastating for your father, Jess.”,  Aubrey replied.  “How well did that go over with your mother?”

                Jessica played with the hem on her shirt again.  “My mother ended up staying as an inpatient for two weeks as the doctors stabilized her and got her back on the meds.  While she was in the hospital, he rented her a small apartment and packed all her belongings so that Child Protective Services didn’t step in and take me away.”

                “Seriously?”

                “Seriously.  My father wasn’t only fed up with her, but CPS was watching my parents because of what happened.  All of us dreaded when she would be released.  When the day came, it just like the other times...all through the ride home, I remember her telling us how things were going to be different because she was going to work hard and stay on her medications.  However, we’d heard it so many times…but it wasn’t like before.  When we got home, Dad gave Jason and me money to go to the movies since I had to back in Michigan in a couple of days...and he was home with my mother alone.”

                Aubrey waited, knowing the redhead needed patience as she weaved her memories together.

                “In answer to your question, she flipped out...accused him of trying to ruin her...but my father stood his ground.  She threatened him, saying the courts would let her move back in.  However, the house was my father’s alone, so he legally had the right to kick her out.  Then...the fun began.”

                Aubrey heard her voice lower.  “What happened, Jess?”

                “She fought the divorce.  I would like to think it was because she loved my father and her family, but I think it was more likely that if what happened to me got out, she would lose her friends…her social status.  She made my dad’s life a living hell…filed for alimony and sole custody of me…lied about my father to whomever would listen…she even called Child Protective Services with a complaint that my father was molesting me.”

                “Oh my God…”

                “Well, she bottomed out that summer again.  She was drinking again, hooking up with men in bars…got herself fired from her law firm because of all that…blaming my father, of course.  She even stole my Social Security card and birth certificate from the house and wanted my grandparents to sign over half of the main winery to return those items.”

                “She stole those things?”

                “Yep.  Aaron thinks she may have been stolen that stuff so she could get a credit card in my name, because when she’s hypomanic she goes on shopping sprees.  However, she was cut off from my dad’s family money.  I guess she probably figured she would just screw me over...or maybe she just wanted to stick it to my dad’s family.  Luckily, he and Stephan tricked her one day and got them back for me.  Dad immediately opened up a safety deposit box for all that stuff so she couldn’t get to it.  It got very ugly, but eventually the divorce was finalized Valentine’s Day 2005.”

                “Wow...how ironic.”, Aubrey muttered.

                “He paid for her apartment until my 18th birthday so she could get back on her feet.  Eventually she found another job with a law firm in Virginia...one of the partners was an old friend that came from DC’s high society.  She got to do the cases and work at a place that let her hobnob with snobby socialites.  A win for her.  A few years ago, her firm opened an office in Pittsburgh and she moved there.  I’m sure not having her family around, except for Michael, makes things better for her.”

                “Has she gone off her meds since then?”

                “A couple of times, but in each instance it was never as bad as what happened when I was 15.  I don’t know if she just enjoys her life more or if people around her don’t give a damn...or maybe she thinks if she goes into hypomania that she’s just the life of the party--”

                Her story was interrupted by the doorbell.  Aubrey watched as his girlfriend got off the futon and walked the short way to the front door.  A few seconds later, he heard her.

_“Go away, Ms. Burley.  There is no story here! Leave us alone!”_

                He watched her stomp into the room and sit down.  “I’m sorry about that.”

                “Was that Hannah Burley from Channel 7...like in Booth’s ex Hannah Burley?”

                Jessica looked at her boyfriend and shrugged.  “Yeah...she wants to do a interview with you about what happened...and about your father, but I told her to get lost.  There’s a few reporters outside, waiting like vultures.”

                “Oh, I know.  One knocked on the door earlier and I saw them outside--”

                Before Aubrey could finish, his phone rang from the downstairs bedroom.  Getting up, Jessica raced in the room to get it, but the ringing stopped as she grabbed it.  Walking it back into the den, she gave it to her boyfriend.

                “Here you go, Superman.”

                Aubrey looked at his phone.  “Booth called.  I’m going to call him back.”

                Hitting speed dial, Aubrey listened for his friend to answer.  “Booth...what’s up?...yeah, there are reporters everywhere, including Hannah Burley...she bugged you, too, huh?...Jessica just told her off but if she’s like what you told me, it’s not going to end until she gets a bone...no, I’m not talking to her...I won’t do it...really?...that would be nice so Jessica doesn’t have to keep getting up and checking the display, but I’m tired of these assholes coming to my door.  Yeah, I’ll look it up right now.  Just text me the info I need.  Thanks...tell Dr. B and the kids I said hi...bye.”

                Aubrey hung up.  “Booth said the reporters are hounding them, too but, the video doorbell I have has an app so we can look at who’s there on our phones.”

                “Cool.”

                Both jumped into their Google Play Stores and found what they were looking for.  Using the info Booth sent Aubrey, they were able to install the app in minutes.

                “There, now you don’t have to keep getting up, Jess.”

                “I really didn’t--” Jessica was interrupted by her phone ringing.  “Shit, it’s Howard’s.  I have to take this...hello?...yes, this is Jessica Warren...so they’ll be put on tomorrow morning?...okay, thanks for your call.”

                Aubrey watched Jessica hang up.  “Howard’s?  Isn’t that where you took your Jeep?”

                “Yeah...the tires arrived from Atlanta this morning.  With everything happening I forgot that it was supposed to done today, but one of their guys went home sick, so they’re going to put them on tomorrow and are giving me 20 percent off for my trouble.”

                “Nice…”

                “Well, Howard knows my brother, too.”,  Jessica said before becoming serious again.  “Can I ask you a question, Superman?”

                Hearing her call him that never made him so happy.  “Yeah…”

                “Can we talk about your mom for a while?”

                Aubrey gulped.  He realized that it was a topic long overdue, but still he hesitated.  Jessica saw his hesitation and it was her turn to jump in.

                “Aubrey...I’m rushing you...forget about it…”

                “Jessica!  To paraphrase you from earlier, I just need a minute.  Relax...you always pull back like that.  If you upset me, I’ll tell you.  We can’t keep being afraid to talk to each other, all right?”

_‘Damn it I did it again!’._ Jessica winced nervously, but she didn’t see recrimination in Aubrey’s eyes, only love and patience.  “Okay, Superman.  When you’re ready.”

                Aubrey took a deep breath and relaxed slightly before he began his tale.  “My mom is…was…the most amazing woman I had every known…until you, Jessica.”,  Aubrey said.  “She was warm, kind, always looking out for others…but she was also stubborn and loyal to a fault…mostly to my father, even when he treated her like dirt.  However, for some reason I never understood, she still loved him.”

                _‘Sounds like how my Dad felt about my Mom…’_ Jessica thought as she waited patiently for Aubrey to continue.

                “They met while both attended Baruch College in Manhattan, part of CUNY.  She was an accounting major and he was a finance major, so they had some classes together.  They both graduated Summa Cum Laude, and afterwards she worked as an entry level accountant while he worked to get his master’s degree before starting on Wall Street.  When she became pregnant with me, she quit her job and became a stay at home mom.”

                “That must have been nice, Superman…that your mom was able to stay home with you.”

                “Yeah, it was.”, Aubrey said with a sigh.  “She told me that she had considered going back to work once I started school, but my father said no to that idea, insisting it was more important for her to join clubs and civic organizations so they could make themselves stand out in the crowd.  He wanted them to make a name for themselves.  Of course, my father’s word was law in our house.”

                _‘That’s bullshit!’_ Jessica thought.  _‘No man would ever force me to stay home.  Aubrey wouldn’t do that to me.’_

                “From the bits and pieces I’ve heard over the years, once I was born, my dad didn’t like the fact my mom didn’t give him her undivided attention like she used to.  As I got older, I figured out what his plans for my life were.  Of course, how I turned out completely diverged from that predetermined future.  I knew he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, to play sports, be popular, and as he put it once to me when I was 12 _, ‘I want my son to be a pussy magnet like I am, not the little wuss you are now.’”_

Jessica couldn’t stop herself from speaking up.  “You are a pussy magnet, Aubrey.  Your dad is obviously the little wuss if he has to tear down his only child.”

                Aubrey laughed in spite of himself holding his gut.  “Ow...thanks, Jess.  That means a lot coming from you.”

                “Well, it’s true…and you’re welcome...but from now on you have to keep that magnetism to yourself, okay?”, Jessica joked before getting serious.  “How did your mother cope with you dad’s….”  She hesitated, knowing it would be a delicate subject. 

                “His disregard for her feelings and his many adulteries?”, Aubrey finished.  “She cried a lot when she thought I was asleep or when she thought she was alone.  He would give her morsels…crumbs of affection...and…I could hear through the walls more than once…that he was...rough with her…but she kept forgiving him.”

                “Why, Aubrey?”, Jessica asked.  “It’s not like it was the 1950s.” 

                “She was a Christian, Jess.”, the agent responded quietly.  “She’d been taught to forgive those who’d sinned against her.  Anyway, it’s not like she could do anything about it, really.  With the way she was raised, divorce wasn’t considered to be an option. Her family was an old school, very prominent, very traditional  Irish Catholic family.  I’ve only met them a handful of times.”

                “So your mother’s family wasn’t around much when you were a kid?”

                Aubrey took a deep breath.  “No, because when she married my father, who was supposedly a Protestant, they didn’t approve of him.  I guess my grandfather warned her that if she married my dad, instead of some nice Catholic boy, she’d be cut off financially…and also from the entire family.  However, she loved him, and she was willing to leave everything she’d been taught behind just for him...not that he was worthy of that sort of sacrifice, but…”

                 He lay back on the futon and stared at the ceiling.  “You may not know this, Jess, but in the Catholic Church, marriage is a sacrament...a visible sign of the Grace of God, as shown by Christ’s presence at the wedding in Cana, which is recorded in the Gospel of John.  That means a wedding is supposed to take place in the church with a minister present.  If one of the participants is a non-Catholic, like my dad,  the bishop is supposed to give his permission, and then the Catholic participant promises to raise the children produced by the marriage in the faith.”

                Jessica could hear the bitterness in Aubrey’s voice.  “But...that’s not what happened, is it?” 

                “Nope.”  He shook his head in disgust.  “Somehow my dad convinced my mom to give up everything she knew...her family, her religious beliefs...hell, even her own sense of self worth...she gave up everything just to marry him.” 

                “I don’t understand.  I mean, she was a beautiful, well educated, intelligent woman…”  Jessica paused, not wanting to hurt her boyfriend’s feelings.  “I guess I’m just surprised she made the choice she did.”

                “I know.”  He tried to smile as he took Jessica’s hand.  “But you have to remember that my father is a con artist deluxe.  I’m sure somehow he made her believe that eloping and getting married in a judge’s office instead of having a nuptial mass was the best thing to do.  Maybe she thought he’d agree to having their civil marriage blessed by the Church at a later date, but, of course, that never happened.”  

                He laughed sarcastically.  “Truth be told, I’m not sure my dad ever really loved my mom.  I think he looked at her more like some sort of prize to be won...a goal to be attained by any means, even if it meant lying to her about things that were the most important to her.”

                “And you weren’t raised Catholic, either…”

                “No, I wasn’t.  I’m sure I was baptized as an infant, but that’s about as far as my exposure to the Church went.  My mom quit going to Mass, and my dad never sent foot in any sort of religious establishment.  I can vaguely remember the argument my parents had when it about time for me to partake in my First Communion.  My dad told my mom that he wasn’t going to raise his son to be some ‘piss poor mackerel snapper’, and for her to quit bitching at him about it.  My mother was devastated to think that I wouldn’t be brought up Catholic.  She felt like she’d let everyone down.”

                “How bad did it get?”

                 “That was the final straw for my grandfather...knowing that his grandson wouldn’t be raised in the Church was a deal breaker for him.  In his way of thinking, my parents were living in sin, and I was a nasty little heathen bastard.”

                “I’m so sorry…”

                Aubrey shrugged at Jessica.  “It wasn’t really about their faith, you know.  It was about who was in charge, and my mom had stood up to her father, marrying whom she pleased, when she pleased.  My grandfather said her presence could no longer be tolerated in his house...that none of us were welcome anymore.  He shunned us for the rest of his life.  I mean, my grandfather’s priest tried to get him to work on a reconciliation, but he flatly refused.” 

                “What about your grandmother?”, Jessica asked.  “I know you said she had dementia but was she always sick?  Surely she didn’t turn her back on you, too?”

                “No, she didn’t.  I do have a few good memories of her.  She would come visit my mother and me when my father and grandfather were busy.  By the time I was twelve though...she was so far gone that she was put into a nursing home.  After my grandfather banished us, our visits to her were few before he moved her far enough away to where we couldn’t visit her.  My mom couldn’t afford the trip.”

                “That’s so horrible, Aubrey.”

                He brushed a tear away.  “So think about what my mom gave up when she married my dad, Jess.  She lost her family, and in some ways, because how she’d been raised, she felt like she’d lost her mortal soul as well.   I don’t think she ever recovered from that.  My father and I…we were literally all that she had left.  She must’ve felt like her life was ruined...especially when she figured out that her husband was no good.”

                “That’s so sad, Superman.”, the redhead replied.   She sighed softly as she asked her next question, already sure of the answer.  “Surely, your grandfather, or your aunt and uncle offered your mother some support after your dad was arrested?”

                Aubrey shook his head.  “Nope…in fact, I overheard her one night calling my Aunt Kate, who lived in Brooklyn, asking for a place to stay until she could get us back on our feet.  My aunt’s response was to hang up on her.  From the small bits my mother told me, I think Kate was always jealous of my mother for being her own person...and being my grandmother’s favorite.”

                “What about your uncle?  Grandfather?”          

                “Soon after we moved to Queens, my Uncle Dan scolded Mom, saying _‘we told you Phillip was bad news and he would shame our family someday.  You made your bed, Rachael, now lie in it.”_   My Grandpa Robert, who I was named after, slammed the door in her face when we drove over to his house one day.”

                Jessica was horrified.  “That is so cruel, Superman.  How could they turn their back on you and your mother?  Your mother did nothing to deserve that.”

                “According to them, she did deserve it, because in their way of thinking she’d abandoned God in favor of my father.  From what I had seen and heard in the few times we were with them when I was younger, my grandfather ruled his home with an iron fist.  God’s Word and the Church were law and he was…very set in his ways and on how he thought people should run their lives.  When my grandfather died we were turned away from the funeral Mass by Aunt Kate.  She was saddened by it, but she seemed to be determined for us to make our own way without asking for any more help.”

                Aubrey brushed imaginary fuzz off his pants.  “One of the things she always said to me was if people can’t accept you for who they are, they weren’t worth knowing.  After the funeral fiasco, unless I brought it up, she never discussed them again…even when she was dying, Jess, she didn’t mention them.  When I saw how they treated her, I swore to myself I’d never have anything to do with the Church.  I didn’t want to associate with hypocrites like them.”

                They sat in silence for a few minutes, each thinking over what had happened to Aubrey’s mother, before Jessica gave in to her curiosity.  “After everything that happened, it’s hard to believe you ended up with a minor in religious studies…”

                “Yeah...I know.”  Aubrey chuckled softly.  “That was all Rodney’s fault.”  Seeing Jessica’s confusion, he continued.  “Rodney Faircloth...one of my fraternity brothers, and still a close friend.  We shared a room at the frat house.  He was majoring in Criminal Justice, just like I was, but instead of making plans to go to law school, he decided to go to an Episcopal seminary instead, to become a priest.”

                “He became a minister?  Wow…”

                “He would’ve been a great lawyer, too...he would’ve made a lot of money representing high powered clients, but he said he felt a call on his life that he couldn’t ignore any longer.  I kept telling him he was crazy...I gave him a real hard time, calling him a Bible Thumper and a Holy Roller.  I picked on him mercilessly until one Sunday night.”

                “What happened?”

                “We were sitting around our room at the frat house, sharing a case of beer when I started in on him again.  This time, he’d had enough and called my on my bullshit, wanting to know what my problem was with God and religion.  Of course, I told him I didn’t have a problem…”

                “But you really did…”

                “I really did...”  Aubrey grimaced slightly in embarrassment.  “...but I guess I didn’t know how deep the anger and bitterness ran in me after all those years.  I was kinda buzzed, so I started telling Rodney everything that had happened...about how my mother’s family had turned their backs on her in the name of religion...and he just sat there listening to me, nodding quietly as I cried like a baby.” 

                He swallowed hard at the memory.  “And then...he patted me on the back and said he was sorry that had happened.  He explained that, in his opinion, God didn’t work that way, and so I told him he was a fucking liar…”

                “Really?!  He was trying to help you!”, Jessica exclaimed.  “Did he get mad?”

                “Kinda, but I think he understood after he heard what had happened.  Anyway, he challenged me by asking me to take a Intro to the New Testament class so that I could see for myself what the Bible said.  I thought that was crazy shit and said so, and then he called me a coward, so I gave him a black eye…”

                Aubrey snickered in spite of himself.  “...and he gave me a cut lip.  Did I mention he’s a big guy?  So after we got the preliminaries out of the way, I took him up on the challenge, since I needed a Humanities class anyway, and we made our agreement...I’d take the course, and then, if I thought it was garbage, we’d never discuss it again.”

                Jessica giggled softly as she thought about the two drunken frat boys wrestling around on the floor.  “Did you like the class?”

                “Turns out I was fascinated.  I couldn’t believe what I was reading.  It was so...amazing.  Rodney had been right.  He’d told me that my grandfather had taken something rich and beautiful and had turned it into something evil and destructive, just to prove a point to my mom.  The things that had happened weren’t my mother’s fault.  She wasn’t really the one who’d done anything evil.  Between my grandfather and my father, my mother and I had been at the mercy of two horrible monsters, with my mother struggling mightily as she tried please both of them.”

                “That must’ve been a relief…”

                “It was...for both my mother and me.  I was able to share what I had learned about the Bible with her, and I think it gave her a great deal of comfort.”

                Jessica nodded as she listened to Aubrey’s story.  “It sounds like Rodney’s a good friend.”

                “He is.  We still keep in touch.  He’s a curate at a big church in Boston.”  Brushing a tear away, he spoke softly.  “He dropped everything to come visit my mom when she was dying.  She was so happy to think that a priest would come visit her, even if he isn’t Roman Catholic.  He spent two hours with her, listening to her and comforting her as she spoke of her sins and her mistakes.  He was so gentle as he calmed her fears and answered her questions. It gave her a lot of peace of mind…she was so relieved to think that she’d get to go to Heaven after years of thinking she was going to burn in Hell.  He was the one who did her service after she passed away.”

                Jessica reached up and gently brushed the silvery streak at his temple.  “Can I ask…how she died?”

                “Yeah…”, Aubrey nodded.  Collecting his thoughts, he spoke about something he hadn’t talked about in seven years.

                “You know my first field office was in Detroit, right?”, he asked.  When his girlfriend nodded, he continued.  “I worked in the Financial/White Collar crimes division and it was a pretty busy place with it being across the river from Canada.  However, my mother and I still found time to talk once a week by phone.  I was able to get her to try Yahoo Messenger and we would talk sometimes with that, too.  I would tell her about my job…what I was allowed to tell her, anyway and about life in Detroit.  She would share about things going on in the neighborhood and things she did with her friends.”

                “She didn’t date much, did she?”, Jessica asked carefully.

                “No, she didn’t.”, Aubrey said.  “When I was a kid, she said it was because she wanted to focus on taking care of me.  However, when I started at Syracuse, she didn’t date much, either.  I don’t think she was ever really able to trust another man again, Jess.  My father…he not only abandoned her, but he took her heart and trust with him when he skipped town.”

                “That’s so sad, Superman.  She sounds like a great lady.”

                “She was…which makes her being gone so much worse.”,  Aubrey replied quietly.  “Being it was my first field office and I was a new agent, time off was at a premium.  I had to work the holidays, but I didn’t mind doing that so agents with families could be together.  My mother understood, so we didn’t have Christmas together…it was the first one we didn’t have together.  2009 came, and it was cold and busy, however, my mom was able to come to Detroit in March.  We were stoked to see each other and I wanted to take her for a Michigan dog and Detroit style pizza.”

                “Coney dogs, Superman.”, Jessica smirked.  “Spoken like a true New Yorker.”

                “Some of the guys in my division  made fun of me for being excited for my mom to visit, but I ignored them.  She enjoyed food like I did, and I knew she would love the food in Detroit.”

                “You and your mom were really close.  I think that’s really cool, Superman.  They were probably just jealous.”

                Aubrey smiled shyly.  “Thanks.”

                “Sorry I interrupted.  You may continue.”

                “So she flew into Metro and I picked her up.  She was excited to see me, but she looked so tired and she’d lost a lot of weight.  When I asked her about it, she said that recently she was diagnosed with anemia, which wore her out, and she was pulling double shifts at the diner on the weekends as well as working her accounting job.  I told her she was working herself too hard, but she shot me down as always.  _‘Jamie, working is how you appreciate what you have.’”_

“Was she the only one who called you _‘Jamie’_?”

                “Yeah.  My father wanted me to be Phillip James Aubrey Jr, but she put her foot down on that.  She compromised by naming me James, although she said it seemed stuffy.  Robert, as I said earlier, was for my grandfather, who didn’t give a shit.  While my father always called me James, she called me Jamie.  If anyone else did, it was too weird.”

                Seeing Jessica smile, he continued.  “She quizzed me on my love life, but I wasn’t seeing anyone seriously.  After getting a lecture on making sure I dated more women than my mother, we went out to explore Detroit and get some food.”

                Aubrey took a breath.  “She didn’t eat as much, either.  When I asked her, she said she had been dealing with nausea and constipation.  When I pressed her further, she snapped that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.  Not wanting to ruin our time together, I let it go, but something just wasn’t right.  The long weekend went by quickly and I took her to the airport.  After telling her to take care of herself, I told her that I may be able to come home for a visit around the Fourth so we could see the fireworks around the Statue of Liberty.  That was something we did every year when I was younger.”

                Aubrey saw Jessica was listening, so he continued.  “It was mid-April when I got the call from one of her friends…my mother had collapsed at the diner due to dehydration and was rushed to Mount Sinai.  I got on the first plane home and ran like a madman until I found her room.  She looked horrible, Jess.  They had her on IV fluids but she’d lost more weight.  When she fell asleep, her friend took me aside and told me what my mother didn’t want me to know.”

                “What was that?”

                “I knew she was diagnosed with anemia, but what I didn’t know is her doctor was pushing for her to have a colonoscopy for the last few years since she turned 50, which was during my second year of law school.  When she got her anemia diagnosis, they hounded her again to get one, but she refused, saying she couldn’t afford it.”                

                “Didn’t she have health insurance?”

                “She did, but she had to work extra hours at the diner to afford it every two weeks.  The policy itself was shit….ten K deductible, 70/30 after the deductible was met, a 500 dollar deductible to go to ER…it was bullshit, Jess.  I finally told her I was paying for her colonoscopy, and she wouldn’t argue with me.  It took a lot of my savings since I was still just starting out as an FBI agent, but with the colonoscopy, ER visit, tests, I paid over 4000 dollars.  Then, we got the results…Stage IV colon cancer.”

                Jessica sucked in her breath and put her hand to her mouth.  “Oh no, Superman…”

                “Her…prognosis wasn’t good.  I didn’t want to go back and work in New York…I didn’t want to deal with all those memories again…but my mother needed me.  I was able to get a transfer request to the New York field office approved quickly and so I moved back home mid-May.  Her friends had helped a lot with getting her to her appointments, but my mom went through her sick time at her company pretty quick, so she had to go to on FMLA.”

                “Did her insurance coverage eventually tap out?”

                “It did…then the bills started pouring in.  I researched like crazy and found some programs that could help her with the chemo drugs and to help her with her medical bills, but they still piled up.  She didn’t want to be cooped at home so I tried taking her to our old hangouts.  Seeing the fireworks at the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July was…bittersweet.”

                “Because you both knew it would be the last one…”, Jessica said quietly.

                “We didn’t say it, but we knew.”  Aubrey choked back his tears.  “By August, the chemo had shrunk the tumors, but the cancer had still spread to her liver and lungs.  I had to request FMLA leave because she needed someone to take care of her.  I saw my mother wasting away a little each day, but she continued to fight…because she wanted to be with me on my birthday.  She said she had something special for me.”

                The lanky man wiped away a tear and continued to talk.  “I tried contacting her brother and sister to let them know about Mom…but my calls were never returned.  I felt like such a failure because I wanted to give her family before…”

                “They weren’t her family, Aubrey.”,  Jessica said before taking her boyfriend’s hand.  “They were people who were connected to her due to genetics.  You were her family…her friends were her family.”

                “A couple of times, she mentioned my father.  She said she knew he would come back to her.  I couldn’t bear to tell her how wrong she was, so I went along with her.”,  Aubrey said shakily.  “Then my birthday came…and she presented me with a D-Guild 50 guitar, the same one Billy Joe Armstrong played when he and Mike Dirnt sang _Redundant_ on MTV Live.”

                “You love Green Day, Superman.”

                “With everything going on in my life, starting with their _Dookie_ album _,_ their music has always connected with me...like it always knew how to put my feelings into words you know.  On and off for the next couple of weeks, when she wasn’t sleeping or drugged, she asked me to play Green Day songs for her.”

                Jessica felt tears form when she saw Aubrey furiously wiping several from his eyes.  Taking his hand, she waited for him to continue.

                “Then...she kept slipping in and out of consciousness.”, the agent said, wiping his eyes.  “Finally, she woke up alert for the first time in weeks...like she knew it would be the last time she would speak to me.  She told me…to not run away from love like she did…because the girl of my dreams was waiting for me and I would know when I saw her….then she closed her eyes and I knew she was gone.”

                Jessica moved over and took Aubrey into her arms.  “I’m so sorry, Aubrey.  I can’t imagine how much pain you were in.”

                Aubrey hugged her tight as the old wounds were opened again.  When he could compose himself,                he let go of the redhead.

                “Her friends were great, helping me with the funeral home, making arrangements for the service.  I don’t know what I would have done without some of them.  Since we had made some calls beforehand, a lot of stuff had been done before...she died.”

                “I’m so glad you weren’t alone, Aubrey.”,  Jessica said.  “Did your father call at all?”

                “Nope...not even a text message, but I wasn’t surprised.  I thought about calling my aunt and uncle, but decided not to.  I wanted my mother to have the dignity she deserved, but never got, from those people.  Those last few days were a blur of people giving me condolences, my fellow agents sending me a card and flowers for the service, and finding a place to stay.  I just couldn’t sleep in the same house where my mother died in the next room.”

                Taking a deep breath, Aubrey continued.  “There were two viewings and it was nice to meet some of the other friends my mother had made over the years...really good people.  Then the day of the funeral came and I was on autopilot...doing what needed to be done.  I wore a tie my mother always loved and her favorite suit of mine.  I was doing all right...then they showed up before the service.”

                “They?”

                Aubrey’s jaw locked.  “My aunt and uncle.  Aunt Kate had the balls to offer me a hug and tell me how sorry they were about my mother.  My uncle asked if there was anything they could do for me.  I told them yes and for them to leave.”

                “Oh…”

                “My uncle said I was acting rash and they wanted to pay their respects to their sister and that I owed them that.  I told them I owed them nothing because while they were living the good life, my mother and I struggled to survive from all the debt my father left us in.  My aunt said they were sorry, but my grandfather threatened to disown them if they tried to help us or get in contact with my mother.”

                “So, because they were scared shitless of being cut off by an old man who turned Christianity into a tool for meanness, they left you and your mom to suffer?”,  Jessica said.  “What a crock of shit.”

                “Uncle Dan tried to push his way past, but I stopped him and then ordered them to leave and never to contact me again.  Oh, they tried to argue, but several of my fellow agents came out to back me up.  I told them I wouldn’t let hypocrites take away the last of my mother’s dignity and I refused to help them ease their conscience about turning their back on us.  When I told them I was going to call the police, they left and I haven't seen or heard from them since.”

                “Do you have any cousins?”

                “Two from my Aunt Kate.  They’ve tried to friend me on Facebook, but...I don’t know.”

                “Aubrey...don’t punish them for their asshole parents.  You don’t have to be best friends, but maybe you should at least meet them someday.”

                “Maybe…”

                “And if they’re assholes, too, then you don’t have to talk to them again.”,  Jessica responded.

                “Maybe I will...eventually.”,  Aubrey said.  “I had another surprise when I submitted her death certificate to the insurance company.”

                “What was that, Aubrey?”

                “She had said she had an insurance policy to cover...all the expenses.  However, when I got the check, it was for $250,000.  When I called the agent, he said she took it out several years earlier to not only pay the funeral expenses but also to help me with my student loans that I had to take out for school.”  Aubrey let out a shaky breath.  “Once again, she was looking out for me.  Between what remained and the FBI student loan repayment program, I’ve only had to pay back about 30,000 dollars.”

                “You mom sounds amazing.”  Jessica replied.  The redhead hesitated for a moment.  “Do you...never mind…”

                “What, Jessica?”

                The redhead felt stupid, but said what was on her mind.  “Do you think she would have liked me?”

                Aubrey’s heart melted as his girlfriend’s simple question.  “Jess...she would have loved you.”

                “Really?”

                “Yeah, really.  Jess...it didn’t really hit me until earlier, but you and my mom are so alike it’s spooky...shit that sounds weird…”

                “Aubrey…”

                “I just compared my girlfriend...the one I have frequent, amazing sex with to my deceased mother...that is so weird…”

                “Superman!”,  Jessica yelled.  When she got Aubrey’s attention, she continued.  “I don’t think you’re being pervy...I’m flattered.  I just hope I can live up to her standards.”

                Aubrey could see the insecurity.  Cupping her face with his palm, he smiled.  “You’ve exceeded them, Jess.  I think that is what frustrated me the most about Gerald...you were so determined to do it all on your own.  My mother always did that because she didn’t want to burden me.  She didn’t call me when she was sick because she didn’t want to upend my career.  It hurt so much...all I wanted to do was help her...just like I want to help you.”

                “I don’t want you to lose all you worked for because of me…”,  Jessica said with a shaky breath.  “I don’t want you to hate me like my mom does…”

                Aubrey’s heart hurt when he saw her break down.  Pulling her close, he held her as they laid on the futon.  When she calmed down, the agent said what was on his mind.

                “Jess, your mother doesn’t hate you...she’s jealous of you.”

                Sniffling, she picked up her head and looked at her boyfriend.  “What?  That’s insane.”

                “No, it’s fact.”,  Aubrey replied.  “I could tell after being around her for five minutes.  Eleanor resents the close relationship you had with your father.  She resents that you had more opportunities than she did.  She’s jealous that you are not bipolar like she is...and she’s jealous that you are your own person.”

                “Really?”,  The redhead replied.

                “Yes, really.  She wants to move up in the world and be powerful, but she always falls short, not recognizing that it takes not only charm and who you know but also hard work and skill.  You know the way she treats Nadia and Gail?  It’s the same thing, and I’m sure with her granddaughters, if given the chance,  it would be the same with them, too.”

                “Why?  It makes no sense.”

                “It makes perfect sense, Jessica.  While she has struggled, you and your brothers have each found success in your chosen fields as well as found partners who have succeeded beyond anything your mother could do.  Look at you.  You not only work in the best forensics lab in the world but you have two world famous scientists as your mentors, one a famous novelist.  Eleanor is miserable...and she wants all her children to be as miserable as she is.”

                “She’s happy where she is--”

                “No she’s not, Jessica.”,  Aubrey said.  “She reminds me of my father.  Always wanting what she can’t have...always blaming others than herself...among other things.  Yes, she has Bipolar II Disorder, but with the right medication and therapy, she could have an almost normal life with a few restrictions.  But she sees the lives her children have made and it eats her alive.  You, and your brothers...you can’t help her, because she has to help herself.  Don’t let her manipulate your emotional well-being.”

                “I could say the same of you, Aubrey.  It’s obvious that your father has ridden roughshod on your emotional well-being as well.”,  Jessica replied.  “I think it’s time for both of us to let that anger go...and trust in ourselves.   James Aubrey, I love you...more than my own life.  You’ve pushed me to take more chances in my life than I have ever with anyone else.  I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but to do that...you have to talk to me.  I will always be there for you emotionally...or physically, but please don’t shut me out anymore.”

                Aubrey knew what she was referring to and it made him sick to his stomach every time he thought about it.  “I’m so sorry for Monday night--”

                “I know--”

                “No, you don’t know, Jessica.”,  Aubrey said.  “I love you...I need you...I can’t go on without you...but what I did was disgusting...and just like what my father used to do with my mother.  You’re not some stress ball that I use to relieve myself after a bad day.  You’re my girlfriend whom I adore.  Instead of telling you what was wrong, I fucked you to feel better, but I felt worse.  I was so scared of what would happen if you knew...and I know better.  I’m so sorry I didn’t have faith in you.”

                “It’s okay.  I should be apologizing, too, Aubrey.  I should have talked to you about Gerald.  I know you are a professional, but I was afraid that chode would provoke your temper.  With that, I was afraid you would come to my defense and something would happen....and that was so stupid.”,  Jessica said quietly before looking at her boyfriend.  “I know you better than that.  I’m very independent, but as Genny said to me last week, I need to start asking for help if I need it.  It doesn’t make me weak...it makes me smarter.”

                They looked at each other for a moment before Aubrey took her hand.  “Jess, I want it all.  I want the good, the bad, and the ugly with you.  Sometimes...it’s going to suck, but the good times are so good...I want to start over.”

                Jessica squeezed his hand in turn.  “No, James.  I don’t want to start over.”

               Surprised, Aubrey’s face lost color.  “W-what?”

               “I don’t want to start over...because starting over means forgetting all that happened before...and I don’t want to.  If we’re going to move forward, we have to learn from the past.  It’s the only way we will make it through.”

               Before Aubrey could answer, his doorbell rang again.  Looking at his phone, he shook his head.  “Another damn reporter...son of a bitch.”

                “I’ll take care of it.”,  Jessica said before storming out of the den.

                Aubrey sat for a moment thinking about what Jessica said when he heard her yell, _“GET THE FUCK OFF MY BOYFRIEND’S PORCH OR I’M GOING TO TAKE A FLAMETHROWER TO YOUR NOSY ASSES BEFORE I STAB YOUR EYES OUT WITH A TROCAR AND HAVE OUR DOG RIP YOU APART!”_

                Aubrey cracked up laughing before holding his stomach again. “Oww...son of a bitch…”  His Jessica was the sweetest person in the world...until you pushed her too far...and she was all his.

                Jessica stomped back into the den and laid down facing Aubrey.  Before she could open her mouth, Aubrey spoke solemnly as he took her hand in his.

                “I want to move forward...with you, Jess.  No more being afraid of things getting ugly.  I don’t want us to be like Daisy and Beau.  We need to talk to each other...and learn from the past.”

                “Aubrey...I want you with me...even when you piss me off...get jealous.  You can rescue me as long as it doesn’t get too crazy...I just want you.  Do you want me?”

                “Jessica, I’ll always want you.”

                The couple came together for a kiss, but were interrupted as the doorbell rang again.  Checking his phone, Aubrey growled.  “It’s that same guy from FOX 5.  What the fuck!”

                “I’m tired of them bugging you, Aubrey.”

                “Well, as much as I loved what you said, I don’t have a flamethrower, trocar, or a dog.  Suggestions?”

                Jessica smiled.  “This doorbell has a speaker, right?”

                “Yeah.  Barely use it.  Why?”

* * *

                The reporter from FOX 5 stood at the door for the next 10 minutes.  He knew he could wear them down for a scoop.  No way Hannah Burley was going to top him this time.  Ringing the doorbell again, he smirked.

                “Agent Aubrey...I’m persistent and I’m not going to stop bugging you until I get my story.”

                Standing there, he heard Jessica’s voice through the speaker.  _“You may want to rethink that strategy, Mr. Asshole reporter.”_

“Calling me names isn’t going to deter me, Miss.  If you give me this interview, it’s your chance of getting your story out there, Agent Aubrey.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Back in the den, Jessica and Aubrey start snickering before the redhead pushed a button on her phone and held it up to his phone.  “Ready, Superman?”

                “Always, Jess.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                The reporter stood with a smirk until he heard the unmistakable sound of a Great Dane growling from inside the house.  “What the…”

                _“Now, Mr. Davies, I’m going to give you five seconds to get off my porch before I open my front door.  See, Skinner doesn’t take too kindly to people bothering me.  If you don’t leave, you’ll get the option of my dog running out and ripping your leg off for lunch or my shotgun up your ass.”_

“Agent Aubrey, seriously?  I’ve been around--”

                In the house, Jessica cued up the gun sounds app Dr. B introduced her to months earlier.  Moving her arm, the sound of a rifle being cocked rang through loud.  Holding their laughter, Aubrey then pushed the dog sound app again, this time making the growl louder.

                Outside Davies lost some color to his face.  The he heard Jessica’s voice through the speaker.

                _“Skinner is pretty hungry, and we haven’t fed him yet.  I’m sure he would prefer fresh meat...especially asshole reporter meat.”_

Suddenly, loud barking came over the speaker, causing the reporter to run away quickly.  As he reached the other reporters, he babbled, “...big dog...big gun…”

                In the house, Jessica and Aubrey laughed while he held his abdomen.  Taking the redhead’s hand, the agent squeezed it.  “You are a genius, future Dr. Warren.  Creative, evil plans like that are another reason why we’ll always be together.”

                “Damn straight, Special Agent Aubrey.”, Jessica said leaning close into Aubrey.  Just as their lips were going to meet, they were interrupted a second time.

                “What the hell is it this time?”,  Aubrey growled as Jessica reached for her phone.

                “It’s Curly...and he’s Skyping.”,  she said before answering.  “Curly, what’s up?”

Hodgins appeared on the screen.  _“I need a favor from you...”_


	46. Busted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So readers...is Gerald Maxwell as smart as he thinks he is? Keep reading and find out.

_“It’s Curly...and he’s Skyping.”,  she said before answering.  “Curly, what’s up?”_

_Hodgins appeared on the screen.  “I need a favor from you...”_

* * *

                  Jessica and Aubrey looked at each other for a moment before the redhead spoke.  “Sure, what do you need?”

                _“I need you to show you a few things_.’ Hodgins said from the monitor before moving his phone to a box nearby.  _“Are any of these--“_

                Jessica pointed at the monitor.  “Holy crap, those are my keys!”

                Hodgins smiled up at Dr. Miller who leaned into the phone’s screen.  _“Ms. Warren, you’re positive these are your keys?”_

                “Yes, I am.  That keychain with my initials was a present from my father when I graduated with my double bachelor’s degrees at MSU, and Aubrey gave me that Princess Leia keychain for my birthday _.”_

                “On Leia’s back are a couple of small puncture holes where Skinner tried to eat it before I gave it to her.”,Aubrey chimed in, smiling as he remembered buying it at the Star Wars marathon they attended last May when she stepped away during the intermission.  _‘Right before I tried to kiss her for the first time.’_

                “Where did you find my keys?”, Jessica asked.

                Hodgins looked at his intern.  “ _Dr. Miller found them when Mr. Andersen, the head of security, and another guard were searching an Antiquities intern’s locker today.”_

                “Which locker?”,  Aubrey asked, already knowing the answer.

                _“Gerald Maxwell.”,_   Dr. Miller responded.

                “You’ve got him!”,  Jessica said with glee, not seeing her boyfriend’s face.

                “No, we don’t, Jess.”

                Hodgins made a face.  _“What are you talking about Aubrey?  He had her keys.”_

                Aubrey saw Jessica’s crushed face.  “Yeah, but he can say he found them somewhere.  You did a locker search within the confines of Jeffersonian policy, but there was no search warrant towards a criminal case.  They are not admissible unless you can prove they would have inevitably discovered during the investigation.”

                _“However, the fact that he had them can be entered into Mr. Maxwell’s file here.”_ , the security head commented.  _“If his file and other documentation are subpoenaed, it will be documented...hence the inevitable discovery._ ”

                “With that, you may get them admitted into evidence at a later date.”, Aubrey said.  “It sucks, but it’s Criminal Law 101.”

                _“However, the putty, wax, and epoxy we found are considered missing inventory, and, as such, Dr. Miller can use that as grounds for termination.”,_ Mr. Andersen stated.

                “But he slashed my tires!  Doesn’t that count for anything?”  Jessica was livid with anger.

                _“I know Jessica, but I can’t narrow down what implement did the damage to your tires.”_  Hodgins pointed to a monitor in the background.  _“The video wasn’t clear enough to show it was the prick in question, and no one actually saw him do it.”_

                “However, if evidence down the road can provide a definite link to Gerald Maxwell, he can be charged with vandalism.”,  Aubrey said as he grabbed his girlfriend’s hand.  Her silence was worrying him.  “I’m sorry, Jess.”

                Hodgins turned to Dr. Miller.  _“Well, at least we got him for theft.”_

                _“Yes, and as Mr. Andersen stated, that’s grounds for termination.  I usually don’t like seeing an intern’s career destroyed but I will make an exception for this asshole.”_ , the scholar said in a decisive tone. _“I’ll call his advisor today to let him know what’s going on, and then call Gerald in for a meeting.”_

                “If he can’t find another institution that will let him work intern hours and support his dissertation….”, Jessica said before trailing off.

                _“Then he will either have to apply to another school, if they will accept him mid year and have an advisor that will support his dissertation research, or he will have to find another facility that GWU will approve for him to continue his internship hours...if any of those facilities have an opening.”_

                Jessica exhaled loudly.  “Good….he’s going to be pissed though…”

                “Then let him be pissed, Jessica.”, Aubrey said.  “If he tries anything, I’ll make sure he regrets it.”

                “Aubrey, don’t do anything that will get you in trouble, please.”,  Jessica pleaded.

                “I won’t, Jessica, but I’m not going to stand by and watch him mess with you any longer.”

                Hodgins watched the two and smiled, knowing his intern would be taken care of.  _“Jessica, I’ll restrict his access to the lab.  I can’t stop him if he visits the museum, but he will have a hard time if he tries coming to the lab.”_

                “Okay.”  Jessica was still a little disheartened by the news, but glad about Gerald’s firing.  “Is there anything there to connect him to breaking into my apartment?”

                _“Not yet, Jessica, but I’m working on it and so is Angela.  When I know, you’ll know.  I promise.”_

“I know you will.  I’ll let you get back to work.  Bye Curly.”,  Jessica said before hanging up her phone.  She looked at her boyfriend in frustration before he took her in his arms.

                “Jess, Hodgins is going to get him.  At least for now, he’s out of the Jeffersonian.”

                “I know…I know…”, the redhead said as a solitary tear rolled down her cheek.  “I just want all this over with.  I’m tired of having that asshole taking over my life.”

* * *

                Thirty minutes later, Dr. Miller was on the phone in the midst of a heated conversation.

**“** I don’t care that you’re tired from coming home late last night from Florida, Mr. Maxwell.  You will be in my office by 1:00...no, I can’t do 2:00, because I have a meeting with the heads of both African and Caribbean Studies...if you feel calling your father is necessary, then go ahead, but it won’t change my mind...see you at one...goodbye.”

                Dr. Miller hung up the phone and shook his lead.  “Entitled little asshole.  Well, I won’t have to deal with him much longer.  Now for the next item on the agenda…”

                Dialing an extension while on speaker phone, he waited until there was an answer.  “Yes, I need to place an order, please…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                At 1:05, a tanned Gerald Maxwell stormed into Dr. Miller’s office holding a cup of cappuccino from the stand by the entrance, but he didn’t see his supervisor.

                “He demands that I come in for a meeting after I got back late from our beach house and the jackass isn’t here?  Figures…”

                Looking towards the window, he saw a bowl with ice and several mini cans of Coke, Sprite, Diet Coke, and Barq’s Root Beer on a cart.  Smirking, he took a big drink from his cup, dropped it in the empty trash can, and walked over to the cart where he stole a Sprite.

                “Oh yeah, you’re having that meeting with the heads of Caribbean Studies and African Studies today…well, you can just order more pop for the meeting.”

                Pulling the tab, he drank while pacing impatiently for the next ten minutes.  Finishing off the beverage, he went to throw in the recycling box Dr. Miller had in the corner of his office, but tossed it in the trash can instead.

                “That’s for keeping me waiting, Dr. _‘Recycling is Important to the Environment’._ ”,  Gerald said with a laugh before stealing a Coke and drinking it.  “Maxwells demand respect, Dr. Miller.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

In Angela’s office, Hodgins, Angela, and Dr. Miller were finishing up their lunch when the scholar noticed the time. 

                “I think I’ve kept the little prick waiting long enough.”,  David said as he packed up his trash.  “I’ll keep you both posted.”

                “Thank you, David.”,  Angela said.  When the Antiquities expert left, she turned to her husband.  “You know...he would be perfect for Caroline--”

                “Angela, no matchmaking.”, Hodgins said with a smile.  “Now I have to get back and examine the evidence from the Davies case.”

                “All right, all right…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                A short time later, Gerald listened to what the head of Antiquities told him.  When Dr. Miller was done, the intern tossed his empty Barq’s can into the garbage in anger.  “You had no right to search my locker!”

                “Oh, but I did, because of the form you signed when you started here.”,  Dr. Miller said as he held up an official looking piece of paper.  “See…that’s your signature, Mr. Maxwell, confirming you understand the Jeffersonian’s policy of locker searches at will to ensure that valuable property is not stolen.  This policy was also discussed at the staff meeting you chose to not attend this morning.”

                “That policy was for missing antiques!  I’ve never ripped off antiques from the Jeffersonian!”

                “No, that’s standard for every department, young man, and it specifies missing inventory as well.”, Mr. Andersen, the head of security standing behind Dr. Miller, stated.

                Pointing to three items behind him, David spoke again.  “This morning, I found these items in your locker when I searched it with Mr. Andersen here and another guard as witnesses.  The model numbers match the museum putty, crystal wax, and epoxy that came up missing when I did my inventory last Tuesday night.”

                Andersen also held up a bag with keys in them.  “These keys also matched the description of a set that were stolen from another intern last week.”

                “Why the hell would I steal keys from that little cunt Jessica Warren?  You can’t prove I broke into her locker Tuesday night!.”

                Dr. Miller smirked.  “Neither Mr. Andersen nor I said where they were taken from, Mr. Maxwell, or whose keys they were.  How did you know they were hers or that her locker had been broken into?”

                “My question is how did you know they were taken Tuesday night?”, the large, older head of Jeffersonian security questioned as he eyed Gerald intently.

                “Yes, Mr. Maxwell, you told everyone here that you were driving down to Florida as soon as you left Tuesday afternoon because the inclement weather grounded your father’s private plane.  This didn’t become well known until Wednesday morning at the earliest, due to the museum’s early closure.  You would have been in Florida at this time.”

                Feeling a moment of panic, Gerald steeled his spine.  “Obviously, people talk.  I have friends around here.  I also heard from them that Dr. Brennan’s husband and that asshole James Aubrey got shot, and it was all over the news.  I’m sure Jessica played the worried girlfriend role to a ‘T’ in between whining about her slashed tires.”

                “Which friend told you?”, Anderson asked, noting the intern’s last comment.

                “I don’t know.  I don’t keep count of all that shit.”

                “Your keys were found by the Medico-Legal lab interns near where Ms. Warren’s Jeep tires were shredded last week.”

                “You don’t know they’re mine.”

                “There were keys to a Alfa Romeo found by where Ms. Warren had damage done to her Jeep.  No one else at the Jeffersonian has a parking pass for that type of vehicle, Gerald.”,  Miller replied calmly, keeping the knowledge of the fingerprints found to himself for the time being.

                The tall,  muscular man exploded.  “This is entrapment you, assholes.  My father won’t tolerate this, Miller.”

                “Oh, but he has to, because you signed the policy, the search was within guidelines, and missing inventory was found in your possession.  That’s theft and grounds for dismissal.  You are done in my department, Mr. Maxwell.”

                The younger man’s face was full of fury.  “I have a doctorate to finish.  You can’t fire me mid-year!”

                “But I can, and I just did.  Now I’ve already contacted your advisor at GWU, and you’ll be getting a call from him by the end of the day.”

                “What the hell am I supposed to do?”  The younger man blistered with rage as he glared at Dr. Miller.  “You’ve just fucked up my life…”

                “If I were you, I would hope that another museum in DC or in the Metropolitan area has an opening with your program and that they will accept your dissertation.  If not, you can reapply next year.  As to who screwed up your life, I would look in the mirror, Mr. Maxwell.  Your conduct has been reprehensible since I’ve started here.”, Dr Miller said calmly. 

                “My father will have something to say about this.”, Gerald said quietly.

                “I’m sure he will.  However, your father’s bluster will not cause me to go against Jeffersonian policy.  The rules apply to all interns, Mr. Maxwell, not just ones who don’t have a father on the Governing Board.  The gravy train ends here, son.”, the Antiquities professor explained patiently.  “Now, you can either leave voluntarily, or Mr. Andersen will escort you out.”

                Gerald’s response was to back up towards the door and point his finger.  “You won’t get away with this...either of you.”

                “Mr. Maxwell, I was an Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the FBI until I retired two years ago.  I have encountered many criminals who would chew up rich boys like you for breakfast.”,  Andersen scoffed.  “Now, do I need to escort you out?”

                “I’m going to speak to my father right now….I’ll be back and both of you will be fired.”

                “I highly doubt that, young man.”,  Mr. Andersen replied.

                Dr. Miller and the head of security watched the former intern storm out of the office and down the hall.  “Thank you for coming here as a witness, Carl.”

                “Not a problem.”  The other man pulled his voice recorder from his jacket pocket.  “I’ll upload this meeting and keep the transcript on file.  Recording this will save both our asses if his father tries to push us out of here.”

                After Andersen left, Dr. Miller pulled out a handful of Ziploc bags.  Pulling a set of gloves from the box on his desk, he removed the three pop cans one at a time and then an empty coffee cup that was miraculously sitting up with the lip facing him.

                Sealing each bag with tape, Dr. Miller removed his gloves and placed each bag into a box nearby.  Picking it up, he walked down the maze of hallways until he got to the back entrance of the Medico-Legal lab.  Nodding at people along the way, he headed towards the Ookey Room, where he saw Hodgins hunched over a pile of items.

                “I’ve got four items for you, Jack.”

                Hodgins stopped what he was doing and wheeled over to the other scientist and took the box.  “Wow…I was just hoping for one.  Okay, I’ll take them down for Dr. Boyd to examine and see if there’s a match with the other sample.”

                “He said he was coming back with his father…should be fun.”

                “Yeah, it should be.  I’ll call you ASAP.”  When the other scientist walked out, Hodgins headed over to the pathology suite with the box.

* * *

                 At 2:00, Genny was finishing her lunch when her phone ring.  Seeing the caller ID, she answered.  “Agent Shaw...hello, Dr. Hodgins...you’re kidding.  How...so he tossed them away himself...yeah, as long as no one else drank out of them and he left them in the office, it should hold up in court.  I’ll call Ms. Julian to see if we can finally get that search warrant.  Bye.”

                Genny dialed another number.  “Caroline...it’s Agent Shaw...listen I think we finally have enough to get a search warrant on Gerald Maxwell’s house and property…”

Hanging up the phone, Genny once again into her earlier search that was stymied earlier due to a software error.  Trying again, she got in with success.  Typing in the search parameters, it didn’t take long to find what she was looking for.

                “You stupid son of a bitch...I love it.”

                Just then, Genny’s phone rang again and when she saw who the caller was, she grabbed it quickly.  “Did we get it...yes!  Ms. Julian…you are amazing!”

                _“Tell me something I don’t know, Cher.  I’m faxing the warrant over and also emailing it to you.  Now go get some squinterns and get that little crapeau.”_

                “Yes, ma’am.”, the ASAC said with a grin. 

                Hanging up the phone, she stood up and grabbed her coat.  When she saw the paper she wanted come through, she grabbed it before stepping out of her office.  Dialing another number, she talked as she walked out through the bullpen.

                “Hodgins, it’s Shaw.  I got the warrant…I just need to borrow your best and most impartial team.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                An hour later, Gerald read through the sheet, crumpled it up, and tossed it on the garage floor.  “This is bullshit!  You have no right to search my car!”

                Genny crossed her arms.  “That warrant says otherwise….and we get to search your house as well.  Now you can either give me the keys to your Alfa Romeo, the originals or the replacement ones you ordered last week, or I’ll have this locksmith that was nice enough to come along with me unlock it for you...and I promise he won’t be careful with the paint job.”

                The former intern pulled himself to his full height to intimidate the petite agent.  “You’re going to regret doing this, Agent Shaw.”

                “You’re probably the 566th suspect to tell me that.  Take a number.”, Genny replied frostily before nodding her head to the locksmith.  “Go ahead.”

                “Get the fuck away from my car!”,  Gerald yelled as he ran toward the car, only to be stopped by Agents Haggarty and Thompson.

                “Cuff him for interfering with a search.  Let the neighbors have a show while you put him in the back of my SUV, Agent Thompson.”

                “You’re not going to get away with this, Agent Shaw.”, Gerald growled.  “My father has friends in high places, including at the Department of Justice.”

                Genny rolled her eyes.  “Agent Thompson, sit on Mr. Maxwell.  Agent Haggarty, please lead the search in his pool house.”

                “Got it, Boss.”, the tall agent said.  “Over there, Maxwell.”

                “It’s a guest house, Agents, but I’m sure you don’t understand the distinction.”,  Gerald snarled as he was led away by Thompson.

                When she saw the scion in the back of the car, Genny turned her attention back to the locksmith, who managed to unlock the car.  Looking at Oliver as she put gloves on, she directed the intern.  “You start with the trunk, Dr. Wells, when the locksmith gets it open.  I’m going to start with the front and we’ll meet in the middle.”

                The agent opened the passenger door and did a cursory examination of the front seat.  Looking under it with a flashlight, she didn’t find much.  Finishing her search, she opened the glove compartment.

                “Holy crap…”, she muttered.

                Almost simultaneously, the locksmith got the trunk unlocked.  Oliver opened the trunk and began searching through an open box.  Finding a box, he opened it and was stunned.  “Uh, Agent Shaw...you need to come look at this.”

                Knowing what she found wasn’t going anywhere, she headed to the trunk.  “What did you find, Dr. Wells?”

                An uncharacteristically quiet Oliver opened the box for the agent.  Looking through it, she was stunned.  “Oh shit…”

                Genny pulled the box closer and found more disturbing items.  “What a sick bastard…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Ninety minutes later, Genny came out of the guest house with Agent Haggarty.  After issuing directions to the other agent, she walked over to her SUV where Gerald was giving dirty looks to all the agents and Jeffersonian folks.  Noting the neighbors that were watching through the gate, she put her hands on her hips.

                “So, Mr. Maxwell...found some interesting things.  We’re going to take a trip to FBI Headquarters where we will book you for interfering with an investigation and then you get to answer some questions I have for you.”

                “I’m calling my attorney.”

                “You do that, Mr Maxwell.  It is your right after all.”

* * *

                In Aubrey’s den, Aubrey and Jessica were eating Doritos while still in their pajamas.  Their lunch plates were on the floor and Skinner was sleeping at the end of the futon.

                “I was scared to death that I totally biffed my interview with the FBI...but they asked me to come back for the Phase Two testing.  God, Jess, I knew it would be alright if I didn’t get into the Bureau, but it would have…”

                Jessica finished licking the nacho cheese flavoring off her fingers.  “But you did, Aubrey.  You got into the FBI because you’re obviously the best.  You wouldn’t be head of your own division at age 33 if you weren’t good at your job.”

                Jessica’s phone rang again.  Looking at the caller ID, she quickly answered.  “Hello?  Genny...what’s up?  Really...t-thank you.  I’ll be ready when she gets here.  Bye.” 

                Aubrey saw the stunned look on his girlfriend’s face as she ended the phone call.  “What did Genny need, Jess?”

                Jessica combed her hair back with her fingers.  “Superman…I have to go to the Hoover.  Genny said it’s about my case...they brought Gerald in for questioning.”

                “Well then, let’s get cleaned up.”,  Aubrey said before Jessica stopped him.

                “Superman, you’re supposed to rest.  Your pain pill is due in a few hours.”

                Aubrey gave his girlfriend a no nonsense look.  “I’m going with you, Jess.  No arguments.  I’ll use my crutches, I’ll sit when possible, and I can take the Norco with me.  Of course, we’re going to have to deal with those jackasses outside my house.”

                Jessica rubbed her boyfriend’s leg.  “Genny said she would send Agent Haggarty to come get me...us... so we don’t have to deal with those news freaks outside.”

                Aubrey looked down at himself and his girlfriend, grinning since both of them were still in their pajamas.  Looking up, he snickered as he realized the redhead had her hair in a messy knot on top of her head.   “Jess, we need to get cleaned up.”

                Jessica smiled when she saw Aubrey’s rumpled PJs and the stubble on his face.  “You’re right.  Hopefully you can squeeze in a quick shave.  However, we can’t get your stitches wet, so I have to give you a sponge bath before Agent Haggarty gets here.” 

                Seeing Aubrey’s smile, Jessica shook her head.  “It’s going to be a quick one after I take a two minute shower.  No fun.  I’ll be right back.”

                “Man…”,  Aubrey muttered as his girlfriend rushed out of the room.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                An hour later, the elevator door opened to the 4th floor.  Agent Haggarty got out first, followed by Jessica with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and a slow moving Aubrey.  They didn’t get three steps when they were bombarded by agents happy to see the SAC. 

                Aubrey was polite for a minute but knew he had things to do.  “Guys, I want to sit and hang, but Genny needs me, as well as my girlfriend, for something important.  I’ll come visit soon, I promise.”

                After saying goodbye to the agents, Aubrey and Jessica went to the ASAC’s office.  When they got in the doorway, they saw her engrossed in a file.

                “Fucking unbelievable.”, Genny muttered before Aubrey’s quiet knock surprised her.  “Hey, Boss...Jessica.  How are you doing?”

                Jessica thought about what had happened in the last 28 hours.  “It’s been...busy.  Aubrey and I have had a lot going on.”

                “Yeah.”, Aubrey said in agreement.  “What are you reading?”

                “Something we found in Gerald’s car.”, Genny said before handing it to Jessica so Aubrey could balance on his crutches.  “I’ll just let you two go through it.”

                Setting the file down on the desk, Jessica opened it so Aubrey could also see.  The couple were in shock as they saw the first photo.  Flipping through them, Jessica started to shake as she worked to hold back tears.  Aubrey’s jaw hardened and he was about to go after the suspect when Genny handed them something else.

                “This is the log that was found with them.  These items were found in a secret compartment in one of Gerald’s dresser drawers.”

                “The son of a bitch had her followed by a PI?”,  Aubrey said before he noted something.  “Wait, these reports go back to April…”

                “Aubrey...we started dating in May, a few days before my birthday.”

                 “Yeah…”,  Genny said.  “It looks like the PI stopped his investigation around when you went to the UK, Jessica.  However, it seems Gerald rehired him at this time...”

                “Right after the Star Wars Convention.”,  Jessica said quietly.  “It seems the last report was before Thanksgiving.  Oh God…”

                After giving the redhead a moment, Genny pushed forward.  “I have some...things I need to show you.”

                The couple slowly followed the agent through the bullpen towards the conference room.  Both Aubrey and Jessica were surprised to see the blinds drawn and then Genny unlocking the door before indicating for the two to enter.  They both stopped in shock as they saw multiple pairs of panties laying out on the table intermixed with several bras and garter belts.

                Genny saw their faces and closed the door quickly.  “Yeah, so I wanted to keep this part as private as I could.  Jessica, I’m sorry to ask you this, but can you search through this lingerie and see if any of it belongs to you?”

                Jessica nodded as she attempted to quell the nausea in her stomach.  Walking carefully, she examined the clothing, but didn’t have to look long.  Picking up a pair, she held them up.  “These are mine….”

                As she examined further, she grabbed four more pairs before turning to the two agents.  “These are all mine.”

                “Are you sure, Jessica?”

                The redhead nodded before holding up a pair of white lace cheekies.  “I got these to wear for Aubrey while I was in Scotland….because they’re his favorite type of panties on me...”, she said quietly.

                Genny ignored the beet red face of her boss and continued.  “Anything else to make these pairs of underwear stand out?”

                Jessica held up a green lacy thong and pointed to the corner, where it said _‘MOH’._   “Daisy got me these as a bridal party gift along with the diamond earrings Beau bought for us.  Andie got a pair with _‘Bridesmaid’_ stitched in, but they’re violet like her dress.”

                The anthropologist held up the rest.  “I bought the rest at Victoria’s Secret so I have no clue on how to prove it other than saying  I know these are mine…”

                Genny straightened up.  “I have Gerald in holding and I’m going to question him--”

                “I’m joining you, Genny.”

                The ASAC turned to Aubrey.  “No, you’re not, Boss.  You can’t be in the room with me.”

                Aubrey’s eyes hardened.  “I’m going in there with you, Agent Shaw, and  you can’t stop me.”

                Genny didn’t want to do it, but she had no choice.  “Yes, I can!  A sleazeball like Gerald Maxwell will use your emotions against you to get this case thrown out.  You’re not screwing up my case, Agent Aubrey.  If you keep pushing this, I’ll go to Deputy Director Stark.  Do you understand?”

                Aubrey was silent and Genny softened her tone.  “Aubrey, you can’t go in there with me and you know it.  Let me do my job so we can get this bastard...please.  Trust me.”

                Aubrey knew Genny was right, but it still hurt.  “I’m observing.”

                “Fair enough.”

                Jessica was tired of being forgotten in the room.  “I’m observing, too.”

                “Jess...you can’t.”,  Aubrey said, noting how her cheeks turned red before preparing himself for her fury. 

                “Why not?  I’m the one he vandalized.  I’m the one whose Jeep had its tires slashed!  I’m the one whose apartment he broke into!  From the looks of it, I’m not the only female he likes stealing panties from...why can’t I observe the fucking pervert being questioned?”

                “Because his lawyer could say he was unable to confront his accuser in a violation of his 6th Amendment rights.”,  Genny said.  “We can’t do anything to give this ass reason to get the case thrown out, Jessica.  I’m sorry.”

                “That’s bullshit!”,  Jessica said with a tear before turning her back on both of them to look out the window.

                Aubrey saw the subtle shaking of her posture and knew she was about to break.  “Shaw, give me a few minutes, all right?”

                Shaw nodded and left the room.  Preparing for a barrage, Aubrey moved over slowly toward his girlfriend.  “Jess...I’m sorry…”

                “At times like this, it really sucks that you’re a cop, Aubrey.  You get to watch and do something while I just have to sit and wait...and it’s wrong.”

                “I know...if I could have you with me in the observation booth, I would.”  Balancing himself carefully, he put his arms around his girlfriend and kissed the top of her head softly.  “Would you be more comfortable waiting for me and Genny in my office?”

                Nodding slightly, Jessica turned around and hugged her boyfriend back.  “I’ll wait in your office.”

                Outside, Genny waited for the couple to come out and locked the room.  “I’ll be going in there in ten minutes, Boss.  His attorney just arrived.”

* * *

                Genny walked into the interrogation room and wasn’t surprised to see that her suspect’s attorney was a woman.

                “Janis Jergens.  Not surprised to see you here.”

                “No, you shouldn’t be...because this _‘interfering with a search’_ is crap and you know it.”

                “No, I don’t.  As with any suspect that interferes with a search, there are consequences.  Mr. Maxwell has been treated as anyone else would who interferes with a search warrant.”

                “You’re buddies with your boss Agent Aubrey.”,  Gerald said.  “You’ll do anything to score brownie points with that prick.”

                “I’m not in this job for brownie points, Mr. Maxwell.  However, maybe you could use some because it seems you’ve had a very bad day.  I found out on the way to your house that you got fired from your internship at the Jeffersonian for theft.  Next, you interfere while my team and I were executing your search warrant, leading to you being arrested.  Now, you get to talk to me and enjoy the hospitality of the FBI.”

                “Dr. Miller firing me was bullshit!  It was over a few items found in a bullshit search of my locker.  I’ll get my internship back at the Jeffersonian.  As for getting arrested, I won’t be here long...my dad will make sure you regret this, Agent Shaw.  I’m a Maxwell...don’t forget that.”

                Genny rolled her eyes in provoke the suspect.  He kept his cool, but she saw the momentary flash of anger.  “First...let’s discuss the underwear.”

                “I’m afraid I can’t give you much advice on that, Agent Shaw.  You’re not my type.”

                “Yeah, rich elitist pricks aren’t my type either.”, she replied without missing a beat, irritating the man further.  “So, we found 41 pieces on lingerie in your car, Mr. Maxwell, including five pairs of panties in the glove compartment and the rest of the items in a box in the trunk.” 

                “And your point is…”

                “The point is, that the only things missing from Ms. Warren’s apartment after the burglary that occurred last Tuesday were five pairs of panties and her bank book.”

                “Um...so?”

                “Well, it seems the person who broke in also sealed up her door locks as well as her dresser drawers after taking her trust fund bank book out of the top one.”  Genny pulled out one of several folders.  “So according to the lab, the epoxy, gel, and putty found in Jessica Warren’s locks and her dresser match items that are found in your department.”

                Genny pulled a piece of paper out and pretended to skim it.  “When I talked to the head of Antiquities today, I found out the reason you were fired is because your locker had jars of museum putty, epoxy, and gel.  Those same three items Dr. Miller found missing in his weekly inventory last week.  The lot numbers on those items found matched was missing from the storage closet.”

                “Just like I told Dr. Miller before the fucker fired me...I have no reason to steal that stuff.  The fact that I was canned for it is crap.  Why would I be stupid enough to put stuff I stole in my locker?  I’m too smart for that.”

                “According to the copy of the badge log Mr. Andersen, head of Security at the museum, showed me, your badge was used to punch out on November 29th at...3:17 PM.”, Genny replied while studying the security log in front of her.  “It was used to access the intern locker room at 3:29, but it seems it was also used again at 5:36 PM to enter the room again.  Dr Miller mentioned that he stayed until 7:00 Tuesday to finish some inventory because he was afraid the weather would keep him from coming in Wednesday morning.  Perhaps, you were interrupted and needed a place to stash the stuff you stole so you wouldn’t be caught with it when you left?”

                “Wow, Agent Shaw...you have a vivid imagination.  What other _‘evidence’_ have you found that makes me guilty?”, Gerald spit back with sarcasm.

                Genny pulled out a picture and slid it over to the two people across the table.  “We found this checkbook in your trunk.  When I opened it, it had checks with Jessica Warren’s name and information on it.  Now why would that be in the trunk of your Alfa Romeo?”

                “Maybe Mr. Special Agent in Charge stole it.  He maybe wanted to frame me because Jessica whined to him about me.”

                “So Special Agent in Charge James Aubrey...an agent with the FBI for eight years, with an exemplary record and multiple citations for valor and bravery, risked all that he worked for in his career just because Jessica asked him to?  Really?”

                “Yes, Agent Shaw.  Government employees don’t make dick...especially glorified cops.  That slut probably offered a piece of her family business...or her snatch...to him.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Aubrey began to be physically ill from listening to the man.  However his anger at Gerald’s reference to Jessica in sexually demeaning terms superseded that.

                “God only knows how many women were charmed by that little shit.”, Caroline muttered.

                “More than I care to admit.”, Aubrey replied quietly as they watched.

_“You really hate Agent Aubrey, don’t you?”_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                “Yeah I do.”, Gerald replied smoothly.  “He’s a know it all prick that’s jealous of the women I get compared to the table scraps he gets.  Why else would he settle for a slut like Jessica when he has women like that Karen chick wanting to bone him?  Of course, it really irritates him that his girlfriend is after me anyway, but I’m not interested.”

                Genny almost laughed, but kept her cool.  “Really?”

                “Yes.  I’ve see her checking me out when she thinks I’m not looking.  As for her checkbook, Aubrey took it and put it in my vehicle to set me up either before I left Tuesday or while I was gone.”

                “When?  Didn’t you drive your vehicle to Florida?”

                “Yes, so he probably did it while I was at work or after I got home around 3:00 in the morning.”

                Genny sat back and played with her pencil. “Well, Agent Aubrey was with Ms. Warren Tuesday morning and then was with Agent Booth from 7:30 AM until the next morning because they were stuck in West Virginia overnight.  When he returned with Agent Booth Wednesday, Agent Aubrey was with me or here at the Hoover until they were shot Wednesday afternoon.  He was hospitalized until yesterday but he’s been at home with Ms. Warren...on crutches...and unable to drive.  Now, once again...how did Jessica Warren’s bank book get into your trunk?”

                “Once again, it wasn’t me.  Only someone stupid would put that in his trunk.”

                Genny saw the scion getting nervous and continued her pointed questions.  “Where were you last Tuesday...say after 4 PM?

                “When I left the museum after it closed, I grabbed my shit and drove down to Florida.  Dumb airport canceled my flight because of the weather.”

                “What airport were you going to fly out of?”

                “Reagan National.”, Gerald said quickly.  “The flight was supposed to take off at 6:45 and I sure as well wasn’t waiting to get the hell out of town.”

                “Must have been very anxious to get out of DC.”

                “I was, Agent Shaw.  I had a vacation I wanted to start and I wasn’t going to wait another 18 hours when I could get a head start...shitty weather or not.  I’ve driven down I-95 in worse weather than the crap we had last week.”

                Genny noted the answer on her notepad.  “Drive all night or did you stop?”

                “I drove all night, Agent Shaw.  Like I said already, I had a vacation to get to, you know?”

_‘Got an answer for everything, don’t you?’_   Genny thought before shifting topics.  “So something interesting...five of the pairs of the underwear we found were in your glove compartment...and all were ones Jessica described as belonging to her.”, Genny said.  “Do you have an explanation for that?”

                Gerald smirked as he leaned back with one arm on the back of his chair.  “Use some common sense, Agent Shaw.  It’s obvious what’s going on here.”

                “What might that be?”

                “Simple...I’m getting framed to make me look bad.”


	47. Lies & Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is an 'M' chapter as it is a continuation of Chapter 45.
> 
> As an author, as my partner can tell you, this was a difficult chapter for me to write because some of the language used is...vulgar and revolting. However, the character in question is revolting, vulgar, and deserves to be shown for what he is.
> 
> Seeing what has been happening with people coming forward with #MeToo and the spotlight on men who think of women as nothing but objects and playthings, it's important to not sugarcoat what sexual harassment is. Thinking of that made it easier for me to write Gerald's distasteful dialogue.
> 
> So as Genny continues to interrogate Gerald and the lies continue to flow, a revelation is made. How does that affect Aubrey and Jessica?

                “So, you’re saying that all of this is a frame up?”,  Genny replied as she sat across Gerald and his attorney.

                “Obviously.”,  Gerald scoffed.  “It wasn’t a secret that I was going to our family beach house in Florida.  People knew I would be gone and somebody...or more than one somebody...saw the opportunity to make my life miserable.”

                “Why?  What makes you think so?”, the agent responded.  “It’s an elaborate set up. Who’d want to go to all this trouble to make you look bad?”

                “I can think of many people who are jealous of what I have, and they envy the fact that I’m a Maxwell.  However, the one that stands out in my mind is Jessica Warren.  She’s fucking crazy, Agent Shaw.  Obviously, she gets it from her whack job mother.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Aubrey watched the interrogation from the observation room, silently fuming as he listened to Gerald, until one of the former intern’s comments got his attention.

_“You know a lot of personal details about Ms. Warren.”_

_Gerald wore a smug smile.  “Well, I did go on two dates with her.  The girl didn’t shut up about her family...or her family’s winery.  Obviously trying to show off for me how much money they have.  Pretty cheap way to drum up business, if you ask me.”_

                 “Caroline, Jess hasn’t told anyone at the lab about her mother’s mental illness.”

                The prosecutor was obviously surprised by Aubrey’s statement.  “Really?  It’s in her background check.”

                Aubrey turned to the attorney, thinking about what he’s learned several hours earlier.  “Cam...and maybe Hodgins...would be the only ones at the Jeffersonian with access to that information, and if either of them know, I’m sure they haven’t said anything to anyone else.  Jessica gets very emotional just discussing it with me, so I can’t imagine she’d be ready to share something that intimate with the people she works with, much less that prick.  As for her family’s winery and their tasting room in Maryland, a good portion of the profits go back into the business.  They aren’t mega millionaires, but the business is quite successful.  She doesn’t need pimp it out to everyone.”

                Caroline nodded.  “Good to know, Cher.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                “So you had no hard feelings about Jessica almost breaking your fingers back in September at the Pixler wedding after you grabbed her butt?”

                “No… none at all.  I just knew better than to touch that bitch after that.”

_‘That bitch?  No hard feelings my ass.’_ Genny thought.  “But you two went on a second date...”

                Gerald sat back and rolled his eyes.  “She asked me to come to the lab and then she begged me to go to this stupid Star Trek...Wars convention.  She was really pissed that her ex-boyfriend was dating that chick with the big black glasses, and she wanted to make him jealous for bringing her to Beau’s wedding.  I felt sorry for her, so I said yes, and we ran around the place with some other sci-fi freaks there.  I was so fucking bored.”

                “That is very nice of you.”, Genny said, noting the differences between the younger man’s account and Jessica’s recollections of Gerald’s visit to the lab after the wedding.

                “You’re damn right it was, but she was an ungrateful bitch just like at the wedding.  I mean...I was nice enough to change some things around so I could go, but I show up in the _‘wrong shirt’._..”,  Gerald said with quotation marks.  “...and she rips me a new asshole before I push back, because I’m not going to take that shit from her.  Of course...out of nowhere that butthole Aubrey comes by, his new girlfriend nowhere in sight...threatening to use his influence against me.  Then the lying bitch steals my keys so she can wreck my Alfa Romeo because she’s pissed.  Yeah, she claims she had no reason to steal it because she can’t drive a manual, but that’s crap.  She still owes me for damages from that tow truck, by the way.”

_‘Jessica can’t drive a manual...Aubrey, Hodgins, and Andie backed her up on that.’_  Genny thought before deciding to knock the man off balance.  “So, the epoxy and putty in your locker that matched what was found inside Ms. Warren’s dresser drawers and locks--”

                “What the...we were talking about my car--”

                “Those items could have been put there by anyone, Agent Shaw.”, the lawyer responded to get the attention off her client.  “There are seven other Antiquities interns in that department.  According to my client, one of them, a Mr. Harry Shaw, is friendly with Ms. Warren.  It’s plausible that she had him help her plant the evidence, and that one of them broke into Gerald’s locker at the museum.”

                “How would they get the combination to your lock?”

                “It’s not hard to pick a lock, Agent Shaw.”, Gerald said with a smirk.

_‘What a dumbass…’_ the ASAC thought before she continued.  “Now, once again, explain the multiple pairs of panties in your car--”

                “Souvenirs from women who appreciated the good time they had with me.”, Gerald said with a cocky grin.

                Out of all excuses the man in front of her could come up with, Genny considered that to be the stupidest.  It took all she had not to burst out laughing.  “You’re so good as a lover that women gave you lingerie as a thank you gift?”

                “What can I say...I’m good at fucking.  That’s what happens when you get lots of repetitions.  Practice makes perfect, you know...”

                Her jaw stiffening at her client’s response, Ms. Jergens jumped in.  “What my client meant that is he’s a handsome man, and has been in contact with many members of the opposite sex who are appreciative of him and his...talents.”

                “So you had sex with at least 36 women--”

                “Um, no...41 since that stupid ass movie convention.  I told you I never fucked Jessica Warren.”

                Genny pulled a piece of paper off her legal pad and pulled another pen from her pocket.  Putting both on the desk, she shoved them towards Gerald.  “Write down their names.”

                “Why the hell should I?  Who I screw is my business.”

                “Not in a criminal case.”, Genny said.  “Unless you’re lying to me.  Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time a guy oversold his talent.”

                Gerald was visibly shaking from irritation.  “I...said...who I screw is none of your business. You best remember who I am, lady.”

                Genny leaned in close, not taking her eyes of her suspect.  “...and...I...said...it is my business, Mr. Maxwell.  I’ve dealt with mobsters, sexual predators, and my share of entitled asses like yourself who’ve also tried impressing me with who they are, and they didn’t get very far, either.  Now, you best remember _who I am_ and answer my question.”

                Ms. Jergens observed her client getting himself into hot water and stepped in.  “Mr. Maxwell, I do recommend you cooperate with Agent Shaw--”

                “I don’t have to do shit.  I’m not telling this bitch…”, Gerald indicated to the two way mirror, “...or any of the bitches behind that mirror who I fuck.  Besides, I don’t remember all their names.”

                “So you either paid for most of the sex...or don't want word to get around that you like to make yourself pretty with women’s panties.  We’ll get back to that later.”, Genny said as she took the items back, pleased with the man’s increased anger.  “Now, explain how Jessica’s keys ended up in your locker.”

                “Like with the missing inventory, they were planted by Ms. Warren herself or someone else in that museum to order to get my client kicked out of his program.  Whomever did it vandalized her locker after the facility closed early due to weather issues, and framed my client by stealing his ID from his locker.  He’s very talented in his field of study and has the potential to be successful someday.  Obviously, someone is jealous of him.”

                “There’s no potential, Ms. Jergen...I’m a Maxwell...we _are_ successful.”

                Ms. Jergen turned to her client.  “Shut up, Gerald.”

                “Sounds plausible, but don’t you need your badge to get into the locker room?”  Genny said, holding her smirk as she saw Gerald turn red.

                “Then they took it out of my car, Agent Shaw.”

                “When, Gerald?”

                The former intern’s hand formed fists to the point his knuckles were white.  “How the fuck am I supposed to know?”

                Genny nodded before turning to another sheet of paper.  “According to Ms. Warren, on your first day back from suspension on November 21st, you tried to intimidate her while she was working for Dr. Clark Edison.  You invaded her personal space after she informed you that you were supposed to go see another anthropologist who was down the hall--”

                “I just wanted to talk to her.  It wasn’t going to kill Dr. Wilson to wait five minutes for her precious Ottoman remains.  Such a fucking drama queen.”

                “So the fact that Jessica was lectured about her work attire not that long after she blew you off by people from the Governing Board...which your father is a part of...”

                “Hey, not my fault she dresses like a slut.”

                “So what about the confrontation you had with Ms. Warren in the intern locker room as she was leaving for the evening?  According to her, you threatened to sue her for damages to your car as well and to use your influence to end her internship at the Jeffersonian, as well as her future endeavors as a forensic anthropologist, if she didn’t have sex with you--”

                “Um...liar.”, the man said with a smirk.  “I don’t have to threaten a woman to get her panties off.” 

                “I see.”, Genny said.  “And the fact that your father led an attempt to cut funding for security upgrades to the lab less than 48 hours later…”

                “Well, he doesn’t like waste.  He takes his job seriously, Agent Shaw…”

                Genny smiled.  “We have the transcript of that meeting, Mr. Maxwell.  Your father didn’t come out looking so good, especially after Drs. Hodgins and Brennan confronted him on not only his reasoning but also for his motives, which included your behavior with Ms. Warren.  Must have sucked that she didn’t give in to your several attempts to intimidate her into sex.”

                “I don’t need to intimidate women into fucking me!   Besides, I’m a Maxwell.  I have social standing.  The very fleeting interest I had in Jessica Warren a few months ago was just to scratch an itch in between dates with women of better breeding.  She got around, if you know what I mean, so why would I want to dip my wick in that?”

                Genny caught how the man’s bravado was slowly ebbing.  “So it didn’t bother you that she turned you down over and over again...that instead having sex with you, she chose to get back together with her ex, FBI Special Agent James Aubrey, a few weeks after the convention…a man you referred to in front of several witnesses at the Jeffersonian Halloween Gala last October 29th as, and I quote, _‘...a glorified cop, driving a beat up used car, and hanging out with a slutty used girlfriend’_ end quote.”

                “No, it didn’t.  That skinny asshole thinks his shit doesn’t stink because he’s in charge of his own department at the FBI.  If he wants to settle for someone like Jessica when he could have had that other woman who appreciated him more, that’s his problem.  Besides, I can get any chick I want to spread her legs open for me.”                

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                “How romantic...that little porro must fight them off with a stick.”, Caroline muttered as she stood next to Aubrey in the observation room.

                “Makes you want to take him home to meet the folks.”, Aubrey muttered. 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                “So Jessica Warren doesn’t own any of bras, panties, garter belts, or the other lingerie we found in your car?”

                “Of course not.”, Gerald retorted.  “Why the fuck would I want something of hers?  The bitch led me on and got her boyfriend to try making me look bad at the Halloween Gala.”

                “Well, there were several witnesses to your aggressive behavior towards Jessica at the buffet line.  I would imagine that’s why Agent Aubrey confronted you in front of all those people...including your date...and several other women.”  Genny watched the man in front of her turning red with anger.  “It must have made you mad, Gerald, that a _‘glorified cop’_ scared you enough to make you pee your pants.”

                Gerald slammed his hand on the table.  “I did not piss my pants!  If anyone needs to be arrested, it’s Jessica Warren for saying that and spreading around rumors that I can’t get it up!”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                In the observation room, Aubrey made a face.  “Jess isn’t doing that.  Who the hell is saying that she is?”

                “You’re certain, Cher?”, the attorney asked.

                Aubrey turned to Caroline.  “Yes, I am.  Ask Dr. B, Hodgins, Angela, or any of her other friends that work there.  She’s not the same flighty intern you ordered me to investigate, Caroline.”

                “Young man, get off your Jessica soapbox.  I have to ask that question because I need all the facts if I’m going to prosecute this little porro.  If you say she’s didn’t do it, I’ll trust you.”, Caroline snapped before holding up her finger at Aubrey.  “Now, don’t sass me again.”

                “Yes, ma’am.”  Properly chastised, Aubrey shrugged his shoulder.  “I’m sorry, Caroline.  I just know that Jess wouldn’t spread rumors like that, and no one else has mentioned that.  He’s either he’s lying or he’s gone nuts.”

_“Uh, you did urinate yourself when Aubrey got in your face, Maxwell.  I’m one of the lucky ones who got to see it that night, along with my date, as we stood in the buffet line along with a couple of Senators...a federal judge...a member from the Virginia House of Delegates...lots of movers and shakers.  It was pretty funny if you ask me.  Might want to bring an adult diaper to the next Gala.”_

                “Now hush.  I’m enjoying the show.”, Caroline said before making a face.  “Oooohhh, somebody doesn’t look happy.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Genny continued antagonizing the suspect and was pleased to see it working.  “As for that other thing...is it true?”

                “Fuck you, Agent Shaw!”, Gerald yelled as he stood up and began to pace the room.  “No cunt, particularly a trashy one like Jessica Warren, is going to say that shit about me and get away with it!”

                “Sit down and shut up, Gerald!”, Ms. Jergen scolded as she pulled her client back to his seat.

                Pleased at the response she got from needling him, Shaw continued.  “Must have made you angry when Dr. Miller suspended you for three weeks for your behavior at the Halloween Gala.”

                “It did...because I did nothing wrong other than confront a woman who owed me money for damage she caused to my vehicle.  Yes...it got heated, but when someone gets in my face and makes me look like a shit like Jessica and that Agent Aubrey did, I won’t take it lying down.”

                Genny crossed her fingers together and kept her facial expression neutral.  “So, how did her lingerie end up in your glove compartment?”

                “How the fuck would I know?  Why the hell would I take her fucking underwear anyway?  She’s either lying about her underwear or you and your goons planted them.  I never laid a hand on that bitch after she got all prudish with me at the Pixler wedding.  ”

                “So if we pull DNA from each item, we won’t find hers on any of them?”,  Genny clasped her hands together, hopeful her bluff would make the man in front of her do something stupid.  “Think carefully before you answer, Mr. Maxwell.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Aubrey smirked as he was positive he saw a bead of sweat on Gerald’s face.  _‘Got you, you son of a bitch.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                A bead of sweat fell down the scion’s face and his eyes filled with fear before fading quickly to a grin.  “Fine...you want the truth, I’ll give it to you...but Agent Aubrey isn’t going to be happy.”

                Genny noted the change, but kept her face neutral.  “Why is that?”

                The former intern looked toward the two way mirror before looking back at the agent.  “The truth is...Jessica gave me those panties as a souvenir of the good time we had last Monday night after work.”

                Genny took notes, suddenly having an idea of what was up the younger man’s sleeve.  “A souvenir of...what?”

                Gerald took a drink of his water.  “Of when we fucked.”

               “But you just said, and I quote, _‘I never laid a hand on that bitch after she got all prudish with me at the Pixler wedding.’”,_ Genny replied.  “So are you saying that you lied about the two of you never having sexual intercourse?”

                “Yes, Agent Shaw.”

                Genny smirked.  “Why?  Why the sudden change of heart to tell the truth?”

                “I was trying to be nice so she wouldn’t get in trouble with her cop boyfriend, but she doesn’t have the same respect for me, so fuck her.  Besides, I also have a reputation to uphold, Agent Shaw.  I have social standing, and to lower myself to be with her is not how a Maxwell usually does things.”, Gerald said in disgust as he looked at his manicured nails. 

                “So why did you lower yourself to have sex with Jessica?”, Genny asked, stone faced as she continued to write.

                The suspect took another drink of water.  “Jessica was pissed that Agent Aubrey blew her off when she visited him Monday afternoon.  Then, he was supposed to take her home because some jerkwad messed up her tires, but he ditched her, so she asked me to instead.”

                “Where did this conversation take place?”

                “Monday afternoon in the locker room.  She didn’t hesitate when she saw me, either.  She was bold as brass.”

                Genny worked to not roll her eyes.  “About what time did this conversation take place?”

                “5:00.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                “Did you two have a fight Monday here, Cher?”, Caroline asked.

                “I blew her off because I had something happen, but fight?  No...how the hell did he know she was here, anyway?  She’s not going to tell him that.”, Aubrey replied as they listened.

_“It’s interesting that she didn’t ask one of her friends or co-workers for a ride home, but a guy she has a known antagonistic history with.  Considering the fact that you had a confrontation with her at the Halloween Gala a month earlier and publicly blamed her for what happened to your car, that’s a nice thing for you to do.  Very magnanimous.”_

_“I didn’t do it out of the goodness of my heart.  She offered to let me fuck her at her apartment in exchange for a lift.”_

_“So this woman who is trying to ruin your reputation at the museum...the woman you say is beneath your social standing...she offers you sex for a ride home and you don’t question it?”_

_“Uh no, because I had been waiting three years to get in her pants.  She acts all mighty now because she’s fucking that Aubrey guy, but she used to get around, and some of the other guys said she was a good screw. It was my turn.”_

                “Damn pig.”, Aubrey muttered.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Genny bit her tongue at her glee to the suspect’s latest slip.  “So, I guess you weren’t too concerned with your social standing when you agreed to sleep with her.”

                “Only an idiot turns down a free fuck.  The tease owed me anyway.”

                Genny caught the shaking of the lawyer’s head, but kept her face neutral as she continued her questioning.  “So, did you two talk about anything in the car on the way to her place?”

                Gerald grinned and talked smoothly.  “Not much.  Like I said...her cop boyfriend pissed her off, but she was horny, and wanted to fuck.  She said that her Dudley Do Right boyfriend always worked late on Monday nights so it was prime time to screw.  When we got her home, she grabbed my hand and rubbed it between her legs before telling me to eat her out nice and slow against her apartment door…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Caroline saw Aubrey shake with anger as he listened to Gerald give details on what he allegedly did to Jessica.  “Cher….”

                “He’s lying, Caroline!  She would never cheat on me!  I’m going to get that bastard--”

                The older woman stepped in front of him.  “James Aubrey, you will either stand there or listen to this fool ass lie his way in jail or go wait with your squintern.”

                “He’s--”

                Caroline softened her face.  “He knows you’re listening, Cher, and he’s trying to upset you as well.  Either get control or get out of here.  No one is going to mess up my case against this crapeau, do you hear me?”

                “Yeah…”, Aubrey nodded in agreement, then forced himself to observe quietly.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Genny made notes on her pad.  “So you gave her oral sex in her apartment.  What happened after that, Mr. Maxwell?”

                Gerald sat back in the chair, looked at the two way mirror, and smiled.  “After telling me that it was better than anything she ever got from her cop boyfriend, she pulled me back into her bedroom and she took off her clothes.  Her tits are smaller than I usually like...barely a handful, but she’s got a nice figure and a hot ass.  Then she said she wanted me to bone her from behind up against the wall...as hard as I could.  Said that Aubrey guy only likes missionary and she has to fake it with him.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

“You fucking liar…”,  Aubrey said to himself as he continued to watch through the glass, barely controlling himself.  He glanced at Caroline, wondering what she thought, but the attorney didn’t bat an eye as they continued to listen.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Genny was disgusted with the man in front of her.  “So did you… _’bone’_ her?”

                “Yeah...and good.  When we were done, I was ready to go, but she then pushed me against the wall and gave me head.   She’s great with her mouth and tongue…”

                The agent pushed her nausea down so she wouldn’t have to reach for the trash can outside of the interrogation room.  “So, what happened next?”

                “Well, after we got done, I’ve barely got my pants around my knees when she says she wants to call her boyfriend to come over and have him see us fucking to make him jealous as payback for earlier.  I mean...what the hell...I don’t mind a good screw but I don’t want some FBI guy to go all half cocked on me, so I told her no.”

_‘What a pathetic worm.’_ Genny thought.  “What was Jessica’s reaction to your refusal?”

                “Well, Agent Shaw, she looked really pissed, saying I was messing up her plans.  I responded that no pussy is worth me dealing with a pissed off boyfriend with a gun.  She whined some more, but I said hell no.  She said okay, then she pulled underwear out of her drawer and gave it to me to remember her by, all while she was standing there naked.  She wasn’t a bad lay, so it wasn’t a hardship to do her, so I said my thanks and then I left.”

                “What time was that?”

                “About 10:30 PM.”

                “So you stayed for a few hours.  Impressive.”

                Gerald rested his head on his finger.  “Of course...women always get a memorable time with Gerald Maxwell.”

_‘I bet, jackass.’, Genny_ thought.  “So after you left Monday, did you ever return to her place?”

                “Nope...only that Monday night.”

                Genny decided to knock the asshole off balance.  “Sex like that is pretty messy.  How did you get cleaned up?” 

                “In the bathroom with her crappy shower.  I don’t do tissues...that’s what teenage boys who jerk off do.”

                “Did you use condoms?”

                Gerald sat up in indignation.  “Damn right I did.  I don’t want any rugrats or catch anything that bitch might have given to that FBI guy already.”

_‘Even though he was suspicious of a sexually transmitted disease, he had sex with her anyway?  Right....’_ Genny thought.  “What did you do with the used condoms and wrappers?”

                Maxwell hesitated for a moment.  “I took them with me.  She insisted I clean them up because her boyfriend uses a different brand, so put them in a baggie and took them with me.”

                “You cleaned up your used condoms and wrappers instead of dumping them in her apartment trash can?  That was nice of you.”, Genny replied in a neutral tone, amazed at the man’s stupidity.  “You didn’t do it anywhere else?  Just against her apartment door and bedroom wall?”

                “Yes, Agent Shaw.  Maybe you need to write my answers down.  I don’t like repeating myself.  She said she liked it standing up...”

                The ASAC zeroed in.  “What kind of bra and panties was she wearing?  Satin?  Lace?”

                Gerald looked puzzled.  “How would I know?”

                It took all Genny had not to laugh when she saw the attorney look at the ceiling in frustration.  “You had sex with her and you didn’t notice her lingerie?”

                “No, I didn’t.  I just wanted to fuck, Agent Shaw.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Aubrey leaned in, puzzled.  “What is Genny doing, Caroline?”

                The US attorney smiled.  “Reeling in her fish, Cher.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                “When you had sex in her bedroom, who removed her panties?”, Genny asked.

                Gerald smiled.  “I did, of course.  That’s part of the fun.”

                His lawyer’s face turned red and Genny kept her glee to herself.  “Did you push them aside, rip them, pull them down…”

                “Pulled them down slowly while she watched...and she liked it.  I have a little sense of decorum, Agent.  Ripping a woman’s panties off seems crude.”

                “What color were they?”

                The gentleman thought about it for a minute.  “Red.”

                “Gerald, shut up!”,  Ms. Jergen turned to Genny.  “My client is invoking his right to silence.”

                The former intern turned to his attorney.  “Lady, I know what happened, and Jessica loved every second of it.”

                The ASAC smiled, knowing she had him.  “So when you two came into the apartment, she told you to give her oral sex against her apartment door with her panties on, then you went into the bedroom where she stripped for you, then somehow her red panties magically went back on her...the same panties that you couldn’t remember any details about.”

                Gerald became quiet.  “Obviously she took her damn panties off before I ate her out--”

                Genny bulldozed over her suspect.  “Then, you removed her underwear again before having sex with her from behind.  After that, she gave you fellatio before asking you to participate in a scheme to make her boyfriend jealous because she was mad that he ignored her here earlier in the day?”

                “Yes--”

                “Next, you cleaned up in her shower and at her insistence, took all your used condoms with you instead of using her trash can.  Before you left that evening, even though you refused to cooperate in her revenge plot against her boyfriend, Jessica still gave you three pairs of her underwear as a keepsake?”

                “I took five pairs of her panties--”

                “Wait, you said she took them out of her dresser and gave them to you.”, Genny said, pointing at her notes.  “Now you said you took them from her.  Which one is it, Mr. Maxwell?”

                “Quit trying to mess me up!”

                “I’m just verifying what you told earlier, Mr. Maxwell.  Now, answer me this.  After you gave her oral sex, did she put her panties back on before you went into the bedroom?”

                “Yes!”

                “...and she took them off for you again?”

                “That’s what I said Agent Shaw!  Start taking notes!”

                Genny continued to circle her prey.  “So if she took them off when you two entered the bedroom, how did you take them off before you engaged in sexual intercourse, Mr. Maxwell?  You said you took them off of her before having sex in the bedroom.”

                “Obviously I meant I took them off after we fucked.”

                “Oh, so she put them back on a second time before she engaged you in oral sex?”  Genny said, remembering the man’s original story. 

                “Yes!  After we fucked.”

                “According to you her goal was to make Agent Aubrey angry for him ignoring her earlier.”, Genny pondered.  “However, she also told you to remove your condoms and wrappers, making the only evidence she would have to throw in Aubrey’s face about your liaison would be her word.  Does that make any sense to you?”

                “It’s what happened!”, Gerald responded in a growl. “Quit twisting my words, bitch!”

                “It’s Assistant Special Agent in Charge Genevieve Shaw, Mr. Maxwell, not _‘bitch’_.  I’m not one of your girlfriends.  As for twisting your words?  It’s not hard to twist a lie, Gerald.”, Genny said before standing up.  “Excuse me for a few minutes.”

                “Where the hell are you going?”

                The agent turned around and smiled sarcastically.  “I’m going to check on your stories, sir.  While I do that, I’m going to let you confer with your attorney.  Relax and have some more water.”

                Genny stepped out of the interrogation room and headed to Aubrey’s office, where the one she was looking for was sitting at his chair, staring out the window.  “Jessica?”

                The redhead turned around and saw the ASAC.  “Genny, what’s happening?”

                “He’s...said some things.  Before Aubrey gets here, is there anything you haven’t told me about your times with Gerald?”

                “No.  I told you everything in your office last week that I remember.”, Jessica said, but saw the ASAC’s face.  “Why?  What did he say?”

                Aubrey was coming back to his office when he saw Genny talking to his girlfriend.  Seeing the stricken look on her face as he grew closer, he knew that Jessica knew what Gerald claimed had happened Monday.  As he got outside his office, he heard the redhead’s voice rising in anger.

                “None of that happened!  No matter how angry I may get with Aubrey, I would never do that to him! I can’t believe that louse said that.”

                Aubrey slowly made his way inside.  “He knows I’m listening, Jess.  He’s just trying to piss me off.”

                Jessica took a deep breath to keep herself from crying.  “Why would he be so vindictive?”

                When Genny looked out in the bullpen, she saw Karen lurking around.  Shutting the door quickly, she crossed her arms.  “He didn’t expect to be caught, Jessica, but it’s obvious that he thinks he just needs to make up a story and that’s that, or he anticipates his family name and/or his lawyer will be able to keep him out of trouble.  However, he’s smart enough to know that your boyfriend is a powerful ally for you.  He figures if Aubrey believes his lies, he won’t support you.  The more alone you are, the better his chances are that you fold and he moves on to do this to someone else.”                

                “Well, then he’s a dumbass if he thinks I’ll believe crap like that.  I trust Jessica...I don’t think he understands shit like that.”

                “No, he doesn’t, Boss.”  Genny sat on the edge of Aubrey’s desk.  “Female lawyer...that was smart, but the fact that a female agent is interrogating him really annoys him.”

                “But why would he make up that story about Monday?  Aubrey was there with me.  I wasn’t alone that night.”

                Aubrey looked up.  “Because the PI reported to him that we didn’t see each other most Mondays, and he decided on the fly to make that story up because, in theory, it would be he said/she said.  I don’t know how he knew I was working late those nights...unless he knows someone here.”

                Genny looked at Aubrey.  “Well, he did mention Karen a few times, Boss.”

                “What?”, Jessica asked, surprised at the new development.

                Aubrey took her hand.  “He just mentioned that she was interested in me, Jess, and he called her my new girlfriend when he mentioned Daisy’s wedding.  Nothing else.  Karen is a pill but I don’t think she would stoop so low as to meet up with him and spy on me.”

                Genny suspected otherwise, but kept her suspicions to herself for now.  “His lawyer mentioned a friend of yours in Antiquities...Harry Shaw...as someone who could have helped you frame him.”

                “We know each other because we had a couple of classes together at AmU.  He’s also totally not interested in me because he’s gay.  He hates Gerald, but no way would Harry mess up his future just to help me with something stupid like that.”

                “Okay, good.  Now, he’s lied to me several times and looked more stupid with each one.  However, the Monday thing threw me a curve.”, Genny said.  “Jessica, I need to know everything you did that day, starting from when you saw the damage to your tires.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                In the interrogation room, Ms. Jergens stared down her client.  “Gerald, you told me you never slept with this Ms. Warren, but now you said you did.  You’re telling the truth now about this, correct?”

                “Yeah, Janis, I am.  I hooked up with her on Monday night.  Obviously she wants to get back at me for not being interested in her.  Not the first time shit like this has happened.”, Gerald replied as he  poured himself another glass of water. 

                “Gerald, stop drinking that!”

                “Why?”, he replied before taking a large chug.  “I’m thirsty.”

                “Because if they are looking for DNA, they can get it off that glass, you idiot.”  the attorney said in exasperation.  “You’ve already given them enough with your egotistical mouth.”

                The younger man blew off his lawyer’s concerns and drank again.  “They don’t have shit on me.  I told them what happened so they’re probably trying to think of a way to trip me up.”

                “You did that well enough on your own.  The next time I tell you to shut up, listen, you jackass.”, the lawyer responded before changing course.  “Is there any way this can be disproven?”

                Gerald thought of the private investigator’s report of how Jessica was always home alone on Mondays.  “No, I’m being straight now.  She’s setting me up.  Now do your job and get me out of this.  My father isn’t paying you 500 dollars an hour to hear myself think.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                “Okay, Angela, thanks a lot for your help.”, Genny said before hanging up.  Pulling up a file from her email, she pointed to her monitor.  “Look at what Angela pulled up on the Angelatron.”

                “We owe her for staying late.”, Jessica said before they looked.  “Oh my God…”

                “We’ve got the bastard.”  Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief before he saw his ASAC’s face.  “Genny, what are you thinking?”

                The ASAC turned to the couple.  “Boss, there were 41 pieces of lingerie in his vehicle.  Jessica only identified five of them.  Either he dresses in women’s underwear when he’s alone…”

                “Or he’s done this before...to other women.”, Jessica said quietly.  “Aubrey, do you know what that means?”

                “He’s not just an asshole...he’s a pervert, too...or worse.”, Aubrey returned.

                Genny steeled her spine.  “Tomorrow I’ll contact Dr. Miller and arrange to interview people in Antiquities.  I’ll work from there.”

                “Good...good...we can’t screw this up, Genny.”

                “We won’t, Boss.”, the ASAC replied before moving on.  “So, you were with Jessica on Monday night all the way to Tuesday morning?”

                Aubrey and Jessica looked at each other as they remembered what happened that night and the next morning.  “I got there around 9:00 Monday night and I left Tuesday morning about 6:30.  Booth and I left for West Virginia around 7:30 and as you know, we got stuck there overnight.”

                “Alright, Boss.” Genny picked up the printout from her printer along with other folders.  “Ready for Round Two?”

                “Yep.”, Aubrey said before turning to Jessica who was pale as a ghost.  “Jess, are you--”

                “I’m fine.”, Jessica said haltingly.  “Just please get the bastard.”

                “We will, Jessica.”, Genny said before the two agents headed back to the interrogation room.  When they got around the corner out of sight from Jessica, the petite woman stopped Aubrey.  “I’m sorry you’ve had to listen to that stuff.”

                The lanky man wanted to beat the crap of Gerald, but he knew he couldn’t.  “I know...just nail him, all right?”

                “Will do.”

                When Aubrey knocked on the observation room door, Caroline opened it and let him in.  With that, Genny came back into the interrogation room.

                “So, Mr. Maxwell….just a few more questions.”

                “Good...I have things to do, like getting ready to sue Jessica Warren for false arrest and then getting my internship back at the Jeffersonian.”

                The ASAC sat down and opened another folder.  “So you weren’t interested in Jessica’s daily movements, correct?”

                “No...I didn’t care what the fuck she did.”

                “No interest at all?”

                “No, Agent Shaw.  The bitch tried to steal my car and wasted my time with two dates.  I had better things to do...like a dissertation to work on and better women to have sex with.”

                Genny held up a folder with WARREN, JESSICA on the top tab.  “Look familiar, Mr. Maxwell?”

                “What’s that, Agent Shaw?”, Ms. Jergens asked.

                “This, Janis, is a file from a PI’s office that your client hired to follow Ms. Warren...starting in April of this year, and his last entry was right before Thanksgiving.  He followed her home from work...her apartment...her father’s nursing home...Agent Aubrey’s house.”

                Genny’s gaze moved when she saw the scion turned pale.  “What’s the matter, Gerald?  You look a little green around the gills.”

                “How…”

                “Amazing what search warrants can come up with...including secret compartments in dresser drawers.” , the agent said with a smirk as she saw Gerald get nervous.  “So, just to clarify, you took Jessica home last Monday?”

                “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

                “Well, then we have a problem, because Ms. Angela Montenegro gave me a sworn statement stating that she took Ms. Warren home about 3:15 that afternoon.   According to her cell phone records, Ms. Warren had a conversation with Ms. Gail Warren, her sister-in-law in Arlington, Virginia at 4:00, which lasted approximately 40 minutes.  She was purchasing a few items in the grocery store that she lives above around 4:50, and she talked to the landlord’s grandson, Mr. William Cho, down there for a short time.   He’ll swear to that in court.“

                Genny pulled another page.  “Her downstairs neighbor, Ms. Holly Abrams, stated that she drove them to their joint yoga class together at 6:30 since Ms. Warren was without a vehicle.  They were at their class until 8:00, and they came back to their apartment building together.  Also, Ms. Warren’s cell phone records show she called Agent Aubrey at 8:22 PM.  When Mr. Cho closed the store at 10:00, he saw Agent Aubrey’s vehicle in the parking lot, but not yours, Mr. Maxwell.  I’m sure you’ll agree that your red Alfa Romeo would be hard to miss.”

                “Well, that asshole is lying and everyone else is wrong.  I was the only one there with that cunt.  Now, I told you that Agent Aubrey was working late.”

                “As his second in command, I can attest to the fact that he does usually work late Monday nights.  However, he did leave that evening about 5:30, before I left.  He will also swear in court that he was with Ms. Warren at her apartment after she called and invited him over, arriving around 9:00.  Both state that they were together all night and that he didn’t leave until early Tuesday morning.”

                “Well then, the asshole is lying or he showed up after I left her place.”

                “Still sticking with that story?  All right.”, Genny said before moving on.  “According to Agent Aubrey and Ms. Warren, she was wearing a sleep shirt Monday night when they went to bed, and that she left the shirt in her dirty clothes Tuesday morning.”

                “I care about this...why?”

                “Well, when Jessica was going through her dirty laundry a couple days later, she found bodily fluids all over the front of the same shirt...as if someone wiped himself clean after ejacuation sometime after she left Tuesday.  Would you know anything about that?”

                Beads of sweat formed on the man’s forehead.  “No, because I cleaned up in her shower before leaving her place.  It was probably her boyfriend getting his jollies after she went to work Tuesday.”

                Genny smiled.  “No, it wasn’t, because Aubrey left DC with Agent Booth around 7:30 in the morning.  Jessica took a cab to work Tuesday morning, arriving at the lab at 8:30.  Her time punch, as well as Drs. Brennan and Hodgins, can confirm that.  Now once again, do you know how someone’s semen got onto her t-shirt?”

                “No, I don’t, Agent Shaw.”, Gerald said through clenched teeth.  “Knowing her, she probably saved some of my cum or even got some of her boyfriend’s and smeared it all over that Jeffersonian shirt she had in her hamper.”

                “How did you know it was a Jeffersonian t-shirt that had semen on it, Gerald?”, Genny retorted.  “Or that it was in her hamper?”

                “Because...she put it on before I left Monday night.”

                “No, because one, you weren’t there, Gerald.  Enough people can confirm that.  Two, you said she was naked when you left and then you said she had panties on.”, the agent replied.  “Which one is it, Gerald?  Either she was naked, just wearing panties, or got dressed?  Which one is it?”

                “She was naked then she put her panties back on and her shirt, you dumb bitch!”

                Chucking at his desperation, Genny continued.  “And where did she get the semen to smear all over her shirt?  You said you cleaned up the condoms at her insistence.”

                “All these people are liars!  They’re helping that bitch set me up!”

                “That’s a lot of people to lie in order to set you up, Gerald.”, Genny said.  “That’s Ms. Montenegro, Mr. Cho, the parking lot attendant, her downstairs neighbor Holly, Agent Aubrey, me….but I’m getting off topic.”

                Genny cleared her throat.  “Several people I’ve talked to said that you’ve had the hots for her since she started at the lab, but she always rejected you...and it irritated you.  Then she starts exclusively dating...and being intimate with another man...a federal cop to boot.”

                The petite woman got up and leaned against the wall.  “Finally after she is single again, she goes on a date with you.  You’re expecting to find out what several other guys got to experience with her, but she won’t have sex with you.  Not only does she reject you in front of several guests at a wedding of Who’s Who’s in DC, she and her former boyfriend then get back together.  That _‘glorified cop_ ’ then humiliates you not once, but twice.  Your big mouth gets you suspended, and you become the laughingstock of the Jeffersonian.  That had to hurt.”

                “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Agent Shaw.”

                “Oh, but I do.”, the ASAC said before moving and sitting on the edge of the desk until she was close to Gerald.  “You then threaten her with the loss of her internship through your father’s influence, like I’m sure you have done to other women in the past, but she throws it back in your face.  You don’t like that reminder that a woman mocked you.  It...emasculated you.  You tried making things harder for her at work and even got your father involved by threatening not only her academic career at the lab, but the other people who work there….people she cares about.”

                Gerald scoffed as he leaned back in his chair.  “Nice story.”

                “You couldn’t get rid of her and you were still pissed, so you decided to take things up a notch.”  Genny leaned back in her seat, enjoying the look of fear in the scion’s eyes.  “You had her observed long enough to know that she normally leaves at 6:00 Monday nights.  So you slashed the tires on her Jeep, either to jump her later that night when she was all alone or to be her only hope when she needed a ride home.  With the latter, you would scare the hell out of her again without any witnesses, either through intimidation, or with...other means.  However, you got interrupted and dropped the keys to your dick mobile in the parking garage.”

                “Wild imagination, Agent Shaw.”, Ms. Jergen replied.  “My client lost them the previous weekend at his parent’s house.”                

                “Oh, is that why he paid the Jeffersonian parking attendant 500 dollars to not tell anyone he asked about finding them in the parking lot last week?”,  the agent replied.

                “He’s a liar, Agent Shaw.”, Gerald said.  “Just jealous of what I have.”

                “Well, your plan went up in smoke when she found the damage to her tires and then left earlier than usual.”, Genny said quietly.  “Quickly, you came up with another...even better plan in your mind, so when the opportunity presented itself Tuesday, you went for it by destroying her locker and stealing those items from Antiquities.  While you were burglarizing her apartment, you found her bank book in her lingerie drawer, but then that fantasy you had of making love with Jessica came into play...you just couldn’t help yourself.  Perhaps you imagined the two of you in her bed...her couch...probably in the shower...”

                Genny leaned a little closer.  “You’re thinking to yourself...how does that skinny ass bastard Aubrey get all that and I get nothing?  You didn’t want the fantasy to end, but you also wanted to leave a calling card...so you stole her panties and jerked off on the first thing you could find before hiding it, thinking it wouldn’t be noticed.  Then you hit another snag when you went to return the stuff to Antiquities and Dr. Miller was there, so you hid everything in your locker with the intention of putting it back when you returned.”

                “One problem with that, Agent Shaw.”, Gerald said with a smirk.  “I was driving to Florida Tuesday night while all this supposedly went down.”

                The agent pulled out another paper.  “You said you left town right away after work, right?”

                “I’ve already told you that I did.  I got there about 4:00 in the morning and crashed until about 2PM.  Call our maid down there and she’ll confirm it.  Now, quit making me repeat myself.  I won’t tell you again, you hear me?”

                Ignoring the barely concealed rage, the ASAC pulled a printout from one of her folders.  “Well then, can you explain how you got a speeding ticket for going 85 in a 70 mile hour zone outside Fayetteville, North Carolina at 12:30 PM while you were allegedly sleeping in a beach house in St. Augustine, Florida?”

                “Computer error.  Obviously the cops in BFE screwed up.  I was in Florida.”

                Genny read the response from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.  “Um, no...this is your Alfa Romeo and your licence plate...Maxwell3.  You’re the one identified as the driver.”

                “Whatever, Agent Shaw.  I’ve watched enough cop shows to know that what you have is circumstantial.”, Gerald said, grinning at the agent.  “You can’t prove a damn thing because...you have no DNA.”

                “Oh, but I do, Gerald.”  Shaw pulled a baggie and a glove out of her jacket.  Carefully, she put his empty water glass in it.  “Remember your little hissy fit in Dr. Miller’s office earlier today?  You know, when you dumped your coffee cup and then drank his cans of soda for his later meeting?  You left some DNA...and there’s also some on this water glass you drank from.”

                The color drained out of the former intern’s face as he realized what was happening.  “You can’t do this...that bitch lied about me.  She’s been trying to smear me for months.  That profiler told me so.”

                It was Genny’s turn to be surprised.  “Excuse me?”

                “That profiler woman….Karen.  She said Jessica has been spreading lies about me...telling women that I can’t get it up and that I’m into guys.  I’m not going to take that shit lying down.  Jessica Warren needs to learn that she can’t steal other women’s boyfriends, or spread rumors to make me look bad.  Most of all, she’s not going to get away with flaunting it the way she does and then pushing me away.  It ain’t happening.”

                Genny decided she heard enough.  Getting out her cuffs, she read Gerald his rights.  “Gerald Maxwell, you are under arrest for burglary, vandalism, and making a false statement to the police.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                In the observation room, Aubrey’s disgust was intermixed with pride with his number two’s interrogation.

                “I am mightily impressed with that Agent Shaw.”, Caroline said.

                “So am I.”, Aubrey replied.

                “We should have a little chat with your friend Dr. Karen Delfs.  She may not have committed a crime, but something stinks this side of that woman.  You need to watch her, because when that bon rien man of hers shows how much of a pig he is, she’s going to be aiming for you again...and that means she’s going to focusing her mad on that ginger squintern of yours.”

                “I don’t care, Caroline.  Jess and I love each other...even more now that we did before.”, Aubrey said with confidence, thinking of what they shared in the last 14 hours.  “Nothing Karen can do will change that, and she’s not that stupid.  She wouldn’t risk her career on her jealousy of Jessica.”

                Aubrey began to yawn, getting Caroline’s attention.  Picking up her briefcase, she opened the door.  “Now, go get that squintern of yours so you can get home and rest.  I need both my boys rested and healed.  You hear me?”

                The agent smiled at her gentle rebuke.  “Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

                Jessica was staring out the window of Aubrey’s office looking at the lights of the nation’s capital.  The butterflies that she had when she arrived here had developed into pure squawking vultures, wreaking havoc on her stomach. 

_‘The interrogation is taking forever...please get him, Genny…’_ Her thoughts were so engrossing that she didn’t hear the footsteps until it was too late.

                “Why the hell did you drag Aubrey here for your bullshit?”

                Turning around, she saw Karen standing there.  “Aubrey and I were requested to be here.  I’m sure you have things to do, so you can leave me alone now.”

                “You’re a troublemaker, but your time’s coming, little girl.  I’m warning you that if something happens to Steve’s career, or Aubrey’s, because of your lies, you’re going to regret messing with me.  I’m not going to let you win.”

                “Karen, whatever contest you have us in, you’ve won, all right?  Now get a life, please?  You sound like a broken record.  ”

                “I’ll get a life when you--”

                “Jessica, ready to go?”, Genny said.  “Karen, you’re still here I see.  Steve left an hour ago.”

                “I know...I’m dropping off some reports before I go look for him.”

                Genny thought about what Gerald Maxwell had said.  “Dr. Delfs, I have to talk to you about a case tomorrow.  Be in my office at 9:00 sharp.”

                “Excuse me, I have profiles to do--”

                “That’s not a request.  Be here or I’ll call Agent Tanner and he’ll make sure you’re here.”, Genny said quietly before turning to Jessica.  “Aubrey’s ready to go.  I have Agent Thompson processing Gerald now.  Being that it’s too late for night court, he’ll spend a pleasant night here courtesy of the DOJ.”

                “Gerald?”, Karen queried.  “Gerald who?”

                “You’ll find out soon enough, Karen.  Now, Aubrey and Jessica need to go home and I have paperwork to do so I can go home to my son.”, Genny replied tersely before looking to the redhead.  “Come on Jessica, I’ll walk you to the elevator.”

                Karen watched as they greeted Aubrey on his crutches.  As she observed them walk away a thought crossed her mind. 

_‘The only Gerald that I can think of is that Maxwell guy….but...no...impossible.  The stuff I told him was only to get him riled up enough to use his father’s influence to get her out of the lab...and away from Aubrey and Steve.  He seems too smart to do something crazy...must be some other guy who fell for her shit.  Poor loser.’_

* * *

                Two hours later, Jessica and Aubrey were brushing their teeth together in the downstairs bathroom.  While the redhead washed her face, her boyfriend answered the call of nature, but eventually, the two came together in bed as Jessica put her head on her boyfriend’s chest.

                “It’s been...a wild day, Jess.”

                “It has.”, the redhead responded as she held Aubrey tighter, causing him to wince.  “Shit, Superman, I’m sorry…”

                “It’s okay, Jess...are you all right?”

                The redhead was quiet.  “No...but I will be.  Do you really think Gerald did stuff like this with other women?”

                Aubrey decided honesty was the best policy.  “Yes...I do, Jess.  He had all that lingerie...he had a PI tailing you...he’s obsessed with the fact you wouldn’t sleep with him.  I have no doubt he sexually harassed other interns...and did things to other women.  I can’t work on the case, but I’m confident Genny will find out what other skeletons that asshole is keeping in his closet.  Then, you will be safe again.  It’s probably good you’re staying with me right now.”

                “Maybe…but I can’t hide here forever, Aubrey.  I do have an apartment of my own.  I can’t let Gerald keep me from living my life.”

                “I know...but you can stay here as long as you want.”, Aubrey said before kissing her head.  “You know that, right?”

                “I do.”, Jessica said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.  “I have to stay with you for at least another couple of weeks until you’re 100% recovered.”

                “Cute, Jessica.  I’m serious. though.”

                Jessica stared at the wall.  “I know.  I love you, Superman.”

                “I love you too, Jess.”

                The couple came together and held each other as close as they could without hurting Aubrey, closing their eyes and finally drifting off to sleep.


	48. Saturday Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your continued interest in our story. Laura and Michelle appreciate it.
> 
> We're going to spend a Saturday with Aubrey in this chapter. Should be restful and relaxing, right? Maybe...read on to find out.

            It was a wintry Saturday morning, and Jessica was bundled up against the cold as she shouldered her purse and picked up a small gift bag.  “I won’t be home until late this afternoon, probably around 3:30 or so, but if you need anything, you can call me, okay?  Don’t get too ambitious...no rearranging closets or cleaning the chimney...”

            “I’ll be fine.  I’m almost healed up…”  Aubrey winced slightly as he reached over to put his arm around her.  “I’ll be good as new in no time.”  He saw his girlfriend’s stern expression and nodded in agreement.  “I’ll be good…I promise...”

            “I know, but since I’m your girlfriend, I get to remind you about things like that, so be careful.  Oh, and no rummaging around in the attic or the garage, alright?  I’ll help you get out the Christmas decorations in the next few days.”  She gave him a kiss and a flirty grin.  “I’ll see you later.”

            “Okay.  Have fun.  Tell Charlie and the ladies that I said hello.” 

            After giving her another kiss and closing the door behind her, Aubrey slowly walked into his kitchen to make his breakfast.  He was still feeling a bit unsteady, since he’d only recently given up his crutches, but it was a lot better than having to rely on a pair of sticks to get around the house. He knew it would take some time until he felt completely comfortable, but he was happy with the progress he’d made over the last week or so.

            Glancing at the clock, he nodded to himself as he scratched his belly before hitching up his Darth Vader pajama pants.  It was 8 o’clock, and he was really hungry.  Judging by the way Skinner was meowing, the cat was hungry as well.  Measuring out a cup of food, Aubrey poured it into the dish. 

            “You’re getting a little chubby there, boy.  Maybe we need to tell Aunt Jessica to lay off the treats.”

            Rubbing his cat’s chin, Aubrey couldn’t help but smile as he thought of his girlfriend.  She’d been a great help to him as he recovered, fixing his meals and making sure he’d kept up on his medications.  It had been wonderful having her around all the time, and he was beginning to think that the current arrangement needed to be permanent.  Maybe it was time that she gave up her apartment and moved in with him.  He loved holding her close as they slept together every night and waking up next to her every morning. 

            Of course, it was necessary for them to be celibate over the last couple of weeks because of the severity of his injuries, but he was looking forward to the day when that fast would be broken.

            Not that it had been easy to keep his hands to himself.  Jessica was a beautiful woman, and having her near just served to remind him of what he was missing in the sex department.  However, Aubrey was an intelligent, creative man.  He’d found a couple of ways to indulge in a little bit of fantasy even if he couldn’t indulge in making love. 

_I can handle it, right?  It’s not like I’m some horny teenager...I’m not that desperate...I can wait...doctor’s orders...goddammit..._

            Groaning softly as he pulled a cereal bowl out of a cabinet, he thought back to the night before as he’d caught a glimpse of Jessica practicing her yoga positions.  She didn’t know he’d been watching her, and it wasn’t like he’d planned to spy, but he couldn’t help but be fascinated.

**Oooooooooo**

            She’d been wearing a short tee shirt and some knit yoga pants as she rolled out her mat on the floor in the den.  He’d been passing by in the hall, on his way to the living room, when he’d peeked through the space where the door was ajar.  It wasn’t like he was being sneaky, but the door wouldn’t stay closed, and he’d tried to shut it so she could have some privacy.   It was just a quick peek...he wasn’t trying to be a voyeur…but...

            She was standing with her back to the door, reaching her arms up over her head before bending at the waist to touch her knees with her nose.   “ _Uttanasana”,_ she’d muttered to herself as she inhaled slowly.

            Aubrey almost choked on his tongue as he beheld the vision her position afforded him.  _“Oh, my God...look at that cute ass...just waiting for me…to help myself.”_ , he thought.  _“Now what is she doing…”_

            She stood up a bit and extended her arms over her head, exhaling as she reached out in front of her as far as she could while her feet were planted on the floor.  “ _Adho mukha...downward facing dog...”_

_“And down, boy…”_ He could feel his temperature rise as she stretched forward, still oblivious to his presence as he watched her.  _“A perfect position for making love…”_

            It was all he could do to keep from rushing into the den so he could pull her close to his burgeoning erection.  He shifted nervously from one foot to the other, aware that his body was responding urgently as his thoughts focused on having sex with his favorite redhead.  He knew Jessica was extremely limber, and they’d enjoyed multiple...and very creative...sex positions in the past, but now he knew why, and the thought was _very_ stimulating. 

            “Jesus...look at that…that’s just...amazing...”, he mumbled, in awe as she turned to face the door, moving to her knees and  then bending to do a _kapotasana._ She grabbed her ankles and flexed backwards until the top of her head touched the floor. 

            “Look at how those sweet boobs pop up under that shirt.  The perfect handful…”, he sighed, wishing he could cup them in the palms of his hands.  The thought of her soft, satiny skin and those perky pink nubs against his fingers was almost enough to send him over the edge.  _Just one little touch...one little taste...that’s all I need...I promise I’ll be good...I won’t be greedy..._

            Humming to herself, Jessica slowly sank onto her back.  Keeping her shoulders and arms on the floor, she drew up her feet up so the soles were flat on the floor and then proceeded to arch her back so that her pelvis was thrust forward.  She moved her feet apart slightly, breathing slowly as she held the bridge position.  “ _Setu bandha sarvangasana…”_

            Gasping softly as he took in the view, Aubrey almost bit his tongue in two to keep from crying out as he thought about sliding in between her knees to caress her gently with his fingers, just the way she liked it, and then with his mouth.   “God, Jess…”

            She shifted slightly as if she’d heard him gasp, and feeling panicked at the thought that he might be caught spying on her, he’d walked away as quickly and quietly as he could, hoping she wouldn’t know he’d been watching her.   _That would be creepy, right?  Watching her do yoga without her knowing it? But it was fun..._

            A few minutes later she came strolling through the living room with a towel around her neck.  “Why are you smiling at me like that?”, she asked suspiciously as she pushed her damp hair away from her face.

            Aubrey gave her an innocent smile. “You’re all hot and sweaty…”

             “You’d better get used to it.  I always look like this after yoga.  It can be quite a workout, you know…”

            “Oh, I know…”  _God, do I know._  “I think you look cute in your yoga clothes...definitely snuggleworthy…” 

            “Sorry, Loverboy...snuggling is verboten.”  She grinned as she glanced at his crotch.  “Your little buddy is way too happy to see me...you’re well passed the snuggling stage.  In fact, it looks like you’re more at the jump my bones stage.”   

            She sighed softly as he flashed a dimpled grin back at her and patted the seat next to him. “ _And I’d love to take advantage of that...I can’t wait for us to get back to normal...Dammit...he is so cute...down, girl! You have to set a good example...be an adult.’_.  

            “I’m not sure you’ll behave yourself if I get too close, Superman…”  Jessica wiped her face with the towel to give herself a moment to calm down.  ‘ _I know I won’t…’_

            Undeterred by her refusal, he pulled a sad little boy face.  “Aw, dammit, Jess...just a little cuddle…c’mon, pleeease?  I’m dying here...” 

            “Not until the surgeon gives the all clear.  It would suck if you injured yourself again and we had to wait another four weeks, right?”  She gave him a knowing look as she walked into the kitchen to take a bottle of water from the refrigerator.  “Soon...I promise…”

            Pouting a bit, he turned on the television, trying to ignore how snug his sweatpants felt.  “Okay, you’re right.  I get it.” 

            As his girlfriend went upstairs to take a shower, he sighed as he tried to turn his thoughts away from sex.  _I know...I’ll think about Karen and Steve eating that nasty asparagus tart while they’re in the buff...that ought to kill the mood…_

**Oooooooooo**

            Grumbling to himself as he poured some milk on his bowl of Cap’n Crunch, Aubrey found himself annoyed all over again.  He’d been sorely disappointed with his checkup on the 8th, but there was nothing he could do about it.  He’d considered telling Jessica that the doctor was fine with them having sex again.  However, he couldn’t bring himself to lie to her, and he knew she’d call him on his bullshit anyway.  Still, it was really aggravating...

**Oooooooooo**

            The medical assistant had removed his stitches, and he was looking forward to seeing the surgeon so she could give him the all clear.  He was anxious for things to get back to normal in all aspects of his life, not just the sex part... _okay, maybe mostly the sex part_...but he was greeted instead by the physician’s assistant, Mr. Sturgis, who came in and sat down on a stool in front of the computer monitor.

            “Where’s Dr.  Elias?  I’m supposed to see her today.“, Aubrey asked sharply.

            Sturgis skimmed through Aubrey’s information as it popped up on the screen.  “She’s in Dallas...some sort of surgical trauma seminar.  She’s presenting a paper…”  The large man turned to examine Aubrey’s wounds, clearly irritated with the question as he checked for healing and any signs of infection.  “She left me instructions on what to do for you, Agent Aubrey.  I’m well trained, or she wouldn’t let me see her patients...”

            “Oh, I know that.  I’m not worried about that part of it.”  Aubrey offered a friendly smile, trying to clarify any misunderstanding.  “I was just wondering, since I was hoping she was gonna clear me to go back to work...and all...you know…”  He could feel himself begin to blush.  “So... anyway…”

            “I see.”  Sturgis grinned at the agent.  “Well, your wound looks pretty good, but Dr. Elias is still somewhat concerned about your bruised spleen and some of your deep tissue injuries.  Her orders say that as long as your wounds show no signs of infection, you can go back to work half days starting on Wednesday, the 15th, if you feel up to it.  You can gradually wean yourself from your crutches, but none of that ‘you know’, or field work, either, for at least two more weeks.  She wants to see you on either the 26th or 27th.”

            Aubrey was thoroughly confused.  “But two weeks from now is December 22nd...why can’t I come on the 22nd?”

            “Thursdays are her hospital rotations, and her schedule on the 23rd is booked solid, Agent Aubrey.  That’s how it is around the holidays. People want to be cleared by the doctor so they can have fun and enjoy themselves.  If you’re cautious in your everyday activities, and if you’re a good boy for the next few weeks, Santa might just let you have lots of ‘you know’ for New Year’s.”

_‘Son of a bitch!  I don’t want to wait until after Christmas...not with the gift I have in mind for Jessica.’_   Aubrey rolled his eyes at the PA’s stupid joke.  “Ha ha.  You’re just a barrel of laughs, aren’t you, Sturgis?” 

            “I do my best.  You should come see my standup routine at the comedy club sometime.”  Winking at the agent, Sturgis moved back to the computer to make some entries on Aubrey’s records.  “Be careful, okay?  Take it slow.  No need to do everything the first time out.  I’ve made your next   appointment for you...9 AM on December 26th.  I’ve also put a note in here that says you want the office to call you if there’s an opening on the 23rd. Okay?”

            “Okay, two weeks.  Thanks...I guess...”  Aubrey frowned as he pulled his pants on.  _Abstinence for two more weeks?  Might as well shoot me now…_

**Ooooooooooo**

            The good news, if there was any, was that Jessica was disappointed, too.  His frustration was eased a bit when she said she was willing to keep her promise to break his fast in a spectacular fashion if he promised to behave himself appropriately until his next doctor’s visit.  He was definitely looking forward to her keeping that promise.

            “Yeah, she loves me, Skinner.  I’m a lucky guy.”  The cat simply blinked his eyes before heading off to one of his favorite nap spots.  Laughing, Aubrey put the cereal box and milk away.  “I’m a lucky guy, and I’m going shopping today to get the perfect gift for my lovely lady.” 

            He picked up his dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher, humming a Christmas song as he wiped down the counter.  He was going to have almost the entire day to himself, and he’d planned to make the most of it.  Jessica was going to visit her father for a couple of hours this morning, and then she was supposed to have a girls only Christmas get together that afternoon at some fancy bistro with Daisy, Andie, Dr. B, Cam, and Angela. 

            Aubrey didn’t mind at all...in fact, he’d encouraged her to attend.  She needed a break from the stress of dealing with Gerald Maxwell.  It seemed like that asshole’s arrest was all over the news, and he could tell that the extensive coverage was upsetting her.  Genny was continuing to follow their hunch that Gerald’s aggressive sexual behavior towards Jessica was not an isolated event, and she’d promised to keep them updated on what she found.

            Jessica also needed some time off from taking care of her boyfriend’s sorry ass.  _Anyway, I have some serious Christmas shopping to do_ _without her looking over my shoulder._   _Time to surf the web…_

            He picked up his phone and cup of coffee before ambling into the family room to make himself comfortable on the sofa with his laptop.  “Let’s see here…”, he muttered.  “...lingerie.  She likes Victoria’s Secret...and I owe her some panties anyway...so maybe some thongs...definitely some of those cheekies she likes…they make her ass look amazing...” 

            Remembering what bras she had, he grinned as he made sure his selections would match.  “I don’t know why she bothers wearing panties when we’re together...I just end up either pulling them off or tearing them off of her anyway…but presents are more fun if you get to unwrap them.” 

            He paid for his purchase and was searching for something else when his phone rang.  “Aubrey…”

_“Oh, hey, Boss...it’s me, Genny.  Listen, I’m sorry to bother you so early on a Saturday morning…”_

            “No problem.  That’s what I’m here for.”  His brow furrowed in concern.  “Did they call you in for a case?”

_“No, nothing like that.”  Shaw’s embarrassment was evident in her voice.  “I was wondering if you could do me a favor…”_

            “Of course.  Name it.”

_“You may not be so eager to help when I tell you what I need.  It’s kind of a long story...just a minute.”_ He could hear her discussing something with someone in the background.

_“Yes, it’s the only way, Mom.”_ Shaw cleared her throat.  _“So my mom’s car died...I think the alternator is shot.  We had to have it towed to a repair shop.”_

            “Man, that sucks.”, Aubrey groaned.   “Can they fix it today?”

_“The mechanic doesn’t think so.  My mom drives this ancient Saab, and even if they can find the part, it’ll have to be ordered and shipped, so it’s gonna be at least Monday.  But that’s not the real problem…”_  

            “Okay…”  Aubrey waited as Shaw spoke to someone on her end.  “So what do you need me to do?  I can maybe recommend someone else…”

_“No, we know this guy, and he’s trustworthy. That’s not the problem.  See, it’s like this. My mom has a hair appointment she wants to keep this morning since she has a hot date with her new boyfriend tonight.  She needs a cut and a color, so it’ll be a few hours.  I can take her over there, but I was wondering...would you mind watching Danny for me?  He can bring a book to your house and sit and read, and you won’t even know he’s there.  I promise he’ll be no trouble.  Your house is on the way to the salon, and I can drop him off...it’ll save me a trip home...please?  I’ll make it up to you, I promise…”_

            “Shaw?  Shaw...stop talking.  Listen...no, listen.  Of course he can come over here.  It’s no trouble, okay?  I’m just sitting here watching cartoons…”  Aubrey closed the lingerie website on his computer.  “Yeah, sure...bring him over.”

_“Hey, thanks, Aubrey.”_ Relieved, Genny sighed audibly.  _“This is really important to my mom, or I wouldn’t ask…”_

            “No problem.  How soon will you be here?”

_“Fifteen minutes?”_

            “Fine.  See you then.”  Tossing his phone aside, Aubrey pushed himself up from the couch.  “I guess I better go put some clothes on…”

**Oooooooooo**

            Shaw was prompt, showing up at Aubrey’s front door with Danny in tow.  Clutching his book tightly, he shyly stood off to one side of the front porch as his mother chatted with her new babysitter.

            “I’ve told him that I expect him to be good, Boss.  He won’t give you any trouble.”

            Aubrey glanced at the boy and smiled.  “We’ll be fine, right, Danny?”

            The brown eyed boy nodded as he stared at his shoes.  “I guess.”

            “See?”  Aubrey grinned at Shaw.  “So a couple of hours?  You want me to feed him a sandwich?”

            Checking her watch, she smiled sheepishly.  “That would be great.  We should be back by noon...12:15 at the latest…”

            “Okey doke.  Okay, we’ll see you later.”  Aubrey watched as Genny jogged back to her car, waving as they pulled out of the driveway.  “C’mon, Buddy...let’s go watch some ‘toons.”

            “My mom said I was s’posed to read and be quiet.”  Danny sat down on the end of the couch and opened his book.  “I’m not s’posed to bother you.”

            “Well, if you want to read, that’s great.  Reading’s good.”  Aubrey turned on the television.  “I like to read, too, but I also like to watch Tom and Jerry.”  He chuckled as he watched the mouse outwit the cat once again.  “Look at that, Danny.  Pretty funny, huh?”

            Danny shrugged as he turned a page in his book.  “I guess.”

_I guess?  I told Shaw I’d talk to Danny about Hunter, and all he can say is ‘I guess’?_ After watching a couple more cartoons, Aubrey sat back on the couch, hoping he could find a way to start a conversation with the child.  “Hey, Danny...do you like video games?”

            “I guess.”  The boy closed his book and studied Aubrey, wondering what this grown man sitting next to him could possibly know about gaming.  “What games do you got?”

            “Well, I’ve got SuperMario Kart, of course...everybody has that one, right?”  Aubrey handed Danny a game controller.  “I’ve also got The Crushers and The Quest for Kro Nos...you know, with all those cool creatures like snow giants and yetis?”

            “My mom doesn’t like it when I play fighting games.”  Danny sighed as he ran his thumbs over the controller.  “She says I need to be older to play them so I don’t learn about scary things too early.”

            “She’s right...those games are kinda violent.  I mean, in Kro Nos, it’s more of an adventure game, but still...”  After being stumped for a minute about what to choose, Aubrey smiled as he nodded at the boy.  “I know...let’s play Aerial Attack.  It’s not really a fighting game...it’s more like flying airplanes, okay?  Wanna try?”

            “I guess.”  Danny set his book on the table and watched intently as Aubrey set up the game.   “Can I ask you a question, Agent Aubrey?”

            “Sure…”  Aubrey plopped down on the couch as the game began.  “What do you want to know?”

            “You’re my mom’s boss, right?”  Danny turned to look at Aubrey.  “She works for you?”

            “Well, sort of.  I mean, she helps me do a lot of important stuff when we catch the bad guys, but I make most of the decisions about things like how to go about catching them.”

            “So if you’re her boss, you can tell her what to do, right?”  Danny squinted up at Aubrey as he manipulated the joystick.   “So can you tell her not to go out with Hunter anymore?”

             _Well, I guess that solves that problem...we’re gonna talk about it now, aren’t we?_ “Why don’t you want your mom to go out with Hunter anymore?  He’s a nice guy…”

            “I don’t like him.”  Danny made a face as he began to play the game.  “He talks too much, and he’s always saying mushy stuff to my mom.  It makes me want to throw up.”

            “I see.”  Aubrey nodded as he listened to Danny’s complaint.  “What kind of mushy stuff?”  Seeing the boy’s embarrassment, he leaned over and winked at him.  “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but if you do, I won’t tell her you told me, okay?”

            Danny averted his eyes, unsure what to do.  “Um...it’s kinda gross.  He calls my mom his ‘cute little snookums’ and his ‘sweet little snugglebunny’, and gross stuff like that, and then…”  Danny sighed audibly.  “...then he kisses her...on the lips...and he tells her that he loves her.  It’s yucky.”

            “Does your mom act like she thinks it’s yucky?”

            “No...that’s the weird part.  I think she likes it when they kiss.”  Shaking his head, Danny moved his drone through the training course on the game.  “Parents are weird.”

_You got that right, kid._ “Well, if she likes it, maybe you shouldn’t worry about it.  After all, your mom’s an FBI special agent, and I bet she’d be able to make Hunter stop kissing her if she didn’t like it.”

            “I guess.”  Sighing in disappointed, Danny glanced at Aubrey.  “So does that mean you’re not gonna boss her around and tell her to quit going out with Hunter?”

            “Well...I can’t really boss her around about stuff like that.  Sorry.”  Chuckling to himself as he saw Danny’s annoyed expression, Aubrey decided to try a different strategy.  “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

            “I guess.”

            Pursing his lips, Aubrey maneuvered his drone on the game’s next level.  “Do you have friends at school?  You know, kids you play with at recess?  People you eat lunch with?”

            “Yeah.  I play soccer and climb on the monkey bars with Amir and BJ at recess, and I eat with Henry and Jacob at lunch.”

            “And are there kids to play with in the neighborhood?”  Aubrey reached over and tapped Danny’s controller.  “Pull back on that thing.”

            Sticking his tongue out as he concentrated, the little boy moved his drone up and over the barrier and onto the next level.  “There’s a couple of kids...Billy and George.  Billy is a little bit older than me, and George is my age.  We mostly play Army.”

            “See, you’ve got friends your own age, right?  So maybe your mom needs friends her age, and maybe Hunter is one of them.”

            “Yeah, but I don’t kiss my friends like she kisses Hunter.”  Danny sniffled slightly.  “Anyway, what if she decides she loves Hunter more than she loves me?  Maybe she’ll go live with him and leave me behind, and then I won’t have any more parents.  My dad’s dead, you know...”

            “Yeah, I heard about that.  I’m sorry.”  _So that’s it.  Poor kid...he’s afraid of being an orphan._ Aubrey sighed softly as he picked at some cat hair on the sofa.  “When I was a kid, my dad was gone, too, and it was just my mom and me, kinda like the way it is with you and your mom.  My mom didn’t have many friends, and I think it made her sad...like maybe she was lonely or something.  Anyway, I used to worry that she’d leave me alone someday, too, but she told me that was just plain silly.  She said she’d always be there for me while I was a little boy, because she loved me so much...too much to leave me.  That’s just the way moms are.”

            Aubrey reached over and patted Danny’s knee.  “I’m gonna tell you a secret, okay?”  He watched as the child nodded silently.  “It’s real important...it’s something your mom told me a long time ago.  Are you ready to hear it?” 

            “It’s something my mom told you?”  Danny bit his quivering lip.  “Is she gonna be mad that you told me her secret?”

            “I don’t think so.  She probably thinks you already know it.  Are you ready?  Here it is...your mom loves you more than she loves any other person in the whole world, okay?  She loves you more than Hunter...she loves you more than she loves your grandma.  You’re her son, and that makes you the most special person in the world to her, and she’d never, ever, leave you behind...not for all the money in the world...not for anything, okay?” 

            “But Hunter says he wants them to get married.”  The little boy blinked back his tears.  “Maybe he doesn’t want me to live with them.”

            “If Hunter didn’t want you to live with them, your mom wouldn’t marry him, because she loves you too much to live anywhere without you.”  Aubrey moved his drone onto the next training level.  “I know it’s hard for you to understand, but grown up people like to have friends their own age, just like you like having friends your age.  It’d be boring for you to hang out with a guy my age all the time, right?  I mean, we’re having fun now, but I bet I can’t climb the monkey bars nearly as well as your friends at school. ” 

            “Yeah, prob’ly not. Amir is pretty good at it.”

            “So your mom loves being with you, but sometimes she wants to do stuff with grownups her own age, too.”  Grinning at the youngster next to him, the agent continued.  “And when she goes out with her friends, and leaves you with your grandma, she always comes back, because she loves you, okay?”

            “Do you really think so?  She’ll still love me, even if she marries Hunter?”

            “I know so, Danny.  Your mom has plenty of love to go around.  She can love both of you at the same time.”  Aubrey paused the game and turned to the boy.  “I know you said you didn’t like Hunter, but I wonder...have you given him a chance to prove that he’s an okay kind of guy?”

            “I guess not.  Normally when he comes over I go hide in my room.”  Danny tried to smile, but he was still teary eyed.  “Do you think he likes to play video games?”

            “I don’t know, but I bet you can find out if you ask him.  Maybe I’ll let you borrow Aerial Attack and you can teach him how to play.  He’d probably like that.”

            “I guess.”  Danny set his controller on the couch.  “I’m hungry.”

            “Me, too.  How about you and me having some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?  I’ve got some chips, too.”

            “Okay.”  Sniffling again, the little boy finally offered up a real smile.  “Thanks, Agent Aubrey.”

            “Any time, Danny.”

**Oooooooooo**

            Genny had come to pick up Danny shortly after the guys had finished their lunch.  Aubrey gave her a sly wink as he took her aside while the boy was retrieving his book.  “I know why your kid was so angry with Hunter...I’ll tell you about it soon.”  Seeing her concern, he smiled.  “I think we got everything taken care of...no worries, okay?”

            “Okay.  Hey, thanks again, Boss.”  Genny smiled as she tousled Danny’s hair.  “We appreciate it.”

            “No problem.  I was glad to help.  Bye now…”  He watched them drive away before going back into the house to clean up the kitchen.  Glancing at the clock on the microwave, he grinned.  He had a very important shopping trip planned for this afternoon, and his ride would be arriving soon.

**Oooooooooo**

            It was one o’clock sharp when Booth pulled his SUV into Aubrey’s driveway.  Jogging up to the front door, he waited impatiently for his friend to answer the doorbell.

            “Hey.”  Aubrey grinned as he let Booth in.  “Sorry...I’m still a little wobbly without my crutches.”

            “No problem.  You ready?” 

            “Yeah...let me get my sticks just in case I get tired, okay?”  Making his way through the threshold, Aubrey turned to lock the front door.  “I really appreciate this, Booth.  It’s a pain in the ass, not being able to drive…”

            “Yeah, well, I kind of owe you a favor, seeing how you saved my life and all.”  Grinning as he pulled out of the driveway, the older man shrugged off Aubrey’s thanks.  “Anyway, I like looking for that sort of stuff, too, and I may do some Christmas shopping for Bones while we’re out.” 

            Glancing at his rearview mirror, he cleared his throat a bit.  “So I guess you saw the email about the special event we’ve been told to attend…it’s black tie.”

            “Yeah, I saw that.  I guess I’ll have to rent a tux, right?  All because the SEC and the FBI want to give us a public pat on the back...”  Aubrey shook his head as he watched the scenery go by.  “It just doesn’t feel right, you know?  I mean, I know we got Vacchio’s killer…”

            “Well, we sort of got his killer.  It’s more like he jumped us so we’d have to take him out.  It’s not like we did anything more than the usual investigative work…and, then, of course, you saved my life…”

            “And you saved mine…”, Aubrey said quietly.  “Thanks again, by the way…”

            “Enough of that shit, okay?  We were just both doing our jobs, right?”  Booth gripped the steering wheel tightly as he stared out the windshield.  “I guess we’ve got to suck it up and go to the party, but you know what?  I’m just not satisfied that the case is actually closed.  There are too many loose ends…”

            “I know...I feel the same way.”  Aubrey turned to look at Booth.  “I’m still convinced my dad is involved some way.”

            “So your gut is talking to you, huh?”  Chuckling, Booth tapped the wheel in time to the Christmas carol playing on the radio.  “Mine, too.  Unfortunately, we don’t have anything concrete to go on, do we?  As far as the FBI is concerned, it’s a done deal, so we just have to smile and go with the flow until we can find a reason to reopen the case.”

            “Okay.”  Shrugging as he fidgeted with his seatbelt, Aubrey grimaced in annoyance.  “I should’ve been back at work already.  We’ve probably lost all sorts of leads and important information…”

            “If it’s relevant to the case, it’ll still be out there.  We’ll just have to look harder for it.”  Booth shook his head at Aubrey.  “Anyway, this case isn’t worth stressing over right now, okay?  You’ve already had to risk your life once for it.  You need to take care of yourself instead of worrying about it.  In the long run, being healthy...that’s what counts.  Anyway, I don’t want to talk about that anymore...not when we’ve got important Christmas shopping to do.” 

            He pulled the truck into a parking slot in front of a boutique.  “Here we are.  _Karine’s Intimates._ I bet they’ll have just what we’re looking for.”  He glanced over to see Aubrey blushing.  “What’s the matter?”

            “You’re going in there, too?  I thought...I mean...well, you know...I was planning to go look around by myself…I thought you were just going to drop me off.”  Aubrey stared at the truck’s dashboard.  “Well, this is weird…”

            “It’s not like I’ve never seen sexy lingerie before, Aubrey.”  Smiling at a pleasant memory, Booth waited for his friend to ease himself out of the SUV.  “Sweets brought me here to get something for Bones after Christine was born, so I know they have a good selection, and from what I’ve heard, they carry a lot of unique stuff in a lot of different sizes.  You should’ve seen what I got her...it was dark blue…and it looked great on her.  The best part was how much she appreciated it.”  He licked his lips as he sighed happily.  “Let’s just say the ice cream melted really quickly…”

_Jesus!  I did not need to know that!_ Aubrey was trying hard _not_ to imagine what the very well-structured Dr. Brennan would look like as she wore a revealing outfit, but he wasn’t having much success.  “Um...I was thinking about purple for Jess…”

            “Anyway, I think it’s only fair that I share this tradition with you.  Oh, there’s Gloria...she’s the one who usually helps me.  You’d think I’d be able to figure out what my wife likes after all this time, but it never hurts to get a second opinion…”  Waving at the woman, Booth called her over.  “Hey, my friend here needs to find something special for his girlfriend’s Christmas gift.”

            Feeling overwhelmed in the presence of so much satin, lace, and tulle, Aubrey was speechless as the saleswoman shook his hand.  “Do you have any idea what you’d like to get for her?”

            “Purple...I want purple…lots of purple.”  He pointed to a tiny triangle of lace dangling from a Christmas tree on a nearby display.  “Like that color.”

            “Those thongs are quite popular, although they seem to be mostly for decoration...”  Gloria arched an eyebrow at the men.  “They aren’t very practical, are they?”

            “True…”, Aubrey chuckled.  “They don’t really serve much purpose other than cock blocking, but they do look good under a matching garter belt...”

            Booth turned to stare at his friend.  “What the hell?  Garter belts?”

            “Oh, yeah, Booth.  Look, I’ll show you.”  Aubrey laid out a thong on a table and put a garter belt on top of it.  “See, this goes here, and this goes on top, riding low on the hips…they’re great with cheeky panties, too.  I don’t know...there’s something old school about a garter belt that I like...kind of a Hollywood fantasy, I guess, and Jess doesn’t mind indulging me...”

            “Whoa...that is way too much information, Aubrey.”  Shaking his head, Booth wandered away from the table, pretending to look at nightgowns before circling back to where his companion was standing.  _I wonder if Bones would like to have one of those things...I know I’d like to see her in one…”_

            Gloria was busy pulling out sets in every shade of purple she could find, as well as combinations of purple and black along with purple and silver.  “Here we are...this lavender is a very popular shade…”

            “Nah...her skin is really fair, and I think that would wash her out.  I need something darker...no, that’s too dark.  I want something like more of a wine than a grape…but not too much red...”

            Booth was growing more restless by the minute as he watched Aubrey work his way through the pile of sexy clothing on the counter.  Finally he strolled to the fantasy section of the store and began to look through the racks. 

            “Oh my God…”  He pulled out a selection and broke into a wide grin.  “Yup...gotta have it.”  Throwing the garment over his arm, he looked through the negligees, watching in amusement as his friend tried to make a decision.

            “Here we go.  We have a winner.”  Holding up the hanger, Aubrey was grinning from ear to ear.  “It’s perfect.” 

            The very short dark purple nightgown had a low cut V-neckline accented by a bow.  The embroidered lace cups were barely held in place by slender spaghetti straps, and lace panels alternated with sheer panels in the skirt, which fell right at the top of the thigh.  A wide lace band at the hem offered just enough coverage to allow a tantalizing view of the matching thong.

            Aubrey could hardly contain himself as he thought of his beautiful girlfriend wearing this beautiful nightgown...not that she’d actually be wearing it that long… 

            “An excellent choice, sir.”  Gloria smirked when she noticed her customer was practically salivating over his choice.  “Your girlfriend is certainly lucky to have someone like you shopping for her…”

            “Thanks.  Actually, I’m lucky to have her…”, Aubrey said, blushing as he thought about getting lucky as soon as he possibly could. 

            “And are you sure of her size?”  She smiled as she saw her best customer walking towards the front of the store.  “Agent Booth has often commented that guessing his wife’s size is the most difficult aspect of shopping.”

            “Not a problem.  I brought these…”  Aubrey reached into his jeans pocket and drew out a pair of black lace panties.  “See...there on the tag?  Size small…and her bras are 34Bs…”

            “Jesus, Aubrey…”  Booth was horrified.  “I can’t believe you carry around some of Jessica’s underwear in your pants pocket…that’s something Steve Bower would do…”

            The younger man shoved the underwear back in his pocket.  “Well, it’s not like I do it all the time, Booth. I only did today because I want her to be able to wear her gift as soon as she opens it, so I want to make sure it fits right the first time.”

            Gloria laughed as she checked the size of the lingerie set Aubrey had picked out.  “I’m glad he was so thorough, Agent Booth.  It’s much easier than having to compare body parts to types of fruit.”

            “Huh?”  Aubrey shook his head in confusion as Booth glared at the salesclerk.  “Anyway, what else do you have that I can look at?”

            “We also have a fine selection of crotchless panties, as well as some bralets…”

            “Do you have any more sets like this one?  Maybe turquoise…”  Aubrey’s eyes lit up as he looked around the store.  “I’d almost like to buy one in every color...kind of like having the twelve days of Christmas in lingerie…”

            Gloria was most pleased to pull out more satin and lace for her new best customer.  “This deep aqua lace gown is nice...and we have this sheer seafoam green confection…see how the hem actuates the legs? And both come with matching thongs...”

            “I like both of these…”  Aubrey scratched the back of his neck as he tried to decide which set to buy.  “What do you think, Booth?  Purple or turquoise?”

            “Oh, no.  You are not dragging me into that mess.”  Placing his selections on the counter, he nodded at Gloria.  “I’ll take these things while Loverboy here is trying to decide…”

            After ringing up Booth’s purchases, Gloria turned to Aubrey.  “Well?”

            “Hell, I can’t decide.  I’ll take all three of them, and throw in three pairs of those crotchless panties, too, one in each color.”  _I always manage to tear up her panties anyway...might as well be prepared…_ He pointed to a mannequin in the store’s window.  _”..._ and I want that black lace bustier with the matching tanga panties…”

            Booth watched his friend in amazement.  _‘How the hell does Aubrey know so much about garter belts, bustiers, and panties?’_ , he thought to himself before he came to his senses with a small shudder.  _‘Never mind, I don’t want to know…’_

            “Whatever you say, sir.  Shall I have them gift wrapped?”

            Glancing at his phone to check the time, Aubrey shook his head.  “Nah...we’ve got to be going.”  Smiling at Gloria, he picked up the large bag.  “Thanks for all the help.”

            “No problem.  I hope to see you again soon.”

            The men laughed as they left the store.  “Oh, you can count on that.”, Aubrey replied.  “Merry Christmas.”

            Laughing as he watched Aubrey reach into the bag to stroke the soft clothing inside, Booth pulled the SUV out into traffic.  “I think someone’s got a bad case of horniness…I can imagine Jessica’s having to beat you off with a baseball bat right now.” 

            “Jesus...is it that obvious?”  Aubrey sighed heavily, disgusted with himself.  “There I was in that store with all those glamorous sexy things…and I could hardly control myself.  All I could think about was being with Jessica...I’m just glad I didn’t embarrass myself in public.”

            “Yeah, me too, but you’ve been recuperating from being shot for a couple of weeks now, so it’s understandable that you feel like you need some extra special attention from your girlfriend.”  Booth grinned at Aubrey’s surprised expression.  “Hey, I know what it’s like when you love someone, but you can’t show them like you usually do because you’ve been seriously injured.  Remember when I got shot in the belly and I had to pack my wound with silver nitrate to stop the bleeding? Hell, I almost died, and after all the surgeries and the therapy, I didn’t think I’d ever get back to normal.  It took almost eight weeks before the doctor finally cleared me for all of the bedroom stuff.”

            “Eight weeks?  Good Lord…”  Aubrey was horrified.  “How could you stand that?”

            “Well, I knew I had to be careful, because too much fooling around could’ve caused some permanent damage. Besides, it didn’t hurt that Bones was making sure I behaved myself. I mean, she was anxious for me to get better, too, but we both could see the big picture, and it gave us a goal to look forward to.  Of course, my recuperation and rehab was a lot longer than yours is gonna be, but still...I know it bothers you to be out of commission. The waiting while you’re healing is the hardest part of getting better.  You just gotta get your mind off it.  Hey, I know...tell me what’s going on with that loser Maxwell.  Is he gonna leave Jessica alone?” 

            “He will if he knows what’s good for him!”, Aubrey growled.  “Genny is digging around but coming up empty.  She told me she’s going to keep an eye on him.  I’m sure she’ll fill me in when I go back to work on Wednesday.  I don’t know, Booth...how does someone get to be such a nasty prick?  I mean, the guy’s just disgusting.”

            “I don’t know.  I guess he wasn’t raised right for one thing...Hodgins knows the family and he says Gerald’s dad has always bailed him out at the first whiff of trouble.”  Booth offered a sideways grin at his friend.  “You should be really proud of Jessica for standing up to that slimy bastard.  A lot of women would’ve either caved in to his demands, or they would’ve run away, and, you know, given the situation, that’s understandable.  I think ol’ Gerald expected Jessica to react the same way, but he really underestimated how gutsy your girlfriend is, Aubrey.”

            “She is an amazing woman…”

            “I have to agree, even if she does think you’re wonderful.”  Chuckling at Aubrey’s scowl, Booth hummed a little tune as they waited for the light to change at an intersection.  “Anyway, let’s talk about something else besides Maxwell.  Did I tell you that I’m taking Bones on a little trip next February?  I think we’re gonna go to Florida for a few days...just the two of us.  I’m checking out some little cabins in Key West...”

            “That sounds like fun…”, Aubrey agreed.  “Florida’s a great place to visit.”

            “Yeah.  After everything that’s happened and then the holiday rush, it’ll be nice to get away for a bit, you know?  It’ll be quick...we’ll probably leave on a Wednesday evening and come back on a Monday morning, but it’ll be nice not to have to worry about work for a few days. We’ll be too busy doing other things, anyway…”

            “I thought you were gonna help me get my mind off of sex.”, Aubrey whined.  “You’re not helping one damn bit.”

            Booth chuckled as he pulled the car into the driveway.  “Sorry, buddy.  I guess that’s just the way it is with us guys, right?  Everything reminds us of sex…”

            “That’s the truth, especially when you have to be celibate for a while.”  Aubrey glanced at his phone again as he unlocked his front door.  “I need to find a place to hide this bag in a hurry.  Jessica will be home any minute…”

            “I’ve got just the place, out there in the garage…”  Booth offered a conspiratorial smile.  “Come on, I’ll show you…”

            “I don’t want to store expensive lingerie in the garage, Booth…that’s just crazy!”, Aubrey complained.  “It might get grease and stuff on it…’

            “It’ll just be for a few days...until Monday, right?  You’re not going back to work until Wednesday, so while Jessica is gone to work you can wrap these things for her.”

            “Yeah, okay...I guess so, but we’ve got to hurry.”  Aubrey was suddenly winded from his excursion, sagging a bit as he walked into the garage.  “She’s going to come home, and I’m going to be tired, and she’s going to want to know what I’ve been up to…’

            “Come on...out here.  See that door?”  Booth pointed to a cabinet that had been inserted between some joists. 

            Overcome with curiosity, Aubrey peered over his friend’s shoulder.  “I never noticed that.  What is it?”

            “I’m not sure.  I just know that the guy who built this house used to deal in drugs and other contraband.  This cubby hole was in the original house, so when I rebuilt it, I put it back in, but I didn’t tell Bones.”  Laughing softly, Booth took a key from a ledge above the cabinet.   “Believe me, it’s come in handy.  So let’s just put the bag in here, and shut the door, and then we’ll just lock it up…”

            Both men turned in surprise as they heard the whirring of the motor that opened the garage door.  After quickly closing the cabinet, they tried to look innocent as the garage door opened and Jessica pulled her Jeep inside. 

            Getting out of her vehicle, she slammed the door and marched the few steps up to them while shaking her finger.  “Aubrey!  What did I tell you about getting down the Christmas decorations?”

            “I wasn’t...I mean…we were...”

            Jessica turned to the older man.  “Booth, were you helping him? Aubrey is supposed to be taking it easy!”

            “No, Jessica…I just wanted to show Aubrey something about the circuit breaker...it can be tricky, you know?  Honest, we weren’t working or anything like that.”, Booth stammered nervously.  _‘When she’s annoyed she looks as scary as Bones does sometimes…’_

            “Yeah, Jess...Booth was just showing me something electrical...hey, I’m glad you’re home.  Did you have fun with Daisy and the others?”

            “NO!” Jessica glared at them as she stormed into the house and slammed the door.

            “Hmm...I guess that’s my cue to leave.”, Booth said, cringing in mock horror as he looked at his friend.  “Have a good evening…”

            “Yeah, great.”  Aubrey shrugged as he turned to go inside.  “Hey, thanks again, Booth…”

            “No problem.” He pointed to the back door.  “You’d better go see what’s up…I’m sure I’ll hear about it from Bones when I get home.”

            “Yep.”  Heaving a big sigh, Aubrey tentatively opened the door as Booth pulled out of the driveway.  “Jessica?”

            “What?”, she snarled as she took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and slammed the door. 

_‘Oh shit…not good.’_ Aubrey thought as he pulled her into a kiss.  “What’s wrong?”

            “The party sucked…”, Jessica replied, hugging her boyfriend.  “It was terrible…”

            “What happened, Jess?  I thought you were looking forward to having that get together with your friends.”

            “I was...I don’t get to see Andie very often since she has that crazy work schedule along with school, and Daisy’s always busy with work and the baby.  She was really excited about seeing everyone, you know?  It was supposed to be a fun get together...just us girls...and we were having a good time.  Andie was telling us about Wendell’s research, and we were all talking and laughing about things our husbands and boyfriends do.” 

            “That doesn’t sound too bad.”, Aubrey commented in a confused tone.  “So, what happened?”

            “You’re right...it was great.  We were having such a good time…” Jessica’s lip quivered slightly as she continued.  “Then Daisy mentioned that she’s having a big fancy dinner for the New Year’s holiday, and we all said we’d come.  It sounded like a lot of fun, but then she said she was having it on the 30th instead of New Year’s Eve, because Beau’s family has some big family party that night...”

            “Wait...December 30 is the date of that FBI banquet I have to go to…”            

            “I know.” The redhead snuggled against Aubrey and kissed him again.  “When she said that, I told her that I was sorry, but the FBI banquet in honor of you, Booth, and Genny was that night, so I couldn’t come.  She suggested I just come to dinner without you, but I told her I couldn’t do that because you were the most important person in my life, and that there was no way I was going to let you get a commendation from the FBI without me being there to see it.”

            “Wait, if you couldn’t go…”

            “Of course, that also meant that Dr. B couldn’t go.  Daisy was frustrated because she loves when she gets to hang out with Dr. B, but she said it would be okay if just Angela, Hodgins, Cam and Arastoo came…”

            “...but they had to tell her that they’re all going to the FBI function as well.”, Aubrey said with a nod.  “I take it Daisy wasn’t too happy…”

            “Daisy was very disappointed that so many of her friends couldn’t come, so I suggested that she move the party to New Year’s Day.  However, she shot that idea down immediately, saying she’d be too tired from New Year’s Eve.  Things just went downhill from there.”  Jessica rubbed Aubrey’s chest tenderly.  “She was really upset…”

            “Well, at least Andie and Wendell could go--”

            “Nope.  Andie had to back out, too.  She texted Wendell to ask about it, but he sent her a text saying he’s got something going on with some guys from work that evening and he can’t change his plans.”  Jessica exhaled softly.  “Long story short, Daisy whined and moaned for the rest of the afternoon.” 

            “I’m sure she will get over it, Jess.”, Aubrey said, trying to cheer her up.  “There’ll be other weekends.”

            “I know…” Jessica sighed sadly.  “But, I guess Daisy’s feeling neglected or left out of the action since she doesn’t work with us anymore.”

            “That’s life, Jess.  I mean, people get different jobs, and they move on.”  Aubrey put his arms around her and pulled her close.  “I know she misses everyone, but I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

            “We tried coming up with other ideas so everybody could attend.  Angela suggested having a nice brunch on the weekend after New Year’s, but Daisy is dead set on having this dinner party on the 30th, and nothing is going to change her mind, even if none of us can come.”

            Aubrey hesitated for a second, hoping to avoid making a comment about one of Jessica’s friends that would upset her.  “Doesn’t she understand that this shindig is mandatory for Booth, Genny, and me?  The Director himself sent out the invitations, and there’s no way we can back out.  While Cam and Hodgins don’t have to go, it looks really crappy if they don’t, since the Jeffersonian was involved in the investigation.  In fact, you really should be there, too, even if we weren’t dating, because you assisted the FBI as well.”

            “We tried to explain that to her, Aubrey, but she didn’t want to make much of an effort to see things from our point of view.  She simply refused to understand why we couldn’t come to her party, even when Dr. B bluntly said her place was with Booth on the 30th.  The six glasses of Merlot Daisy had with lunch didn’t help matters, either.  You know how bitchy she gets when she drinks that much...and she didn’t puke it up this time, so it stayed in her system.  She was really drunk by the time we had dessert.” 

            Aubrey nodded as he remembered having dinner with Beau and Daisy the month before.  “I can imagine.”

            Jessica exhaled.  “It really put a damper on the rest of the afternoon, and we all ended up being angry and upset by the time we left the restaurant.  I drove her home, and she cried the whole way…”

            “I’m sorry, Jessica.”  After caressing her gently for a minute or two, he gave her a flirty wink.  “Hey, do you really think I’m the most important person in your life?”

            “Of course.  Besides, I know how good you look in a tuxedo, and I want to make sure everyone at that banquet knows you belong to me.”  Jessica grinned at her boyfriend as she stroked his cheek.  “So what were you and Booth doing in the garage?”

            “Nothing important…he was showing me where he used to keep the Christmas lights when he was done with them for the season...oh, um...and he was telling me about the circuit breaker. I guess it’s touchy.”  Desperate to change the subject, Aubrey gave her a flirty wink.  “Hey, how about dinner out tonight?  Let’s go to that Italian place Booth and Dr. B like so much...Rigoletto’s…”

            “That sounds good, but first I want to relax for a few minutes, okay?  Let’s go sit in the family room for a minute and you can tell me about your day.” 

            “Oh, you know...same old thing. Danny Shaw came over for a few hours while Genny helped her mom run some errands, and then after he left I just sat around the house until Booth came by.  He was just checking up on me…you know, seeing how my recovery is going.”

            “I see.”  Jessica knew something was up with her boyfriend, but she decided to let it slide for the time being.  _I’ll let him keep his secret for a little while…”_

            Aubrey sighed with relief as Jessica seemed to buy his cockeyed story.  It wouldn’t be long before the rest of Jessica’s Christmas gifts arrived, and he’d have a pile of packages for her under the tree.  It was going to be a wonderful holiday...and sooner or later, they’d be able to celebrate it the right way...and she’d have the perfect things to wear when they did so.

            It was going to be a wonderful holiday.

 


	49. Love Is A Battlefield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being wounded in a gunfight and being at home for two weeks, Aubrey finally gets to go back to work half days. He's supposed to take it easy, since he's still recovering. No problem, right? 
> 
> Read on to find out...

            It was early on Wednesday morning as Aubrey stood in the bathroom, trying to get his thick dark hair to cooperate before he got dressed.  He’d missed his regular haircut due to his gunshot wound, and his hair had retaliated by refusing to lie down where it was supposed to go.  He’d even tried using Jessica’s hot brush, but to no avail. 

_“_ Great…”, he grumbled to himself.  “...just what I need today...puffy hair...I look like I stuck my finger in an electrical outlet…”

            After several minutes of combing, brushing, and trying to glue it down with gel, he gave up and turned to more important matters, like shaving and brushing his teeth.  He groaned softly as he glanced at his phone.  It was 7:30 AM, and he was already tired.  Being off on a forced ‘vacation’ of sorts had thoroughly messed up his body’s circadian rhythm, and he’d had a hard time getting out of bed that morning.  Now he was running late… 

_Relax.,_ he thought to himself.  _Nobody’s going to worry about what time I get there today, okay?  Jessica’s right...they’re just going to be glad to see me…and I’m only staying a few hours anyway.  I’ll get there when I get there..._

            At least he hoped they’d be glad to see him.  As he buttoned his pale blue dress shirt, he finally admitted to himself that the problem really wasn’t that he was tired.  The problem was that he was nervous...nervous about how the agents in his department would treat him when he showed up in the office today.  

            Would they pity him because he’d been wounded?  Would they look on him as if he was some sort of glorified gunslinger?  Would they be shocked that he had used deadly force to take down the perp?  After all, he’d never actually killed anyone in the line of duty before, and he didn’t know what to expect from his coworkers in that sort of situation. 

_‘It’s not like we can pretend it didn’t happen.._. _most of them have dealt with it before...but I haven’t...and it’s hard to think that I killed a man…’_  

            As he took his favorite navy blue suit and his black dress shoes out of the closet, Aubrey thought about Booth.  The Special Agent in Charge of Homicide had given him some valuable advice a few days ago. 

            “ _Stark’s going to insist that you go see the FBI’s shrink since you pulled the trigger on Sipoletti, and you’re not going to want to go, because you’re going to think you’re fine...but I’m telling you now, Aubrey, you need to go.  Killing someone, even in the line of duty...it has a way of creeping up on a guy when he least expects it.  You think you’ve got things under control, but then you find yourself being upset for no reason, or maybe you can’t sleep night after night.  Those feelings won’t go away on their own.  You need to talk to a professional, okay?  Even though it wasn’t your fault, you need to keep that appointment.”_

            Aubrey nodded to himself as he pushed the knot in his tie up under his collar.  “I guess I’d better make an appointment to see Dr. Blair.”, he muttered to himself.  “If anyone would know about that stuff, it’d be Booth…” 

            Grunting softly as he put on his shoes, Aubrey rose from his chair and picked up his jacket.  He paused and stared at his reflection in the mirror before giving himself another pep talk.  _I’ve been home long enough...time to go back to work…_

            Standing outside the master bedroom door, Jessica knocked and called out to her boyfriend.  “Superman?  Are you ready to go?  We need to leave soon…” 

            Startled from his musings, Aubrey turned to the door.  “Yeah, I’m coming.”  

            “Okay, I’ll meet you downstairs.” 

            Slipping into his jacket, he brushed off a bit of lint before taking a deep breath.  “Let’s do this…” 

           Downstairs, Jessica was carrying two Star Wars travel mugs to the front door when she saw her boyfriend come down the stairs. She beamed with pride as she saw how he was dressed.  “Wow...you look nice!  I mean, I like it when you wear your pajama pants and tee shirts around the house, but you really clean up well.”  

           Aubrey blushed slightly at his girlfriend’s compliment.  “Thank you.” 

           After the agent put his overcoat on, Jessica handed him his coffee mug and then him his laptop bag.  “Here you go, Superman, black coffee with cinnamon, and your FBI laptop.  Everything you need to start your first day back at work.” 

            “Why do I feel like I’m getting ready to go to my first day of third grade?”, he grumbled as he hoisted the bag onto his right shoulder.  “I’m a big boy...I can handle this…” 

            “You skipped the third grade, remember?”  She chuckled as she gave him a kiss before grabbing her coat and bag.  “Okay, I think we have everything.  Here’s the plan:  I’ll drop you off at the Hoover, go to the lab for a few hours, and then I’ll come back to your office at lunchtime to take you home.  Do you need to take your crutches in case you feel wobbly?  You’ll call me if you get tired, right?  You don’t really have to stay until noon.  Dr. B won’t care if I have to come get you.  Now, I know you quit taking your pain pills, but I think Tylenol would help you if you have some residual pain… just remember not to overdo it.  You’re still going to feel weak.  The doctor doesn’t want you lifting anything heavy.  Just sit behind your desk and let someone else do that stuff…”           

            “Jess...hey, Jess...JESSICA!”  Aubrey grinned at his girlfriend when she finally stopped talking.  “You’ve already told me this stuff…” 

            “I know, but doesn’t hurt to hear it again.  I know you feel good right now, but it’s easy to push yourself too hard.  That’s why the doctor wants you to start with half days.”  Jessica shrugged an apology as they walked out to the garage.  “I guess I’m nagging…” 

            “You’re not being a nag.  I know you’re telling me these things because you love me...”  Placing his laptop bag on the floorboard, he eased himself into Jessica’s Jeep Cherokee. After fastening his seatbelt, Aubrey tried to make himself comfortable. “I think I’m just feeling a bit on edge about going back to the office…” 

            “That’s understandable...you’ve been away from your routine for a few weeks.”  Glancing at her boyfriend as she pulled her SUV onto the street, she sighed softly.  He was too quiet this morning.  Something was bothering him, but she wasn’t sure exactly what.  “I thought you were anxious to get back to work…” 

            Aubrey stared out the passenger window as they drove to the Hoover.  “I’m am.  I’m a little tired, but I’m fine…” 

            “No, you’re not.  Don’t pull that shit on me.  I know you inside and out, alright?  I can tell when you’re lying.”  Realizing that she sounded harsh, Jessica exhaled softly.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to scold you…” 

            “It’s okay.  Maybe I deserve it.”  He shook his head as he studied his fingernails.  “I killed a man, Jess.  I mean, logically, I know that, but these last few weeks I’ve been occupied at home, you know, with getting better and with working on our relationship...but now I’m going to the office, and all I can think about is that I killed a man.”  

            He chewed his lip nervously as he continued.  “They told us about this when I was at Quantico.  As field agents, we know we might have to take a life in the line of duty, and we think we’re prepared, but I...I guess I wasn’t as prepared as I should’ve been, and going back to work today has it all rushing through my mind. I keep remembering Sipoletti pulling out that gun...and I had to respond...and then I saw that bright red spot begin to spread across his white shirt before I passed out...it all happened so fast...and because of how I reacted, a man died..  How am I going to be able to work if that’s all I can think about?  Am I going to hesitate if I’m in that position again?  If I do, I might put someone’s life in danger...” 

            Jessica listened quietly as Aubrey bared the anguish in his soul.  She hadn’t realized he’d been so upset by what had happened, although looking back at how Genny had felt when she killed someone, she thought of different things he’d said over the last few weeks...different ways he’d responded to things...and now it all made sense. 

_This has bothered him a lot…I’m glad I asked Genny to keep his ‘welcome back’ celebration low key.  He doesn’t need to be the center of attention right now…_

            They drove along in silence for almost thirty minutes through the DC morning grind,  each lost in their own thoughts, until Jessica got up her nerve to say what was on her mind.  “I know you’d do the right thing if you were in the same position again.  You’re a highly trained professional, right?  You wouldn’t freeze.”  He nodded silently.  “You know, Genny said she went to see Dr. Blair, the FBI’s psychiatrist, a few days after her incident, and that it helped her a lot.  She said it was helpful to realize she wasn’t alone when it came to dealing with using deadly force.” 

            “That’s what Booth said, too.  I’m going to call the shrink as soon as things get back on track.”  Aubrey continued to stare out the window.  “So, Jess...um...does it bother you, too?  That I killed someone?  I mean, I’d understand…if you didn’t want...to be with me...”  He paused, unsure if he wanted to hear her answer.  “It could happen again, you know?  I might have to...kill someone…again...” 

            Remembering her earlier knee jerk reactions to his fears, Jessica didn’t respond immediately.  She realized his insecurities were caused by his father’s abandonment, and that he needed reassurance.  They’d had many talks over the last couple of weeks, and he’d been working through the residual pain from his childhood.  However, it was obvious to the redhead that the scars still ran deep. 

            “You are not getting rid of me that easily, Buddy.”  She smiled as she reached over to pat his knee.  “Of course I wish things had been different, but I know you, Aubrey.  I know you didn’t want to pull the trigger, but it was him or you, right?  You were defending yourself and your partner, and you didn’t have a choice.  I know it upsets you, and that’s why it bothers me, but I also know what a good man you are, and the fact that you’re struggling with this problem proves it.  You’re the man I love, and nothing is ever going to change that.”  

            Pulling the Jeep up to the entry of the Hoover, she smiled.  “Now, go have a good day at work, and I’ll be back soon.”  She smiled as she leaned over to give him a kiss.  “I love you…” 

            “I love you, too.  I’ll see you soon.”  Aubrey eased himself out of the car, grabbing his bag and coffee before shutting the door.  Slowly, he walked towards the door before turning around to wave goodbye.  Sighing softly as she drove away, he squared his shoulders and walked through the door, on his way back to work. 

            He was greeted with cheerful ‘welcome back’ from the security guard at the entrance and from a few of the clerical staff as he made his way across the expansive lobby.  Knowing he didn’t have the energy yet, he bypassed the stairs for the elevator.  When it finally arrived, he climbed in, glad he was alone.  Glancing at his phone as he saw the 1 in the corner change to a 2, he shrugged when he saw the time.  _8:45...only a few minutes late._  

            Taking a deep breath as the doors opened, he took a left and slowly walked down the hall to the Major Crimes Division.  It was hard to walk off the elevator without feeling like everyone’s eyes were on him as he arrived, but he was making a conscious effort to make this a normal day. 

**Oooooooooo**  

            When Genny got the text she was waiting on, she walked down the hall to Aubrey’s office, where she stood in the doorway to greet him.  She had made sure earlier in the week to instruct the agents in their division not to overdo the way they greeted their SAC as he returned.  She knew from her own personal experience that it was an odd feeling to come back to work after taking a life, but every day was a little bit better.  Aubrey would need a few days to ease back into his routine, especially since he’d been wounded. 

            She also knew that the Special Agent in Charge would want his team to be professional in their dealings with him.  He’d want it to be business as usual, and she was going to do her best to make sure that’s what happened.  

            It wasn’t long before she spotted the SAC making his way through the bullpen, greeting his agents as he went through.  When he made his way past their case roster board, she waved as she watched him slowly walk down the hall carrying his travel mug and bag.  “Hey, Boss…” 

            “Hey.”  He grinned slightly as he made his way to the door.  “I was finally able to drag my ass into the office…” 

            “Yeah.  We’re all glad to see you, too.  See?  We all pitched in and got you a gift.”  She gestured to a box of doughnuts on his desk.  “A baker’s dozen, assorted, most with icing and double sprinkles, and the perfect cup of coffee to go with it.”  Genny handed him a cup of black coffee topped with a light dusting of cinnamon, just the way he liked it, and gave him a gentle hug.  “Welcome back, Aubrey…it’s good to see you here where you belong.  Have a seat, and I’ll fill you in on all the news.” 

            “Good...and thanks for these.”  He picked out a chocolate iced doughnut covered with multicolored sprinkles and eased himself into his desk chair.”  “First, though...I want to tell you about Danny.”  He pointed to a chair.  “It’s going to take a minute…” 

            A look of concern passed over Genny’s face as she sat on the edge of the seat.  “I hope you know I wasn’t pushing my son on you just so you’d fix things for me…” 

            Waving his hand to interrupt her, Aubrey chuckled.  “Hey, it was my idea to talk to him, remember, but I never got the chance with everything that happened recently.”  He sipped his coffee, smiling in satisfaction.  “That’s great coffee.  Anyway, Danny was upset about you and Hunter being together, because he thought that with Hunter in the picture, you wouldn’t want him around anymore.” 

            Genny was horrified.  “Why would he think that?  I’ve never given him any reason to believe I’d abandon him…” 

            “Relax...I know you’re a terrific mom, Genny.  It has nothing to do with anything you said to Danny.  It’s perfectly normal for kids to feel that way, okay?  Anyway, I told him that you need ‘friends’ your own age that you can ‘play’ with, and that you have enough love to go around for Hunter and for Danny, too, and he seemed okay with that.  He just needed some reassurance.  He knows you love him, but he likes to hear it from you, too.  Maybe he can spend some one on one time with Hunter occasionally, and if Danny gets to know him better, he won’t be so shy around your boyfriend.”  

            Seeing his ASAC visibly exhale in relief, Aubrey winked playfully at her as he turned on his computer and opened his programs.  “So Danny thinks you and Hunter are getting married…” 

            “Um...well…”  Genny blushed furiously.  “We wanted to see how things went between Hunter and Danny before we made any commitments, but it seems like you’ve worked that out for us…” 

            “Good.”  Taking a bite of his doughnut, Aubrey clicked on their division’s case files.  “Okay, now on to work.  It looks like there’s been progress on most of our outstanding cases.”  Jabbing his finger at the screen, he made a face.  “What about Maxwell?” 

            “You know you can’t be involved with that, right?”  Seeing Aubrey’s glare, she sighed softly.  He was already involved, whether she liked it or not.  “Okay...but you absolutely cannot be involved in any part of the actual investigation.  His lawyer will be looking for any flaw...any tiny crack in the investigative protocols of this case, so she can get it thrown out of court.  You have to steer clear of it, okay?  That comes from Ms. Julian, too.  I’m sure you don’t want to cross her, do you?”  

            Aubrey ground his teeth silently before finally nodding in agreement.  “Yeah, okay.  I get it...keep my nose out of it.  Now, tell me what you’ve learned.  Last time we talked you said you would put him under surveillance…I still can’t believe that little prick made bail only 12 hours after being arrested.” 

            “Gerald’s bail was set pretty low, in my opinion, but his lawyer made the case that he wouldn’t be a flight risk, so we couldn’t do much about that.  If it wasn’t for the fact he missed night court, he would’ve been out sooner.” Genny sat back in her seat, smirking at her boss.   ”But we have a plan in place.  I’ve assigned Agents Bell, Casper, and Hernandez and a couple of rookies to be Gerald’s shadowing team.  Agent Bell reports to me on the prick’s movements, and she also makes sure that Maxwell doesn’t violate the court orders to stay away from the Jeffersonian and to have no contact with either you or Jessica.  Of course, Gerald doesn’t know he’s being tailed.  That’s why I picked Bell to lead the team.  She’s stealthy…and Hernandez and Casper are almost as talented as she is.  Between them and the new agents, one of them is watching Gerald at all times.”

            Satisfied, Aubrey sipped his coffee.  “Good.  And they report to you on his movements?” 

            “They all keep a log on their tablets, updating hourly, or more often if they get the chance.  So far Gerald has behaved himself, driving the dick mobile around, wining and dining women…” 

            “With all the details out in the media, women still want him?  Amazing…”, Aubrey muttered before sipping his coffee.  “I’m just glad Caroline got that gag order so Jessica’s good name doesn’t get dragged through the mud while we’re waiting for the trial.  She’s already had a few reporters calling her for an interview.” 

            “I can’t believe women want to be with him, either, Boss, but it’s only a matter of time until he falls back into his old nasty habits.  That’s the way serial criminals are…” 

            “And when he does, someone will be right there to witness it.  I like it.  I’m sure it won’t be long until he does something stupid.  The guy can’t help himself.  Did you come up with anything from the Jeffersonian?” 

            “I did some interviews and followed a few leads on other women he may have done this to, but all of them have denied being harassed by him.  I think they’re lying, but I’m not sure if it’s because they’re afraid of him or if perhaps they were bought off.  I’m even thinking about a visit to Dr. Batuhan in prison.  Gerald started his internship under him.  He might have seen something…”

            Aubrey, somewhat perplexed, sipped his coffee as he thought over Shaw’s idea.  “You’re thinking perhaps Batuhan turned a blind eye to any harassment of other interns?  Why?  Because he wanted Harold Maxwell to offer more funding to his department?”           

            Or perhaps Gerald found out about Dr. Batuhan’s forgery ring and blackmailed him.”, Genny said.  “It isn’t out of the realm of possibilities.  Unfortunately, because Dr. B’s shooting and occurrence of the thefts occurred before February 2013, the statute of limitations for extortion would have ended in February this year.  I’ll keep digging.  There has to be a woman somewhere who’s willing to talk about Gerald.  Jessica wasn’t the first one...and she won’t be the last until we stop him.  I’m going to get him, Boss.” 

            “Good.  Now, what about Karen?” 

            “Ah, Dr. Delfs.  Right.  She’s so ridiculous.”  Shaw rolled her eyes at Aubrey.  “We had a little chat the other day about her relationship with Gerald, and about the fact that she can’t keep her big mouth shut. I suggested that maybe she shouldn’t tell him everything she knows, but she insisted that it wasn’t that way...that they’re just casual acquaintances.”  

            “Nice…”, Aubrey said sarcastically, biting into his donut while Genny accessed a notes app on her phone and read a summary of the interview to the SAC.  

            “According to Karen, she happened to run into Gerald at a bar...a place called _‘Franklin’s’_ in Dupont Circle...about 8 o’clock one evening.” 

            “Gerald just happened to be in a bar in  that neck of the woods?”, Aubrey said with a question in his voice.  “That’s almost thirty minutes from his place in Great Falls…” 

             “Well, supposedly, it was unplanned...they both just happened to be at the same place at the same time.  Karen said she recognized him because he’d been Jessica’s date at some wedding she’d attended, so she stopped to say hello.” 

            Aubrey puffed out a disgusted sigh.  “Yeah, I remember.” 

            Genny ignored his snarky comment and continued.  “It was right after the Halloween Gala, so that would make it early November.  She saw him sitting by himself in the bar, crying tears in his beer, so she decided to engage him in a chat so she could ‘make him feel better about things’.  I guess that Gerald was down in the dumps about Jessica telling him to get lost at the Gala, and about how he’d managed to embarrass himself in front of all the guests.  Karen, in her ‘professional’ capacity, offered to listen to his troubles, lending him a shoulder to cry on and, it seems, other, more intimate, forms of comfort.” 

            “You mean they spent a few hours...together...as in sexually...that night?  But she was with Steve by then, wasn’t she?  Jesus…”  Aubrey felt like he was going to throw up.  Seeing Genny’s uncomfortable expression, he groaned.  “Or maybe they were together until the next morning?  Son of a bitch…” 

            “I’m not sure exactly what happened, Boss.  Karen was pretty vague about the actual timeline.  I know she exhibited extremely poor judgment, but since they’re two consenting adults, it’s not like a crime was committed, so it’s not really relevant to our investigation of Gerald’s activities.  She said it was no big deal...nothing permanent, especially since Karen already was involved with Bower.  She and Gerald had some drinks and some fun together before going their separate ways early the next morning.  It sounds like it was basically a one night stand...a hook up...” 

            “However, it might be relevant if Karen decided to spew all the venom she feels towards Jess while she was with him. If she cut loose with all that shit, telling Gerald stuff like Jess had an STD, it’s a big deal, right?   Who knows how many rumors she started just by having a casual conversation with a guy she picked up at a bar?  She may have also told Gerald that Jessica was hitting on Steve, which isn’t true, but still...if he believed it...” 

            “Yeah…Gerald was already upset, and he would be extremely frustrated if Jessica was going after someone like Bower instead of him...which she wasn’t, of course, but he doesn’t know that.”  Genny grimaced as she picked at her thumbnail.  “And if Karen said that Jessica told her that Gerald was gay or that he couldn’t perform sexually...even though that’s not what happened, because Jessica has never been in a position to know...that might have made Gerald angry enough to go after her, wanting to prove that she was wrong…maybe even wanting to force himself on her...” 

            “He was already angry with Jess because of his dick mobile getting scratched and because she rejected his advances, but Karen may have added fuel to the fire.”  Aubrey drummed his fingers on the desk.  “I can’t believe she’s spreading rumors like that. Karen needs to keep her mouth shut about all of the people she works with, right?  She really should learn to be more discreet.” 

            “I put a in a call to her supervisor, asking him to call me back, but he’s out on family leave.  His wife just gave birth to their second child.  He probably won’t be back until after the New Year…”, Genny said, obviously annoyed that she wouldn’t be getting any satisfaction from going through the appropriate channels. “Our overly friendly profiler thinks she can get away with saying anything she wants, because so far no one has said anything to Special Agent Tanner about her, and that really burns me up.” 

            Aubrey grinned slightly as he sat back in his chair, pressing his fingertips together as he thought over the situation.  “That may not be entirely true.  I think someone may just say something after all...”  

            Genny sat back and crossed her arms.  “What do you have up your sleeve, Boss?” 

            He laughed sarcastically.  “I’m meeting with Stark today...you know, just to check in, and it may be that I mention Karen’s annoying habits.  He might be interested…I know she gets on his nerves, and this might be just the thing to set him off.  If he thinks she’s harassing the people at the Jeffersonian...the people who help us solve so many cases...I think he might be willing to discuss it with her...” 

            “That might just work…”  Genny paused as her phone rang.  Checking the caller ID, she grimaced.  “Danny’s school...I’ve got to go.  Talk to you later.” 

            “Yeah.  Bye.”  Sighing softly, Aubrey picked up a folder from a stack on his desk.  He had a few minutes before his meeting with Stark.  _Might as well get some work done..._  

**Oooooooooo**  

            Karen glanced at her phone as she went striding across the Hoover’s parking garage.  She smiled in satisfaction as she once again considered her plan.  _Steve has been working so hard...he hardly has time for us to have lunch together, so I’ll just surprise him with an early lunch.  I know he’ll appreciate my efforts much more than Aubrey ever did…_

            Juggling her purse, her coat, some large bags of takeout food and a cardboard tray holding drinks, Karen stopped to check in with the security desk before going up to Steve’s office.  “Thank you…”, she said to the clerk at the desk before turning and bumping into the large woman behind her.  “Excuse me…I didn’t see you there.”   

            Laughing to herself, Karen shook her head.  _I don’t know how I missed her…I wonder if that’s a female impersonator...she’s built like an amazon...”_

            Standing several inches over six feet tall, the attractive, very muscular woman offered a polite smile as she shook back her long blonde mane.  “Excuse me...can you tell me which floor has the offices of the Major Crimes division?” 

            “Fourth floor.”  Karen tried to point with her elbow as she balanced the food, the drinks, her coat, and her purse.  “The elevator’s that way.” 

            The blonde draped her white fur jacket over her arm and smoothed her slinky red mini dress over her hips.  “Okay, thanks.  Which way to the ladies’ room?  I want to freshen up before I see my honey bear…you know how it goes.” 

_Eww.  She has a honey bear?_ Karen cringed, looking over the top of her glasses as she watched Blondie stroll away gracefully on her 3 inch stiletto heels.  _I guess there really is someone for everyone…_

            Sighing as she waited for the elevator, Karen tapped her foot impatiently.  She wanted to get lunch upstairs before it got cold, and she wanted to make sure she caught Steve before he left to go out somewhere.  It seemed like forever until the doors opened, and she stepped in, ready to take her boyfriend his lunch. 

            “Hold the elevator, please.”  The tall blonde woman nodded her thanks as she got into the elevator.  “Four, please...oh, you’re already going there.  That’s a coincidence…” 

            “Uh huh.”  Karen stared at the numbers over the elevator door.  “C’mon...c’mon…Why is this thing so slow?”           

            As they reached their floor, the chime sounded and the doors opened.  As Blondie stopped to ask for directions, Karen made a beeline for Steve’s desk in the bullpen, but was disappointed to see that he wasn’t there.  

            Feeling annoyed and a little bit panicky, Karen flagged down Shaw.  “Where’s Agent Bower?  I brought his lunch.” 

_Can she really be that dense? He got what he needed from her...plus even he figured out she’s got the hots for Aubrey...he’s not interested anymore..._ Genny pointed to the glass walled conference room down the hall.  “He’s over there...I think he just finished an interrogation…” 

            “Thanks.”  Karen quickly shouldered her purse and picked up the lunch bags and drinks.  “I’ll talk to you later…” 

            Shaw nodded as she watched Karen jog down the hall.  “Oh, you bet you will.” 

            Genny’s thoughts were interrupted as she heard her name.  Turning, she saw Jessica.  “Hi, Jessica.  Here to pick up the boss?” 

            Jessica came in holding a bag from the Royal Diner.  “Hey, Genny.  I’m a little early but it was slow at the lab today.  I know Aubrey’s probably working on getting stuff caught up from being gone, but I brought him an egg sandwich and some hash browns from the diner.  Is he in his office?” 

            “No, he’s meeting with Stark.”  Genny looked at the clock.  “...but they should be done soon.”

            “Is that Karen I just saw come in with all the large bags of food?”, Jessica asked in a frustrated tone.  “She better not be trying to bother Aubrey today.  He doesn’t need to deal with her on his first day back.”

            “No worries.  She brought lunch for Steve…”  Genny’s voice faltered as a blonde towering well over six feet walked by them.  “Wow...can’t miss her in a crowd.  She’s bigger than Agent Booth!” 

            “No shit.”, Jessica giggled.  “I’m going to grab some tea from the break room while I wait for Aubrey.” 

            “Tea actually sounds pretty good.  Care for some company?” 

            “Sure.”, Jessica said before the two women walked away. 

**Ooooooooooo**

            Steve Bower was a picture of concentration, muttering to himself as he entered notes onto his tablet.  He poured himself another cup of coffee and absentmindedly stirred in some sugar and creamer.  “So the victim’s wife says she was at work...he didn’t have any enemies that she knew of…he might’ve had a mistress...”

             “Hey, Lover…”, Karen began in a sultry voice.  “How’s my Stevie Weevie today?” 

            “Karen?!  What are you doing here?”, Steve began nervously.  “I mean, this is a surprise.  Do we have a meeting scheduled?  Are you the profiler for my case?”           

            “Oh, Steve...you’re so funny.  Of course it’s a surprise!  That’s the point.  We didn’t have a meeting scheduled.”, Karen giggled as she set the bags on the long conference table.  “And no, I’m not working this case.  I just thought I’d stop by and bring some lunch for us to share, that’s all.  You’ve been so busy these last few weeks, and I’ve missed seeing you…” 

            “Gee, Sugar, I’m sorry.  I wish you’d called before you went to all this trouble just for me, but I’m expecting someone, and we’re going to go have lunch in just a few minutes…”  Steve shrugged weakly at Karen’s glare.  “I know it’s been awhile, but you understand, right?” 

            “No, I don’t understand, Steve.  It’s been weeks since we spent any quality time together.”  Karen stood with her hands on her hips as she stuck out her chin, spoiling for a fight.  “Have you been hooking up with someone else?  Did that little bitch Jessica finally get to you?  Or was it that sleazy forensics tech...Candi with an I, as in _‘I can’t wait to drop my panties’_?”  

            “No!”  Steve glanced at the people passing outside the conference room as Karen’s voice became louder and shriller.  He moved to close the door before turning to scold her.  “Keep your voice down, okay?  Look, I promise, it wasn’t either of them…I just have plans, that’s all.  Anyway, what’s the big deal?  It’s not like we’re married, you know?  I don’t have to account for my time away from you...” 

            “The big deal is you’ve had plans that didn’t include me more than once since you got home from Wisconsin.  What’s going on, Steve?  The truth…”  Karen glowered at him as she moved closer.  “Have you been playing me?”

             Suddenly, the door opened and a high pitched squeal from the doorway interrupted the conversation.  “Stevie Bear!  There you are!  I’ve been looking all over for you!”  The tall blonde from the elevator sashayed into the room and gave him a hug.  “Is my little baby bear ready for some lunch with his mama bear?” 

            “Oh, hey, Honey.”  Steve smiled warmly at his visitor as he took her hand.  “How’s my Mitzi Muffin this morning?”  He gave her an appreciative glance.  “Damn...you’re looking good…I love that white fur jacket with that red dress...” 

            Caught completely off guard, Karen couldn’t believe her eyes.  “Steve?  Who the hell is this?” 

            Looking up at the woman, who was towering over both of them, Steve blushed.  “Um...this is Mitzi Nilsson...she just moved here from Wisconsin…” 

            “Wisconsin?”, Karen asked in a suspicious tone.  “Like where you’re from?  Like maybe she’s just an old friend from Wisconsin?  Like she’s visiting, and you’re going to show her the sights, and then she’s going to go home?”  It was becoming clear to Karen that there was something other than an old friendship between Steve and his visitor, especially given the way he was caressing Mitzi’s arm.  “What’s going on?” 

            Mitzi smiled as she reached down to pat Bower’s shoulder.  “I guess it’s time to spill the beans on our little secret, isn’t it, Stevie Bear?” 

            “Um...I don’t think this is the time for that, Honey.”  Bower grimaced as he organized his files.  “We got to be going if we’re going to have time for lunch.” 

            Determined to stake her claim, however, Mitzi gave Karen a fake grin.  “Stevie and I are going to get married!” 

            “What?”  Karen’s knees felt weak as it finally dawned on her what was happening.  “So for the last few weeks...since you got back from seeing your family at Thanksgiving...you were still dating me...we were still having sex...even though you were engaged to someone else?” 

            “Well, yeah...I guess so, although you make is sound like a bad thing.”  Shrugging as he looked up from his papers and files, Steve was completely unrepentant.  “I mean, I guess nobody really got hurt, right?  We had some laughs, and now it’s time to move on.” 

            “You lied to me…”, Karen growled.  “You said you wanted to be with me…” 

            Steve shook his head at her.  “I didn’t lie to you, Karen.  Yeah, I wanted to be with you but it was just for fun.  Not once did I say we were exclusive.  You decided that all on your own.  Besides, you just got too fucking clingy...I couldn’t even take a shit without you standing there banging on the bathroom door.” 

           “But I was your Sugar Booger…” 

           Steve shrugged again.  “I’m sorry, but there’s no more Stevie Weevie and Sugar Booger.  There was just never a good time to tell you about how things were, that’s all.  Of course, Aubrey wouldn’t help me let you down easy.” 

          “You...you...cheated on me...with her…” 

           “Um, no, because we weren’t exclusive.  I wasn’t crazy enough to get involved like that.”, Steve said as he shook his head.  “What’s awesome is that when Mitzi and I decided to get married while I was home for Thanksgiving, she said she didn’t care what I do in my spare time until we tie the knot.  We’ve got an open relationship…” 

            Mitzi giggled as she wrinkled her nose at her boyfriend.  “Until we’re married, Steve...and then that door slams shut.  No more sowing your wild oats after that.”  

            Steve gave his fiancée a besotted look.  “I’ll be all yours, my little cheese nip.  No other woman holds a candle to you.  I can’t believe it took us 26 years to figure out we need to be together, but we finally got it right.” 

            Smiling down on her boyfriend, Mitzi patted his butt before turning to the profiler with a smile that would cut glass.  “So I guess you’re Karen, right?  I’ve heard so much about you…” 

            Now irate, Karen screamed at Steve in frustration.  “You rotten son of a bitch.  How could you lead me on like this?  After all I did for you...you used me…” 

            “Karen, you’re the one who was hot to trot for Aubrey.  If anything, you were using me to make him jealous.  However, he still won’t give you the time of day because he’s too busy humping that redheaded squint Jessica.  She’s a feisty one, that’s for sure.”, Steve said, flexing his fingers as he remembered the anthropologist’s grip when she twisted his hand.  “Now, I think we need to discuss this whole situation rationally, but we need to save it for a different time and place....”

             Hearing Jessica’s name only made Karen angrier.  “So not only did you fuck around with that ginger haired twat--” 

            “Hey, that Jessica chick was checking me out, alright? She’s cute, and I liked it that she was giving me the eye, but I didn’t hook up with her.  Scrawny nerds seem to be more her thing...and apparently yours, too.  Now I have lunch plans with my fiancée, so we’ll discuss this after work.” 

            “No, we’re going to discuss it here, right now.  Not only did you screw that Jessica trollop, but you’ve used me for sex, leading me on as you pretended to care about me, and now you tell me you’re going to marry this Scandinavian ice giant?  She might as well be the abominable snow woman...or with that outfit, maybe she’s planning on filling in for a mall Santa.”  Karen scowled at Mitzi as she continued.  “Gargantua here belongs in a freak show.  I can’t believe you’d be seen in public with her, Steve...she must weigh 300 pounds...” 

            “Mitzi’s a psych nurse, so her size is an advantage for her job…”, Steve began, hoping to avoid a scene between the two women.  “She was also the captain of the girls’ basketball and tracks teams back in high school.  She still can throw a discus like she did in high school, and you should see her with a javelin.  She’s very athletic…” 

            “I’ll have you know, Karen, that I only weigh 225 pounds, and it’s all muscle.  I work out...but from all that flab around your middle, I bet you never set foot in a gym, right?”  Mitzi stood with her arms crossed as she took a threatening step towards Karen.  “Anyway, I guess Steve would rather be seen with me in public instead of Karen, the dog-faced girl.  At least I don’t have to wear those huge black glasses…they take up half your face...” 

            “You’d need bigger glasses than these to fit around your giant head!”, Karen yelled.  “How many bottles of peroxide do you need to get that color? No way that’s real…” 

            “Better than artificial maroon any day, bitch…” 

            Steve cleared his throat as he nervously looked through the glass walls of the conference room.  “Now, girls...there’s no need to behave like this.  We don’t want to cause any trouble here at work, do we?  C’mon, Mitzi Muffin...be good for daddy…”, he cooed at his fiancée.  “Let’s not be hateful…” 

            “Shut the fuck up, Steve.”, Karen bit back.  As her anger bubbled over, the profiler lunged at the agent and knocked him on his ass.  “I’m going to kill you!”  The profiler started to flail her fists at Steve’s head and face.  “When I’m done with you, you’re going to look like hamburger…” 

            “Hey! That’s no way to treat a federal agent!”  Mitzi grabbed Karen by the back of her blouse and pulled her away from the agent and onto the table, knocking over the drinks that were sitting there in the process.  

            Dripping with soda, Karen came up swinging.  “Oh no, you didn’t…”  She missed with her first punch but then caught Mitzi in the jaw with a wild uppercut.  “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, freak…” 

            Steve, in the meantime, was trying to shake off the pummeling that Karen had given him.  As he stood unsteadily to his feet, he realized a crowd was starting to gather outside of the conference room to watch the show.  “Shit…c’mon, Muffin...just let it go...I want some lunch...” 

            Pushing Steve out of the way, Mitzi grabbed Karen’s wrist and twisted the profiler’s arm behind her back.  Standing behind Karen and pinning her arm in place, Mitzi yelled, “You need to apologize to my Steve…” 

            “No fucking way!”  Karen kicked back at Mitzi with the heel of her shoe, causing the larger woman to release her hold as she howled in pain.  “That no good bastard is going to get what’s coming to him, and so are you…”  Picking up the bags of food, Karen reached inside and pulled out a hamburger that had been wrapped in foil.  “How about some lunch?”  

            She loosened the foil and threw the sandwich at Mitzi, but the nurse ducked and it splattered against the glass window, leaving a large greasy spot as the meat, cheese, and toppings slid to the floor. 

             “Oh, that’s how you want to play it?”, Mitzi asked as she laughed sarcastically.  “Okay, you asked for it…” 

            “Mitzi, honey…”  Steve tried again to talk some sense into his sweetheart, but she was too angry to listen.             

             Moving with amazing speed for such a large person, Mitzi grabbed the ketchup packets from the bag and stood between Karen and the door.  “Looks like someone’s gonna have some extra ketchup with their meal today.”  

            Ripping open the packets, the nurse squirted the ketchup with enough force that some of the red liquid hit Karen in the face, and some hit the wall behind the profiler.  “Don’t mess with me, four eyes...” 

            Wiping the ketchup from her hair and glasses, Karen screamed at the top of her lungs.  “You’re going down, whore…” 

            Balling up her fists, she charged Mitzi, but the older woman was ready for her, blocking Karen’s move.  Picking the profiler up, the psych nurse gave her a judo throw that sent Karen flying down the long table in the conference room until she slid off the edge, shattering Steve’s tablet when she fell on top of it, scattering his case files and spilling the bags of hamburgers and fries that had come along for the ride. 

            Panting as she pushed her matted hair out of her face, Karen brushed off the French fries and mashed burgers.  Standing up, she roared as once again she charged Mitzi, who was busy tending to a stunned Steve.  Catching her rival off guard, Karen dove for the woman’s knees, taking her down with a thud.  Knocking chairs over as they wrestled, the two women rolled around on the floor of the conference room, pulling hair, biting, and scratching as they tried to inflict as much damage as possible on each other.  

            With a mighty shove, Mitzi freed herself from Karen’s claws, pushing the profiler into the corner of the room that held the coffee pot and cups.  The glass coffee maker and white china mugs went flying in every direction as Karen began throwing the broken cups at Mitzi, who ducked out of the way, leaving shards of broken pottery in the hallway outside of the room.  Frustrated that she kept missing her rival’s head, Karen picked up a side chair and heaved it, but Mitzi sidestepped the missile, and it shattered the glass wall behind her, barely missing Agent Haggerty as she walked by with her partner. 

            “Missed me, Karen.  Where did you learn to throw? You couldn’t hit the broad side of the Pentagon...”  Mitzi picked up a mug and tucked it under her chin as if she was going to do the shot put.  Quickly spinning herself around, she launched the cup with all her might, nailing Karen squarely in the chest and knocking the wind out of her. 

            Calmly smoothing her torn dress, Mitzi walked over and picked up a dazed Karen, throwing the woman over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry.  “Time to take out the trash, Steve…” 

            She walked toward the door with the profiler draped across her, but Karen wasn’t finished yet.  She began to kick her feet against Mitzi’s chest, pulling the woman’s hair as she screamed in her ear.  “Put me down, you blonde behemoth.  I’m not done with you…I’m going to beat the shit out of you…let me go…” 

**Oooooooooo**  

            Deputy Director Stark and Aubrey were walking down the corridor which led to the bullpen.  “I’m glad you’re doing so well, Aubrey. It’s good to have you back. You had us all scared for a few days, but now things will be well on their way to returning to normal.” 

            Aubrey smiled at the underlying compliment in Stark’s comment.  “Thanks, sir.  I’m glad to be back, even if it is for shortened days over the next week or so.  I will say that Assistant Special Agent in Charge Shaw did a great job filling in for me, so that made it a lot easier to be gone…” 

            “She’s an exceptional agent.”, Stark agreed.  “I think we’d both better watch out, or she’ll be taking over our jobs in no time.”  

            “You’ve got that right, sir.”  As they rounded the corner by the conference room, they were greeted by a crowd of agents, lined up three rows deep.  Cheers and groans were coming from the group of people as they looked intently through the room’s glass walls. 

            “What’s going on?  Hey!  What’s the matter?”  Aubrey had to yell to be heard over the large crowd.  He pushed to the front of the crowd just in time to see a very tall blonde woman throw Karen over her shoulder as if the profiler was a ragdoll.  Steve Bower was standing off to one side, appearing to hide behind a chair as he watched the blonde with obvious admiration. 

             “OH MY GOD!”, Aubrey yelled, stunned as he watched Karen kicking and hitting the woman who had her secured over her shoulder. 

            At the same time, Jessica and Genny came running down the hall when they heard the commotion.  Afraid that Aubrey had been hurt, the redhead rushed to his side as Mitzi came out of the conference room.  “Aubrey, what happened?

            They watched as Mitzi cleared the broken pottery away with her foot before dumping the squirming profiler on the floor in the hallway.  Standing over her as she raised her arms in triumph, the large woman turned and bowed to the crowd.  “I win!” 

            “Who is that woman?”  Jessica’s eyes widened as she saw a disheveled Karen try to push herself up from the floor before nodding in understanding.  “Now I see.  I guess Karen finally met Steve’s fiancée, right?” 

            “Yeah...that’s Mitzi.  Jesus…”, Aubrey sighed.  “Wow…look at this place...” 

            “Steve Bower has a fiancé?”, Genny asked in shock.  “Really?” 

            Walking past everyone, Deputy Director Stark was furious as he surveyed the damage to the conference room.  One of the panes of glass that made up the outer wall had been shattered, and there were bits of broken coffee cups, damaged chairs, and shredded paper everywhere, not to mention Steve’s ruined tablet, the scattered files, the pieces of pickle, onion, fries, and buns as well as the ketchup and grease stains on the walls.  

            Picking his way through the rubble, Stark made his way over to where Bower was standing.  “What the Hell happened here?! 

            “Well…you see...sir..”, Steve began, shuddering slightly under Stark’s angry glare.  “...I introduced Dr. Delfs to my fiancée, Mitzi...that’s her...the pretty blonde standing over there signing autographs...and I guess Karen...I mean, Dr. Delfs, was a little bit disappointed to hear that I’m getting married, because that meant an end to the relationship she had with me.  I guess I just broke her heart…and she didn’t take it very well.” Steve added, with a note of pride in his voice. 

            “And...”, Aubrey sputtered, attempting to controlling his temper. 

             “It wasn’t my fault, Boss.  Karen jumped me, intent on beating the shit out of me, I guess, and Mitzi took offense at that, so she came to my defense, and then things got kind of physical between the two of them…” 

            “Kind of got physical?  It looks like a bomb went off in here.”  Aubrey was disgusted as he looked around the room.  “I suppose it didn’t occur to you to try to break up the fight?  Or even to call security for help?” 

            Steve held a handkerchief to his cut lip.  “I tried, but when Karen knocked me on my ass, I was kind of stunned, okay?  By the time I came to my senses, they were already at it tooth and nail, and I was afraid to get between them.  My Mitzi outweighs me by about fifty pounds and she’s got almost seven inches on me with her heels, Aubrey.  She’s also proficient in kickboxing as well as being a shot putter and a javelin thrower.  Do you really think I want that right hook landing on me?”  Bower chuckled as he rubbed his chin.  “Besides, it’s kind of cool to have a couple of chicks fighting over me...”  

            Stark glowered at Steve’s comment.  “Well, I hope you still think it’s cool when the cost of fixing the damage and cleaning the room comes out of your next check.”  Turning to Aubrey, Stark continued.  “Before you leave, make a note in this man’s personnel file about this incident...about his lack of professional deportment...and that he’s to pay for any costs incurred in cleaning up this fucking mess...” 

            Stark turned to Genny.  “Call maintenance up here ASAP so we can get an estimate on the damage.  Then call Payroll Management.  Dr. Delfs will be covering part of the cost as well.” 

            Moving to the door, the imposing man stopped and spoke to Karen, who was sitting on the floor crying.  “Dr. Delfs...my office...fifteen minutes.” 

            Suddenly exhausted, Aubrey went to find Jessica, who was standing off to one side of the crowd, laughing at something Shaw had said.  “Hey…” 

            “Hey.  It looks like we missed most of the excitement…”, Jessica chuckled.  “I bet people would’ve paid to watch that fight.  There are a lot of agents here who were glad that Karen got what was coming to her…” 

            “I guess so.”  Aubrey was suddenly exhausted.  “Could you please take me home?  I need a nap…” 

            Jessica took the bag Genny had for her.  “Sure thing, Superman.  Don’t worry...things will be better tomorrow…” 

            “God...I hope so…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors' note: Michelle and Laura both appreciate our readers. This story has been fun to write, but it takes time to ensure that our chapters meet the quality to which we both aspire. We will be taking a one week hiatus...there won't be a new chapter over Memorial Day weekend, but there will be a new one the following week. Don't despair...we haven't given up on our story...we just need to catch up with real life. Thanks for the support, and see you in two weeks.


	50. Christmas Trees & Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So we hope this chapter is worth the two week wait. Laura and I have some great stuff planned in the coming weeks.
> 
> PS: Watch for a Love & Carbonite extra. Follow mphs95 or lauraopper on Twitter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's question: How does decorating for Christmas bring up memories of the past for Aubrey? How does it affect his future with Jessica?

                Three days after the excitement at the Major Crimes division, Aubrey was enjoying his quiet Saturday morning.  As he stood in his pajamas by the couch, he alternated between eating the leftover popcorn from their trip to the movies last night and drinking his coffee while being briefed by his girlfriend as she got ready to leave.

                “Now while I’m gone, you’re going to take it easy, right, Superman?”, Jessica said as she put her coat on.  “I know you’re feeling better now that you’ve gone back to work, but you’re still recovering.”

                Aubrey stole another handful of popcorn from his souvenir _Rogue One_ bucket.  After he finished chewing, he put his cup of coffee down on the mantle and kissed his girlfriend.  “I’ll be fine.  I promise not to overdo it.  I’m just going to get my haircut and pick up some groceries.  That’s it.”

                “Okay.”, Jessica said.  “Promise me that you’re going to eat more than almost twelve hour old popcorn for breakfast while I’m gone.”

                Aubrey held back the urge to roll his eyes, knowing that his girlfriend is only concerned about his health.  “I’ll eat some cereal, I promise.”  _After all,_ _I’m sure Capt’n Crunch is so much better for me, right?_

                _‘Well, Cap’n Crunch is better than popcorn , I guess.’_  Jessica thought as she smiled indulgently.  “Good.  So Daisy should be picking me up any minute...”

                Aubrey bit his tongue to avoid complaining about how the woman’s visit almost kept them from making the 10:50 showing of _Rogue One_ at the Cineplex the night before.  “Do you think she and Beau settled things after they left here last night?”

                “I hope so, Aubrey.”, Jessica said as she pulled her hair from the back of her coat.  “She was practically spitting nails when she arrived, and all I could get out of her was that Beau was an ass when she told him that she was too busy to have lunch with him.”

                “I’m not trying to be mean, and I’m not taking Beau’s side, either, but short of him humiliating her at work or actively trying to get her fired, her reaction seemed a bit...much, Jess.”, Aubrey replied.  “I mean, her husband wanted to have lunch with her, which is a good thing, and she should be happy that he wants to spend time with her, right?  Instead, she bangs on my door ten minutes before we’re going to leave for the movies, barely acknowledging my presence before she begins ranting about Beau being insensitive to her needs and then saying that she’s just about had it with him.  Of course, when Mr. Insensitive shows up here to surprise her with a new car, suddenly she’s gushing about what a wonderful man he is.”

                Jessica nodded in silent agreement.  “I know….and she wasn’t making sense...I don’t what Beau did that was so wrong either, but she was so caught up in her anger that I didn’t want to engage her further until she wound down.  Maybe we’ll talk about it today, because there has to be more to the story than Beau surprised her for lunch and he was pissed that she was busy.”

                Aubrey debated with himself for a moment before deciding to speak his mind.  “Daisy and Beau have to realize that at some point, they can’t keep hiding their problems behind new toys and avoiding the truth.  They need to talk to each other.  Silence will kill their relationship.”

                “Yeah, look where it got us after we talked things out while hanging in our jammies and eating junk food.”, Jessica said with a smile.  “Things are a lot better between us now.”

                He grinned as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.  “It was lot cheaper, too.  I got a nice raise as a SAC along with a company SUV, but not enough to buy you a brand new car.  Sorry, Jess.”

                Jessica laughed as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend.  “It’s okay.  I love my Jeep Cherokee.  It’s 15 years old, but still runs great and I love having no car payment.  Besides, I would rather work on things the right way.”

                As they shared a small kiss, they heard the doorbell.  Looking at the nearby monitor, they saw Daisy waiting on the porch, so Jessica walked over to unlock and open the door.  “Come in, Dais.  I just have to get my purse.”

                The other anthropologist came in and smiled sheepishly at the agent.  “Hi, Aubrey...Listen, I was so upset last night that I forgot to tell you about how glad I am to see you on your feet again.  My apologies.”

                Once again, Aubrey was surprised at the happy countenance of the woman in front of him as compared to the night before.  “Yeah, I’m still a little sluggish, but I’m just glad to be back at work--”

                “Half days until his appointment on the 26th.”, Jessica said as she came into the entryway before kissing Aubrey goodbye.  “I’ll be back no later than 5:00.  Now you can decorate the house, but don’t start the tree until I get home, understand?”

                “Got it.”, Aubrey said with a smile.  “Have fun, ladies.”

                Walking them to the door, Aubrey watched them walk to a silver 2017 Ford Fusion.  As they drove off, he waved to them and then shut the door.  Chugging the rest of his coffee, he admired the full Leyland Cypress tree he and Jessica had picked up after work yesterday at the tree farm by Booth’s house.  Then his friend followed them home where he was able to help Jessica take the tree in the house thanks to the older man’s own restrictions being lifted for his shoulder injury.

                Aubrey was thrilled.  He hadn’t had a real Christmas tree in several years...not since the last Christmas he spent with his mom.  Encouraged by the friendships he had formed after coming to DC, Aubrey had bought a large artificial tabletop tree two years ago.  Of course, Skinner knocked it over while playing with the ornaments, but luckily nothing was broken.  Last year, the citrus spray Jessica recommended had kept his cat at bay.  Judging by how his cat had stared at the tree last night before Daisy’s complaining drove him out of the room, the spray would come in handy again this year.

                The only thing that was disappointing about the tree was the fact he might not be able to make love to Jessica beneath it on Christmas morning.  It had been a secret fantasy of his since he was a teenager, but he’d never had the kind of relationship with a woman where they’d spent the morning together for their own special holiday.  No one had ever been close enough to him have that special moment...until now.

                As a whole, Aubrey was pretty stoked about Christmas this year.  While most of his happiness was because he was with Jessica, it was also because he had enough room to truly decorate for the holiday.  Making a two bedroom apartment festive was different than having a five bedroom home to make into a Christmas wonderland.

                Opening a cardboard box he’d brought in from the garage, he pulled out the lights Booth had left at the house for him to use on the new Christmas tree.  In the other two boxes, he pulled out the ornaments he wanted to use as well as the ones Jessica brought over last week from her family’s home.  Looking at the variety of items for the tree, he smiled in anticipation, waiting impatiently for later when he and his girlfriend would get to decorate their first Christmas tree together.

                But the thought of being unable to make love until after Christmas irritated him again.  Continuing to search through the boxes, Aubrey grumbled to himself.

                “Stupid restrictions...stupid spleen...can’t make love to my girlfriend on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  Of course, Jessica said I had to behave or no holiday nookie on New Year’s either.”  Aubrey sighed in resignation.  “But she’s only concerned about my health.  Maybe she’ll be in the Christmas spirit and let me grab her butt after she tries on some of the lingerie.  I guess I’d better be good...dammit!”

                Sighing again, the agent went back to his task.  After thirty minutes, he found all the items he needed except one.  Heading into the den, he saw three boxes piled near the futon.

                “Please say it’s in the top box.  If Jess finds out I moved any of those boxes, she’s going to majorly kick my ass.”

                Pulling the flaps apart, he laughed as he saw his mother’s Nativity scene.  Rubbing the pieces gently, he recalled how his mother put it out every Christmas as a way to hold onto her faith.  She had always been so proud of it, reminding him that it had come all the way from Italy...the souvenir of a trip she had taken before she’d married his father.  Every year, she told him the story of the baby in the manger, even when he was grown.  It had been a family tradition for years.  She’d pick up each figurine and tell what they were doing or what they said when the baby was born.  He could still hear her voice as she explained what the Angels had told the shepherds…

                The first Christmas without her was six weeks after her death, and he’d hidden himself away, trying to stay busy with his career.  The following three years he was alone or had volunteered to work the holidays so fellow agents could spend time with their families.  He’d decorated his apartment sparingly, keeping the Nativity scene boxed away.  While the excuse had been that his previous dwellings had no room, in truth it was too painful as it reminded him too much of how much he missed his mother.

                Then came Christmas of 2014.  Instead of being alone, Aubrey was invited by Booth to come to their house for dinner.  He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed being part of a family until he watched everyone laughing and enjoying Christmas dinner together.  He knew then he wanted to have a family of his own someday...he wanted to spend Christmas with the people he loved.

                Last year was special, too, because not only did he survive a bombing two weeks earlier, but Jessica had stopped over with Wendell for dessert at Booth and Dr. B’s.  They’d had plans the night he and Hodgins were injured, but he was unable to make it up to her because of his recuperation.  Seeing the mistletoe, the agent plotted to get the redhead underneath it, but he lost his nerve to make good use of it.

                However, he got to take Jessica home, and the two of them went on a walk in her neighborhood so they could look at all the Christmas lights.  When they’d finished their little tour, he walked her to her door, but once again, he chickened out on a kiss for Christmas.

                He smiled with satisfaction.  This year would definitely be different.  Not only would he get that kiss under the mistletoe, but once he got the all clear, they were going to break their forced celibacy with abandon.  Unfortunately, the rest of their week would be busy before the FBI Gala on the 30th.  

                If he had his way, they would take a week off where they did nothing but eat, sleep, and have sex.  He would let her out of bed to go to the bathroom, feed Skinner, and eat.  Finding time not only to make up for a month of loneliness but to just relax was going to be challenging to say the least.

                Suddenly, he thought about what Booth had said last week about a possible long weekend away with Dr. B.  Maybe that was what he needed to do...plan a trip for the two of them.  Over the last month both of them had been put through the wringer, and they deserved some quiet time together without dealing with needy friends, recovery, upcoming trials and other crap.  They still didn’t have any New Year’s Eve plans yet, so perhaps going to West Virginia or Maryland for a three day weekend would do both of them some good.  It would be tough to get accommodations because of the holiday season, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

                Making a plan to do some research after finding more decorations, Aubrey pulled the Nativity scene out and froze when he saw the small wooden chest underneath.  Instantly, he was flooded with memories of several years earlier.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                _Aubrey saw his mother lying in bed, too tired to get up.  While their time together was limited, he knew she also needed her rest.  Walking over to the bed, he ignored all the pill bottles on the nightstand as he moved to cover her with a soft blanket._

_“Jamie…”_

_“I’m sorry I woke you, Mom.  Go back to sleep.”_

_“I don’t want to sleep, Jamie.  We don’t have a lot of time left together.”, Rachael said quietly before pointing to her dresser.  “We need to talk. Now hand me that wooden box.”_

_“Mom, you need to rest--”_

_“James Robert, I’m not going to tell you again.”, his mother said quietly.  “The box…”_

_Knowing his mother meant business, he grabbed the item and took it to her.  He watched as she lifted the lid and removed a velvet jewelry box.  Opening it, she took out a ring._

_“Isn’t that Gram’s ring?”_

_“Yes it is.”, Rachael responded before handing it to her son.  “She loved this ring.  Take it, son.  Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?”_

_Aubrey took it and admired the half carat ruby encased in the bezel setting surrounded by the two small diamonds.  The platinum ring had a delicate filigree design that surrounded the entire ring.  Rubbing his thumb across the top, he admired how the stone was flush against the setting._

_“It’s beautiful, Mom, but…how did you get it?  We really…don’t see them anymore.  We didn’t find out about her death until Aunt Kate mailed that letter after the service.”_

_Rachael weakly took the ring from her son, wiping away a tear as she told the story. “Your grandmother knew her dementia was getting worse, so one day she visited me….you were at a friend’s house when she just showed up out of the blue.  We talked for a long time, and she told me that that afternoon might…be the last time she saw me because…she was going to be hospitalized in a facility for psychiatric patients.  Next thing I knew, she took off her beautiful ruby ring...the one she always wore...and handed it to me.  When I asked her why she was giving me her favorite ring, she told me how it had been her grandmother’s, then her mother’s, and, as much as she loved wearing it, the time had come for her to pass it on to me.”_

_Aubrey thought about what was missing from that story.  “If it was your mother’s, why didn’t you ever wear it?”_

_“I did for special occasions, more after you had moved up to Syracuse.  Most times, I was too afraid of something happening to it, because...it was the only thing of hers I had from her estate, plus...”  Rachael’s voice wavered.  “...when she gave the ring to me, I had to promise not to reveal that I had it until after she passed away.”_

_“Why, Mom?”  Aubrey was surprised._

_Rachael hesitated slightly.  “She wanted to make sure that I would get it because...she didn’t trust your grandfather or my siblings to give it to me after her death.  Both of us knew how much Kate wanted it, but Mom said I was the oldest and it belonged to me...that was the tradition...that it went to the eldest daughter.  I don’t know what she told my sister about where the ring had gone, but Kate wrote to me asking about it about six months after Mom died.  I wasn’t going to lie, so I wrote back, saying that Mom had given it to me.  Kate was upset and threatened to sue me over it, but when I called her bluff, she let it go.”_

_Aubrey chuckled softly, admiring his mother’s determination.  “Did Gram have a plan for passing it on since I don’t have a sister?  It’s a bit small for me.”_

_Holding the ring up so that it glinted in the light, Rachael turned to her son.   “Your grandmother said…since I didn’t have any girls...to give the ring to you...to use as an engagement ring for the woman you ask to marry you.”_

_Aubrey shook his head.  “Mom, that’s the last thing on my mind right now.  I have a career that I need to concentrate on if I’m going to meet my goal of running for Congress in 2020.  I don’t have time for things like finding a wife—“_

_“Bull…shit.”, the woman said weakly, trying to smile.  “Jamie…you’re hiding away…like I did…after your father left.  I was so afraid to open myself up again that I focused my all of my energies on you.  I don’t regret that, but…I think you’re afraid of being hurt.  It’s not a good way to live, son.”_

_“I am not.”, Aubrey protested, hating that his mother was right.  “I have goals, Mom, and I’ll be damned if I let anything, or anyone hold me back.  Now I’m going to give this back to you—“_

_“No.”, Rachael said firmly.  “You’re going to put it in that box and when I’m gone, you’re going to take it because…the ring will be yours.  Then, you’re going to hold onto it until you find that girl.”_

_“Mom, you keep saying that, but—“_

_“Don’t ‘but’ me.  She’s going to come when you least expect it…and you’ll know.  I can’t explain how, but you will.  She’s going to be more than just your lover—“_

_“Mom…” , Aubrey blushed.  “I don’t—“_

_“Jamie…I know you have sex.  You’re an attractive young man and I would be a fool to think you’re a monk.  Now, don’t interrupt me again.”_

_Properly chastised, Aubrey bowed his head.  “Yes, ma’am.”_

_Rachael looked at the ring.  “She’s not going to be just your lover, but also your best friend.  Your father and I…we weren’t best friends, so don’t make the mistake of settling for less than that.  Trust your instincts when you find her.  When you’re ready, you give this to her, you tell her that you love her, you adore her, and you want to spend the rest of your life with her.”_

_Aubrey could see the exertion and pain on his mother’s face.  “Mom, do you need me to get the nurse so you can get some morphine?”_

_“I’m fine.”,  Rachael said quietly.  “Now put that ring away where you’ll find it and let’s talk about your birthday coming up…what kind of cake do you want?”_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Coming back to the present, he opened the simple wooden box.  On top of photos and other knick knacks was a small, familiar gray case.  Opening it, he exhaled slowly when he saw the ring.  The ruby and small diamonds were still shining as brightly as before,  and the platinum band gleamed proudly as he pulled the delicate ring from the box.

                Jessica has small fingers, but so did his grandmother.  He couldn’t deny how beautiful it would look on her hand, but an engagement?  Marriage?  He was still going back and forth on asking her to move in with him permanently after his recovery was complete.  The idea of adding marriage to the mix was almost frightening...

                He recalled a conversation he’d had with Booth after leaving the lingerie store last weekend.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                _Aubrey fingered the delicate fabric of the lingerie one more time, anticipating how it all would look on Jessica at Christmas.  Then his thoughts faded to various times throughout their times together._

_The day he met her while working the Hayes Robertson case…flirting with her in the lab during the Leslie Hodsell case…inviting her over for a Star Wars marathon the following weekend…_

_Those last few seconds before he and Hodgins were injured in the bombing last year…his happiness at finding out she had visited him twice while he was unconscious…his first attempt to kiss her…their first kiss while laying on a wet sidewalk…_

_Coming back to Jessica’s apartment to make love for the first time after spending the day at Booth and Brennan’s.  He smirked as he remembered how they barely made it to her bedroom._

_Then…his fears about his father…telling Jessica he was serious about her and her scared rabbit reaction…her going to Scotland…how she found out about the offer to LA…her telling him they had no future together…her slapping him after his indecorous remarks to her after Daisy’s wedding…_

_Talking after the Star Wars convention…going on their first ‘date’ to the movies…showing her his new house…the numerous times they almost had sex…his birthday…making love after deciding they were ready to be together again…_

_His stomach turned as he recalled his disgraceful behavior to her after finding out about his father…then their fight after he came home from the hospital.  But then, their talks, while painful, liberated both of them.  The last couple of weeks weren’t easy, but it made their friendship, and their love stronger.  If they could take that, they could handle anything._

_“Aubrey!”_

_Knocked out of his thoughts, Aubrey turned to his friend.  “Sorry, Booth, did you say something?”_

_“Yeah I did, but you were miles away.  What’s going on?”_

_Aubrey debated on whether to ask his question, but decided to go for it.  “Booth, when did you know that Dr. B was the one?”_

_Booth stopped at a traffic light.  Glancing at his friend, he shook his head. “That’s…not so easy to answer, Aubrey, because I don’t know if there was a time when it hit me like that.  I knew when I first saw her in that lecture hall that she was different.  She was…arrogant, but she had a right to be, as smart as she is.  She was proud of who she was…but I could see that small part of her that cared for our victim…and her punching Judge Hasty was awesome.  When we didn’t see each other after that case, I was…lonely, but I didn’t see it then.  I mean, I tried to forget her, but...”_

_Aubrey listened patiently as Booth considered his words.  “I acted like it was nothing when I got her to work with me again, but it wasn’t. I was so pumped that she’d decided to work with me, but I tried to play it cool, you know?  I guess I was unsure of myself, and of her, too, but as I got to know her, really know her, I saw her heart, Aubrey.  Bones…she has this exterior of science and education, but it’s only part of her.  She has such a pure heart, but she’d been hurt so much as a young woman...but she had so much…love inside her and she was so scared to see that.  I…didn’t see it right away, either.  When I rescued her from Keaton all those years ago, relief barely describes what I felt.  When she considered leaving DC with Sully…I couldn’t tell her to stay because I couldn’t voice my feelings, but I was dying inside...”_

_Booth took a minute before voicing the rest of his thoughts.  “There were other things, too, but when I let Sweets talk me into asking her to take a chance on me and she said she couldn’t…something broke inside of me, Aubrey.  However, I couldn’t let Bones go.  She broke my heart, but she was my best friend, you know?  I tried to date other women…hell, I even asked Hannah to marry me, but in the end, it was always Bones...it would always be her, no matter what happened.”_

_Booth saw the confusion on his friend’s face.  “I guess what I’m saying is, there was no specific moment...no lightning strike of understanding...no revelation from Heaven.  Looking back now, I’d always known it was her, but I wasn’t ready to admit it because…it scared the shit out of me.  Us getting together wasn’t easy, either.  She found it hard to let someone else in after depending on herself for the last twenty years,  but my idealized views on making a life together was also in the way.  Also, her leaving because of Pelant, and my anger at her because of it, Pelant forcing me to break my engagement with Bones, working our way back to each other, us adjusting to each other again after I got out of prison, my gambling…but I don’t regret any of it.  I’d do it all again, because I could never live without her because she’s…a part of me…she’s my best friend.”_

_The agent made a left hand turn as he approached Cleveland Park.  “Is Jessica the one for you?  Only you can say that for sure, Aubrey, but don’t let fear get in your way like it did with Bones and me, understand?”_

_“I won’t, Booth.”_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                 Putting the ring away, he closed the velvet box and put it back before closing the larger wooden chest.  “Well, Mom...I finally found the girl, but we’ll get there when it’s the right time.”

                 Taking the Nativity scene with him, he placed it right on the fireplace mantle and smiled at how right it looked there in his home.  It was like his mother was still with him.

                He looked at the rest of the decorations, but walked away before temptation struck.  Tonight, he planned to make a nice dinner for his girlfriend, and then they would decorate the tree together.  After that, they’d watch a science fiction marathon on TV.

                But right now, he had a vacation to plan.  Getting his laptop, he researched all over until he found what he was looking for about 30 minutes from her family’s winery.  Checking its availability, he saw there was a vacancy.

                “Yes!”  Aubrey fist pumped before thinking of something.  “Shit, better make sure we can go.”

                Grabbing his phone, he speed dialed a number.  “Hey Hodgins...it’s Aubrey.  Listen...got a favor to ask you…”

*******************************************************************************************************************************

                 Daisy’s vehicle entered the parking garage and she almost immediately found a spot near the entrance on the ground floor.  After the motor  was turned off, the two women got out of the vehicle.

                “So isn’t my new car amazing?”, Daisy asked.  “I love the navigation system...and aren’t the heated seats just awesome?”

                Jessica got out of the passenger door and looked at the vehicle.  “Yeah, the seats were pretty nice this morning, and I do like your car.  What are your payments?”

                “Beau said there were none...he paid cash for it at the dealership.”, the anthropologist said proudly.  “My husband is so amazing.”

                Thinking about his lowered salary and the issues between them of late, Jessica was surprised.  “That’s nice, Daisy, but can he afford it since he’s only the practice squad now?”

                “Yes, of course, Jessica.  Besides, he got it for me to make up for being an ass to me yesterday.”

                Before she could stop herself, Jessica said what she was thinking.  “You know, you never got into detail about what happened with Beau, just that he was pissed that you couldn’t have lunch with him at work.  Surely there was more to it than that?”

                “Well, Beau surprised me at work with lunch from RT’s.  Of course, Oliver had already gotten us food from Vermillion, and we were having a working lunch as we went over his findings for a case I’m working from Idaho.”

                “Oliver is working in the physics department at the NFL, right?”,  Jessica responded.  “I didn’t realize that he consulted with your area a lot.”                

                “His knowledge of physics has helped up solve more than one cold case since I started there, Jessica.  I can see how you might think he’s abrasive, but he’s also brilliant.”,  Daisy said before arming the alarm on her vehicle and the two walked across the street.  “Beau got all irritated when I told him he should have called me first.  He said he was just trying to be romantic, but I reminded him that I’m a very busy person and can’t just stop on a dime for his whimsy. 

                _‘I remember when she loved the fact he would stop by on a whim with lunch…’_ Jessica nodded, but kept her thoughts to herself as Daisy continued to talk.

                “I said we could have it for leftovers if I didn’t get home too late, but I didn’t have time to sit with him right then.  Of course, like a child, he just dumped the food on my desk and stormed out.”

                Jessica tried to think of something diplomatic to say.  “Beau sounds a little frustrated…”

                “Well, I have an important job, and I’m always busy.  He needs to talk to me before doing stuff like this, and Oliver agreed with me that Beau needed to be more understanding of the sacrifices one has to make for science.  I’m sure even Aubrey understands that a career must come first,  especially since he’s a Special Agent in Charge.  I’m also confident that he has more forethought than to just spring stuff on you at the lab.  Dr. Brennan has always been adamant about her interns being ready when she needs them and expecting them to keep their personal lives out of the lab.”

                “I know.  Aubrey and I are both pretty busy with our careers, but we try to make the weekends and a couple nights a week our time to spend together without bringing up work.”, Jessica said without thinking.  “As for the lab, Dr. B doesn’t mind when Aubrey stops by to have lunch with me at the lab once a week.  Andie sometimes comes by to eat lunch with Wendell when she has free time.  Curly and Dr. Saroyan are also pretty cool with us doing whatever we want on our breaks, just like Dr. B is, as long as we are back on time and keep things professional.”                 

                “Well, Dr. Brennan didn’t like it when Lance visited me at the lab when we weren’t working a case together.  She always expected me to work and to be ready to learn.  Lancelot also told me that she would lecture him on visiting the lab and disrupting the work day.”, Daisy replied in a slightly miffed tone.  “It looks like now that she’s married to Booth and has a family, she’s becoming more lax with her newer interns.  Must be nice.”

                ‘ _Maybe she wasn’t thrilled to have Sweets there because he always wanted something besides lunch when he came by.’,_ Jessica thought to herself as she remembered Daisy’s stories about the many quickies she and the FBI profiler had enjoyed in various places around the lab, including under the desk in Dr. B’s office.   _‘Aubrey and I have fooled around in my SUV during lunch a couple of times, but never in Dr. B’s office or the lab itself.  He doesn’t take advantage of his friendships with people there and he’ll never intentionally do anything to make me look bad at work.’_

                Groaning inwardly, Jessica tried to shrug off her friend’s insinuation, realizing that it may have sprung from jealousy.  She knew that Daisy sometimes got protective of her time with their mentor as she had been the only female intern until the redhead started in 2014.  More than once, alone or with several people, she always had a Dr. B story of her own to share after Jessica would tell one.  Attempting to avoid an argument, the redhead tried changing the subject.

                “Well, thanks for going with me to do this, Daisy.”

                Daisy’s countenance changed as she linked her arm with her friend’s.  “Of course, Jessica.  Dress shopping is so much fun!  Don’t you remember those days when there was Prom or Homecoming at school?  Those were always the best.”

                “Daisy,”,  Jessica said, rolling her eyes as they walked down the sidewalk, “my cooperative didn’t have school dances, remember?  I didn’t attend those at Michigan State, either, because everyone was so much older than I was.  When my sisters married my brothers and you married Beau, I didn’t have to choose the dress I wore.  So, this is my first…full-fledged formal dress shopping trip…and I’m nervous.”

                “Why?”,  Daisy said with a smile.  “Don’t be, because you have me with you.  I’m going to make you look so good!  You have such a cute figure...I’m sure we won’t have any trouble finding the perfect dress for you.”

                “This is a party with FBI bigwigs…and it’s so important to Aubrey, Booth, and Genny and I want to make a good impression on Deputy Director Stark and the Director himself.  I’m just glad Dr. B will be there, too.”

                “You’ll have everyone else there, too Jessica.”, Daisy said quietly.

                Once again, the redhead looked back at her friend. “Dais, I’m sorry Aubrey and Booth’s thing is the same night as the dinner party you had planned.”

                “I still don’t see why you two can’t make an appearance, but I understand…Aubrey’s job has to come first…”

                Jessica bit her tongue to avoid a rash response.  Every since Aubrey had spoken his mind the day he came home from the hospital, Daisy would sometimes make little comments about her boyfriend and their relationship.  However, he was almost murdered three weeks ago and needed to be the center of her attention right now.  Thankfully, he was almost recovered, but as he always made time for her things, she wanted to do the same. 

                Fighting against the irrational stab of guilt, the redhead finally responded.  “Daisy, I told you that Aubrey, Booth, and Genny had no say in the matter.  The Bureau wants to honor them for their bravery with the Vacchio case last month.  The Director himself issued the invitations and set the date.  Aubrey would prefer to go to your dinner party, trust me.”

                Daisy exhaled.  “I’m sorry…it’s just that I’m going to be so bored.  Andie said she’s going with Wendell to his thing with his friends on the 30th...you’ll be with everyone else.  All New Years Eve weekend Beau will be constantly at FedEx or studying plays until his next game except when we’re at his parents’ house Saturday night.”

                “The Redskins are doing Monday Night Football, aren’t they?”, Jessica asked while walking around a crack on the sidewalk.

                “Yes.  They’re playing one of the New York teams.  I’m going to the game, of course, with some of the other wives.  Beau said they have to win this game to get some Wild Pick thing.”

                “Wild Card.”, Jessica said as she opened the boutique’s door and held it for her friend.  “It still gives them a chance towards the Super Bowl.  I’m sure Beau is pretty psyched about it since they lost their berth to Dallas a couple weeks back.”

                “Well, it’s all he talks about.  Football…football…football…at least he’s stopped talking about the damn CFL.”, Daisy said.  “He needs to realize there’s more to life than football.”

                The ladies walked into the finely appointed shop, and Jessica stopped as she took it all in.  In every part of the store, women were being attended to by personal shoppers.  Taking a few steps towards one of the racks, she saw a green silk dress with spaghetti straps.  Picking up the price tag, her eyes got large before putting it down and heading back to her friend.

                “Daisy, that dress is $2100.00.  Are all their dresses this expensive?”

                Rolling her eyes at the comment, Daisy giggled.  “Jessica, this is the most exclusive boutique in town.  I had to ask my mother-in-law to get us an appointment.  Anyway, you have money leftover from your trust fund since you paid your Spring semester tuition last week.  You can get anything you want.”

                “Well, yes, but I’m not comfortable spending over a thousand dollars on a dress I may wear once, you know?  I don’t want to go over $500 if I can avoid it.”

                Daisy put her arm around her friend’s waist.  “Jessica, you have to wow those folks at the FBI if you want to make a good impression.  I’m sure there are going to be people from Congress and other movers and shakers there.  Now come on, let’s find you a dress.”

                Jessica felt uneasy, but put it aside.  _After all, this is supposed to be fun, right?_ “Okay.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Over the next hour, Jessica tried on dresses that Daisy and the saleswoman recommended.  The first was an A line dress that was a pale pink with hints of pastel green and a flowery tulle layer.  Coming out, she saw the expectant faces of her friend and their sales woman.

                “Jessica, that is so…you.”

                “It’s…pretty…”, the redhead said before peeking at the price.  “But not pretty enough for $2078.00.”

                Walking back into the dressing room, Daisy turned to the personal shopper.  “She’s just really nervous about the party.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Next was a flesh colored gown with splashes of red, gold, and brown lines flowing down the dress with a bateau neckline.

                “Jessica, that dress is so beautiful.”

                “Daisy, I look like a tree with fall graffiti.  I’m not crazy about the color stripes…or the price.  $1300.00 is way too much.”, she whispered before going back into the dressing room.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Jessica came out in a silver form fitting, mermaid dress with tulle forming the bottom third with several layers of material.  Sprinkled throughout the silvery beading in the tulle were small red crystals attached to rhinestones.

                “Miss, that dress is so stunning on you.”

                “That dress looks amazing, Jessica.”

                The redhead made a face.  “Daisy, I’m going to blind my boyfriend and everyone else there with all these sparkles.”

                “But, Jessica…”

                “Can you give us just a moment?”, Jessica said to the saleswoman.  When she walked away, the redhead turned back to her friend.  “Daisy, I’m not paying $1900.00 for a dress.  I appreciate you getting an appointment for me here, but it’s just too…hoity toity for me.  I’ve heard that there’s this new awesome vintage clothing shop by the Hoover--“

                “Jessica!  If there’s anything I’ve learned from being a Pixler, it’s that when you go to a party like that you don’t buy consignment.”

                 Jessica was surprised at her friend’s last comment.  “Daisy...you bought your bridal gown on consignment and were quite proud of it, as I can recall.  I don’t see the difference.”

                 “The difference is that although my mother-in-law is a pill, I have learned a few things about parties here in DC.  The biggest lesson is you don’t go cheap on dresses because you could be hobnobbing with a Congressperson...a member of the Cabinet…”

                 Jessica held her hand up.  “I get it, Daisy, but Aubrey is not out to impress those people.  Neither are Booth or Genny.  Besides, Superman said that dress was formal but also told me to be comfortable.  This stuff...it’s not me.”

                “Okay, Jessica.  Don’t worry.”, Daisy said as she put her arm around her friend’s shoulder.  “We’re going to find you the right DC party dress.  There are four more nice boutiques we can check out in town.  How about we check a couple of them out, then we can have some lunch?  Our quarterback’s wife mentioned a nice shop in Alexandria.”

                The redhead had a feeling that the rest of the day would be about the same.  However, her friend was trying hard to help her and she needed to appreciate it.  “Sure, Dais.  Sounds good.”

*******************************************************************************************************************************

                Six hours later, Aubrey was taking out two steaks he had marinated in the fridge for dinner when he heard his front door being unlocked.  From the kitchen, he saw Jessica enter the house, lock, and arm the door.  Before he could greet her, he observed her toss her purse aside and growl before dropping herself on the couch.

                Setting the container aside, the agent put his attention on his girlfriend.  “Dress shopping went that well, huh?”

                “Dress shopping sucks!”, the redhead whined before tipping her head back.  Skinner jumped up on the couch and head butted her hand.  Opening her eyes, she smiled as the tabby curled up into her lap.  “Hey there, boy…you always know when I need a friend.”                 

                “So do I.”  Pulling a beer out of the fridge, Aubrey opened it before making his way over and sitting next to her.  Holding out the beer to her, he sympathized.  “What happened?  Just didn’t see anything you liked?”

                “Thank you, Superman.”,  Jessica said as she took the beer while petting Skinner.  Taking a drink, she continued.  “No, I didn’t.  Daisy took me to these fancy ass boutiques where the dresses were several thousand dollars.  She and the salespeople would pick out stuff that they said suited me, but they either had ugly ruffles, large trains, big bows or what nots on my butt, or just way too expensive for my taste.”

                “Well, if you want…I can go with you tomorrow—“

                “James Aubrey!  No way you’re going dress shopping with me.  It’s too weird.  I talked to Andie yesterday before picking up our tree and she said she was free to go with me Monday after I get off at 4:00 to check out Neiman Marcus and a place in Baltimore.  Daisy offered to go with me Friday, too, but she also said that I needed to quit being stingy about prices since I had enough money left over from my trust fund disbursement to get a proper dress.”

                _‘Proper dress?  Whatever…’_ Aubrey thought as he rolled his eyes.  “Jess, I would rather you get something you like than something to impress snobs.  Spending several thousand dollars on a dress is just plain ass stupid.”

                “I know...but the banquet is in less than two weeks.  I have to decide soon because I may need to get it altered, and I’ll have to get it early enough to make sure it’s ready in time.”

                Aubrey caressed her hand.  “You’ll find something, Jess.  Don’t settle for something you’re going to hate.  You have no one to impress, all right?”

                “I have to look right, Aubrey.  I heard from Dr. B that there will be movers and shakers there, and I don’t want to embarrass you in any way.”

                Aubrey combed a lock of red hair from Jessica’s eye and tucked it behind her ear.  “You can’t embarrass me.  You never will embarrass me.  If people don’t like you, that’s on them.  I want to go to this stupid thing and get this stupid award with my beautiful girlfriend Jessica Warren proudly on my arm, not some wannabe social butterfly who kisses rich people’s butts.”

                Jessica broke out into a laugh.  “James Aubrey, you are the only one who could make me feel better right now.”

                Happy that his girlfriend’s cloud was gone, the agent smiled.  Getting up, he held out his hand.  “Now, why don’t you take that beer upstairs and have a nice hot bath while I cook dinner?”

                “What’s on the menu tonight, Chef Aubrey?”, Jessica asked as she took Aubrey’s hand and stood up in front of him.

                “Steak, a nice vegetable blend, baked potatoes, and green beans with a nice Pinot Noir Dr. B recommended to me a few days ago.”

                “Sounds nice…”, the redhead said with a smile.  “I’ll soak for a bit, then I can help you with dinner.  How does that sound?”

                “Nice, but let me do most of the work.  You’ve been taking care of me for too long.”

                “Aubrey….”

                “Jessica…”, the agent retorted gently before pointing at the stairs.  “Go upstairs…relax…I think you earned it today.”

                “Okay…”  The anthropologist ran her hands through her boyfriend’s thick hair.  “I like your haircut, by the way.  It was getting a little wild, Superman.”

                “Thanks…it was annoying me.”,  Aubrey replied while feeling the back of his head.  “Now go.”

                He watched her go upstairs and when she was out of view, he thought about the last time they shared his jet tub together on Thanksgiving.  Starting to feel some lustful stirrings, he walked over to his calendar and noted the date.

                “Just one more week, Jess.  If I have to wait longer to make love to you, I’m going to die.  Ugh…”            

*******************************************************************************************************************************

                Two hours later, the couple were stringing the lights onto their Christmas tree.  Aubrey, being taller, wrapped them around the tree as Jessica handed them to him.  “Keep them coming, Jess.  We’re almost there…”

                The redhead bit her lip to keep from laughing as she handed him the part to plug in.  “Here you go, Superman.”

                “Thanks, Jess.”, Aubrey said, pulling the other side closer but coming up short.  “Why is this coming up short?  Booth said these were fifteen feet…what the hell?”

                Jessica pulled her phone out and aimed it at her boyfriend.  “Say...screw kryptonite!”

                Aubrey heard the click before looking down to see the lights wrapped around his legs.  He narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend, who continued to giggle.  “You’re going down, Warren.”

                “Whatever, Aubrey.  You’re the one stuck in the lights, not me.”

                “Not for long…”  Aubrey quickly slipped out of the lights and chased his girlfriend in the kitchen to her squeals of delight. 

                Catching her in the kitchen he turned her around and kissed her tenderly.  The close contact ignited something in the lovers and before they knew it, Aubrey had her pinned against the refrigerator.  Both were swept up in passion, but when Jessica felt Aubrey’s lips travel down her neck and his hand on her butt, she snapped out of it.

                “Aubrey...you have to stop...we can’t…oh God...”  Jessica’s eyes rolled in the back of her head as he nibbled on the sweet spot of her neck. 

                His only response was to pull her closer, caressing her tenderly as his dexterous fingers traveled under her sweater.  “Jessica...I want to fuck the hell out of you...right here...right now…”

                The growl in his voice weakened her resolve further, as well as his hand sneaking under her bra to play with her nipple, but Jessica was determined to remain strong.  “James..oh that feels good...stop...no sex…until after the doctor clears you.”

                Aubrey stopped and groaned into Jessica’s neck.  “Jess...this sucks...I am so horny right now…”

                “So am I, Superman...so am I...but we can’t jeopardize your recovery.  I don’t want you to injure your spleen again...and I’m sure you don’t either.”, Jessica said quietly as she ran her hand through his dark hair. 

                The agent remembered something and he panicked.  “We can still have sex on New Years, right?  I was supposed to keep my hands to myself but I haven’t touched you in three weeks...and you felt so damn good…”

                “I know, Superman, and you’re forgiven.  Yes, as long as we get the okay, we can have lots of sex on New Years Eve.”  Jessica gave an encouraging smile. “We’re almost there...just hang in there...and we can welcome the New Year together with lots of pleasurable fornication.”

                Aubrey lifted his head and was rewarded to see her pupils almost completely dilated and the green in her eyes almost an emerald.  “I can do that...but I don’t want to go out for New Years Eve…well, maybe except for food.”

                “Just the two of us?  I like it.  What do you have in mind, Aubrey?”, Jessica said as she saw his smirk.  “You have a plan, don’t you?”

                “How does three days in a cabin in the mountains sound?  No FBI...no lab...no Gerald...no Daisy...Karen...any of that shit.  Just us.”

_‘Oh, that sounds so amazing...but I think Clark is back on January 2nd…’_  Jessica thought.  “With Dr. B gone until January 3rd, Clark was coming back--”

                “He’s staying another week in Canada to present what they’ve found so far to the Canadian government.  Hodgins was going to announce it on Monday but the lab will be closed from December 31st to January 5th so that all the new lab equipment can be installed all at once.”

                “That’s good.  I’m just surprised Clark isn’t going to be here for that.”

                Aubrey smirked.  “Hodgins thinks he’s actually staying an extra few days because of the anthropologist that is presenting with him.”

                “Dr. Suzann something...she’s a cute blonde...very business like...totally Clark’s type.”, Jessica giggled.  “Good for him.  He’s been moping about Nora long enough...wait, how did you know about…you talked to Curly already, didn’t you?”

                “Well, I didn’t want to plan a vacation you couldn’t go to, Jess.”, Aubrey said before he got serious.  “It’s been a rough few weeks.  I think we both need the time away.”

                Nodding happily, Jessica kissed her boyfriend.  “I agree...let’s do it.”

                “Good...because I’ve already put the deposit down.”, Aubrey said, laughing as her smile grew wider.  Letting go of his girlfriend, he took her hand.  “Come on, Jess, let’s go finish the tree.”

*******************************************************************************************************************************

                A hour later, the lights were off in the living room except for the glow of the Christmas lights from the tree.  Aubrey sat on the couch as Jessica snuggled up to him with her legs draped across his lap.

                “Our tree is awesome, Aubrey.”, the redhead said as her head lay on his shoulder.

                “It sure is, Jess.”, the agent replied contently as he also admired the hodgepodge of different ornaments along with the multicolored lights.  “Who needs those hoity toity Architectural Digest trees with a unifying color scheme and fancy baubles?”

                “I know.”  Jessica grinned as she looked up at the tree.  “I like ours better.  It has personality.”

                “The best one…our tree looks like us.”,  Aubrey said before pecking her on the lips.  Turning back, he saw Skinner sneaking towards the tree.  Grabbing his spray bottle he watched the cat inch closer, but before he could use it, the tabby recoiled after smelling the tree and skittered away.  “Good boy…”

                “Told you spraying the tree with OJ would work in a pinch.”, the redhead said.  “Cats hate citrus.”

                “Remind me never to doubt my genius, Mensa card carrying, science loving, future PhD, hot girlfriend ever again.”

                “Oh I will…”,  Jessica said with a giggle before getting serious.  “There is one more thing I need to talk to you about tonight, Superman.”

                “Yeah... what’s that?”, he replied quietly as he rubbed her leg.

                “Remember that dinner party Daisy wanted on the 30th but she couldn’t have it because we wouldn’t be available?”

                “Yeah…”, Aubrey said.

                “She thinks she wants to have it in a few weeks, but isn’t sure of the date yet.”

                “Well, I can work out my schedule, but what about your work schedule?  Dr. B said she and Hodgins would have it done next week, and you’ll know more about whether or not we can make it.”                 

                “Works for me, if you want to go, that is.”  Aubrey said.  “So should we start our movie marathon?”

                Jessica rubbed his chest tenderly.  “Actually, can we enjoy the tree a little longer?”

                Aubrey smiled at his girlfriend before holding her closer.  “Sure.  See? It’s like I said. You’re a genius.” 


	51. The Little Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The little things...it has so many different meanings. Words of wisdom...compromise...protecting the on you love...but it's those things that usually make life better. How does it make Aubrey & Jessica's life better?
> 
> Read and find out.

                December 19th was a cold, sunny Monday.  As Jessica took her usual route from Aubrey’s to the lab, she smiled thinking about the previous evening.

                After another wonderful dinner made by the talented Chef Aubrey, the two snuggled on the couch while enjoying a Rita Hayworth marathon on TCM.  Her boyfriend had recovered from his horny blast the night before and had behaved himself admirably, keeping his hands respectfully to himself as they held each other close.

                This morning, Aubrey had gotten up with her, even though he wasn’t planning to go to work until 12:00.  However, Genny had called while Aubrey was cooking omelets for breakfast to let him know she wouldn’t be in that morning because both Danny and her mother had strep throat.  Jessica had worried about him stretching the doctor’s restrictions, but after he’d promised to sit behind the desk all day unless absolutely necessary, she’d given her blessing for him to go to work at 10:00 as long as he left by 5:00, no exceptions.  Kissing her boyfriend goodbye, she walked to the garage, started her Jeep, and headed out for the day.

                Sipping coffee from her Princess Leia travel mug, she enjoyed the drive through the beautiful Cleveland Park neighborhood as she headed to the lab.  Yes, with the rush hour traffic the trip was about 30 to 40 minutes, but she didn’t mind since the commute from her apartment was a bland twenty minute drive. 

Waiting at a red light, she checked her phone.  When she saw the date, she remembered something important that she had to do.  “Oh, I have to stop over at the grocery store before Friday to pay January’s rent to Mr. Cho.  Even if I mail it today, it may arrive late with the holidays coming up.  I know he trusts me, but he really hates that.”

                As she thought over the situation, she realized that soon she would need to go back to her place...her one bedroom apartment with her tiny shower, since she had no tub...no Star Wars room...no feline companion to crawl in bed with her like Skinner did every night as she slept with his owner. She hadn’t been in the apartment by herself since after she and Aubrey fought before he went to West Virginia.  The last time she was there at all was when Wendell and Andie came with her to get enough stuff for a long term stay with Aubrey the day before he came home from the hospital.              

                Part of her was ready to be independent again, but the last few weeks living with Aubrey had been wonderful.  More than one night was spent quietly with the two of them watching television or doing their separate work on their laptops side by side, simply being together.  Both had enjoyed the moments of shared domesticity. 

                Of course, their shared domesticity wasn’t all sunshine and roses.

                The first snafu had been about loading the dishwasher.  As she was putting their laundry away upstairs in the bedroom, Aubrey confronted her after he saw that the dishes were stacked in there wrong, at least according to him. 

_Aubrey’s arms were folded across his chest as he wore a disapproving scowl.  “Jess, you need to load the dishes into the dishwasher the right way.  It’s not that hard...big plates go in back, little plates in front and bowls on top...”_

_“Well, at least I clean up after myself.”, Jessica retorted before pointing at different parts of the bedroom.  “You can’t even take the time to pick up your dirty socks and boxer shorts off the floor.  What are you doing?  Leaving smelly bread crumbs for Skinner?”_

                After a few minutes of sniping at each other, the agent reacted by taking off the socks he was wearing and dumping them on her side on the bed.  Of course, she retaliated later that night by putting their dirty dinner dishes in the washer the opposite of the way he liked it and then started it before he could rearrange them. 

                At a standoff, the two retreated to neutral corners, with Aubrey working on FBI business using his work laptop while she read several articles and took notes for her dissertation.  At bedtime, the silent treatment continued as they brushed their teeth and did their nightly routines side by side without a word, with only occasional glares at the other.  After they got into bed, there was no kiss, only mutters of _‘good night’_ to each other before the agent shut off the light.  Both had a restless night as each were upset about their fight. 

                When Jessica woke up early the next morning, her residual sadness ended when she was greeted by Aubrey entering the bedroom with a cup of catnip tea.  One look at his tired eyes as he held out the tea was all it took for her to immediately hug him.  He held her tight as both were relieved that their battle was over. 

_“I’m sorry for dumping my socks on your side of the bed.  It was pretty childish.”  Aubrey let her go and pointed around the room.  “I picked them up this morning and put them in the hamper, along with my boxers and tee shirts.  I guess...I’m not used to living with someone...yet...”_

_“I’m sorry, too Aubrey.  I could have handled things better last night.  I’m not used to living with someone, either. It’s a silly thing to argue about, isn’t it? How about I make us some breakfast?”_

                After she cooked her boyfriend his favorite five egg, ham, spinach, and habanero jack cheese omelet for breakfast, she stopped him as he started to help her clean up. 

_“I’ll clean up, Aubrey.  Just relax.”_

_Aubrey watched as she rinsed the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher using his loading system.  “You’re doing it the way I like.”_

_“Of course, Superman.  If you can compromise, so can I.”_

                Unloading it later that day, she admitted to herself and to him that his system was the better way, knowing he wouldn’t be an ass and gloat about being right.  Also, he’d made an effort to throw his socks in the hamper if not that night, then first thing the next day.

                She smiled as she recalled the fight about her hanging her tights and pantyhose over the shower stall after washing them.  Her ultimatum was to either let her hang them there or else she would hang them outside for the neighbors to see, which brought Aubrey around to the wisdom of her choice. 

                “Maybe we should invest in a clothes drying rack for our laundry room.”, she said to herself with a chuckle as she turned onto K Street. 

                Next was the milk battle. 

                Aubrey enjoyed whole milk while she was a skim or 1% milk girl.  When she brought a gallon of skim home one night after work, her boyfriend groused as he used it on his Cap’n Crunch the next morning.  After two days of listening to him complain, Jessica’s frustration turned into two hours of heated debate with each defending why their milk type was better.  Finally, the two compromised with Aubrey bringing home a half gallon of 2% milk when he ran to the store. So far it was working for them.

                “2% isn’t bad...Aubrey was right when he said that it’s better for me than skim.”

                Then, there was the infamous tampon debacle.  She started laughing as she remembered what happened last Tuesday morning.

                _“Jessica!  Why are those...things out on the sink?”_

_Jessica, who was getting out of the shower, looked at her boyfriend with a ‘Duh’ face.  “Why do you think, Aubrey?”_

                One would think a man who grew up with a single mother would be more accepting of that sort of thing.  Frankly, she thought Aubrey would be glad she’d had her period this month.  As she pointed out to her boyfriend and as he conceded, it was the most important indicator that her birth control had worked as it should...especially considering the frequency that they had sex.

                Except they hadn’t made love since the Monday after Thanksgiving.

                Once again, they’d reached a solution together by storing the supplies in their master bathroom cabinet for easy access.  Jessica knew that Aubrey was a bit fussy and particular about his space, but he was always willing to compromise, and she gave him the same courtesy in return. 

                Their willingness to meet in the middle was helpful as they also worked on their communication and the other things that had held them back in their relationship. Sometimes it was painful, but as they worked on their relationship under one roof, it made their friendship and bond stronger than before.

                Jessica sighed in contentment.  Letting go of all her old hurts felt so wonderful...as was coming home to her boyfriend every day after work.  Sleeping in the same bed every night...cooking dinner together...watching TV...taking walks to the playground on nice days as Aubrey got stronger...all of these small things gave her a sense of peace, and of being loved.

                Then it hit her.  Their laundry room...their master bathroom cabinet...their dishwasher...their home…Aubrey’s house was becoming her home. 

                After taking a moment to let it sink in, Jessica took a deep breath.  She loved being with him, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to move in with him full time.  Living together permanently was a lot different from staying for a few weeks to care for her boyfriend.  Her conflicting emotions were something she needed to sort out before she could commit to a big step like that.

                On the other hand, there was something she realized she was ready for...something that she should have done months ago.  It was a baby step, but an important one.

                _‘Maybe I can do that tonight while I’m out looking at dresses.’_   Jessica thought before frowning.  _‘Dresses...the flipping bane of my existence.’_

                Jessica saw the turn off for the Jeffersonian and drove to the employee parking garage.  Finding a good spot, she parked, shut off the engine, and got out.  Grabbing her things, including her badge, she armed her vehicle and walked to the entrance, looking over her surroundings.  As she got halfway to the door, she admonished herself.

                _‘Damn that Gerald Maxwell...I can’t even go to work without looking over my shoulder…’_ Jessica grumbled before straightening her spine.  _‘No, I’m not going to let that prick dictate my life.  He’s going on trial next month, he’ll be convicted, and he’s going to learn that women aren’t meant to be just objects to demean or to spread their legs for him when he’s horny.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

               At 11:30, Brennan escaped the loud noise of the construction crew finishing her office and entered the Bone Room, where she found Jessica examining a set of remains that had come in that morning from Maryland.  After reading through her intern’s notes, she saw that the victim’s skull was completely put back together.  On top of that, she noticed that her intern did not have her typical earbuds in her ears to listen to music from her phone.  But most unusual of all, the younger woman was laser focused on her task to the point she didn’t even acknowledge her entrance.  Usually, she admired her intern’s attention to detail but her extreme focus only meant one thing.

                “Ms. Warren…”, Brennan said, becoming alarmed when the younger woman didn’t respond.  “Ms. Warren!” she repeated in a louder voice.

                Jessica immediately looked up and saw her mentor standing there.  “Dr. B, I’m sorry…I didn’t hear you come in. I’m almost done with my examination.”

                Brennan held up her hand to interrupt Jessica’s apology. “You’re fine, Ms. Warren.  I hadn’t heard from you so I was coming to see your progress.  Doing so helped me escape the noise from installation of the drywall.”

                “Oh, okay.”, Jessica said as she watched her mentor examine her findings.

                Brennan noted all the items Jessica had indicated in her examination and compared them to the bones in front of them, nodding with each find.  When finished, she looked up and smiled.  “I have to say that I’m very impressed that you have the skull back together so quickly, and that your examination has been so thorough in the time frame you’ve had.”

                “Thank you, Dr. B.”, Jessica said.  “I’m sorry that you had to keep going back and forth between my notes and the remains.”

               Closing the binder, Brennan smiled and looked up.  “Dr. Hodgins told me before he and Angela left for her prenatal appointment that he’s submitted the lab’s request for funds to purchase dictation software for our case binders.”

                “That’s the program that will help us phase out scanning and writing our notes, right?  Curly said it would eventually let us go to tablets since the information we keep in the case binders will be set up like the electronic medical records that health care systems are converting to.”

                “Eventually, yes.  Of course, it may take a year or two before getting approval for this change.  However, I think it will be beneficial to this facility.” Brennan said.  “Since the workmen will be in my office for a couple of hours yet, how about we walk to the diner for lunch?  We can have our weekly meeting that we had to postpone from last Friday, and it won’t be as noisy.”

                “Sure.  I should be done with this exam in thirty minutes or so.  Is that all right?”

                Brennan nodded.  “That will be fine, Ms. Warren.  I’m going to do some work in Angela’s office while I wait for you.”

                “Okay, Dr. B.”, Jessica replied before her mentor left the room.  Shaking her head in annoyance, she went back to her work.  “Get your focus back, Warren.  Can’t have your mentor thinking your head isn’t in the game.”

*****************************************************************************************

                 Almost an hour later, the two women were at the counter finishing their soup and salad combos for lunch.  Brennan had noted her intern’s silence again and decided to prod.

                “Ms. Warren…what’s wrong?”

                Jessica was in mid sip of her garden vegetable soup.  Putting the spoon down into the bowl, she looked at her mentor.  “N-nothing.  Did I do something wrong?  Did you change your mind about what my latest findings for my dissertation could lead to?”

                “No…academically, I’m confident in your research.  However, you usually speak in an extreme stream of consciousness style, and outside of our discussion, you’ve been very quiet.  You also completed your exam of the remains, including the assembly of the skull, in two hours.”, the anthropologist replied. “Once before, when that sort of thing occurred, you told me that when you are emotionally unstable you focus on your work.  May I ask what is bothering you?”

                Jessica took a breath as she played with her napkin.  “Well, I’m still a little shaky about going back to my apartment.   I love being with Aubrey at our house, but in some ways I miss my own place.  He needed me to help him, and it’s been great spending so much time together, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to live with him full time yet...sometimes I am and sometimes I’m not.  I don’t understand why I can’t make up my mind about this.   I’m sure he’ll understand if I tell him that, especially after the stuff we’ve been through the last couple of weeks, but it’s still scary you know?  I hate disappointing him because I love him so much…but I also think it’s important for me to go back to my apartment because I can’t let Gerald run my life.  He’s been charged...I hope he’s convicted, but I can’t let what he did to me ruin my life...I hate being scared that he’s going to jump out of some corner and...hurt me...or Aubrey...but I also love coming home to Superman every night and waking up with him and Skinner in the morning...ugh...”

                Brennan noted her intern’s initial slip of the tongue, but also understood all too well what the young woman was going through.  “Ms. Warren, it’s natural to be scared.  Gerald Maxwell has threatened you with sexual assault, he has taken detrimental actions toward your career, and he’s violated your privacy and security in grievous ways.  If you weren’t scared, I would be concerned.  Please know that we’re all here to help you.  We have Aubrey’s house fitted with the latest security features so you’re safe there, and he will protect you if there’s a threat.  Hodgins has briefed the security guards who work in the lab as well as the ones who will be working our new sign in desk that Gerald Maxwell is not allowed near you per the personal protection order Caroline got for you and Aubrey at his arraignment.”

                “I know…”

                “However, you are much like myself, Ms. Warren.  You need that independence.  To create a life with someone, even someone who’s your best friend...is scary, messy, and complicated.  It takes two people who are committed to working together and willing to compromise towards building a life.  Now, has Aubrey asked you to move in with him?”

                Feeling embarrassed at Brennan’s question, Jessica blushed.  “No…”

                “Then I wouldn’t worry about it.  If he does ask and you’re not ready, tell him.  As you’ve said, Aubrey will understand.  However, if and when you are ready for that step, then you should go for it.”

                “Well, I am ready for another step...but I’m afraid it sounds silly.”

                “I’m sure it’s not silly, Ms. Warren.  Tell me what it is.”

                After hearing what the redhead said, Brennan nodded.  “That is an important step...not a silly one.  It was...big when Booth and I did the same thing...but it was different because once we entered into a romantic relationship, it represented trust and us growing closer because I was pregnant with Christine.  Now, from what you and I have talked about in the past, you both have a variety of issues and fears.  You’ve also indicated that your communication has improved since Aubrey came home from the hospital.”

                “It has...it hasn’t been easy, but we’re trying to work on things together without being afraid of upsetting the other and...it’s been better for our relationship.”  The redhead smiled sheepishly.  “I guess I’m getting ahead of myself, Dr. B, about moving in together. We’ll know when the time is right and we’ll discuss it.”

                “Good.”  Brennan sipped her coffee, noting that her intern was still troubled.  “Is there anything else, Ms. Warren?”

                “Well, I’m having a hard time finding a dress for the banquet, Dr. B.  I mean it has to be perfect, you know?  Aubrey told me he doesn’t care what I wear, but I do, because I don’t want to embarrass him in front of his peers and the higher ups at the FBI.  I’ve never really been to many formal parties outside of Daisy’s wedding, so I’m just a little nervous.  Daisy and I went shopping Saturday, but she’s only taking me to these fancy pants places with expensive dresses that are mostly over a thousand dollars...which is insane.  Anyway, I also think she’s still annoyed because I can’t go to her dinner party, although it was the same night as the FBI banquet.  She’s also getting on my nerves because sometimes she bitches about Beau but then at other times she sings his praises, especially when he buys her gifts to make up for their fights, like her new car…it’s confusing to me.”

                Brennan took a breath.  “Well, let’s start with the banquet.  Why are you afraid to embarrass Aubrey?  You seem more than capable of conducting yourself in a proper manner.”

                “Well...they never had formal dances and things like this at the cooperative.  I’ve never been _‘formal dress shopping’_ , not even for anything at Michigan State.  When my brothers got married, my bridesmaid dresses were picked out for me.  Daisy found her wedding dress all on her own and my maid of honor dress was one she picked out at the last minute.  Luckily when I tried it on, it fit without needing any alterations...”

                Brennan gave her a pointed look.  “And...”

                Jessica sipped her green tea and composed her thoughts.  “I’ve done some...stupid...but fun... things when I was younger, Dr. B.  There are people at the Gala who will be sizing up Aubrey and his future.  I don’t want anything I’ve done in the past or anything I do that evening to make him look bad.  ”

                “Ms. Warren…” Brennan said patiently.  “I am confident that you will be just fine while you’re there.  I’ve known Aubrey only a little longer than you have, but from what I know, he’s not one who cares about what people think of him...at least not since he gave up his political aspirations.  You should just relax and enjoy your evening, alright?”

                When Jessica nodded, the anthropologist continued.  “Now, let’s talk about Ms. Wick.  You two are friends, are you not?”

                “We are, Dr. B.  That is what makes this so hard.  She complains about Beau making decisions for her and about them arguing all the time.  More than once she’s shown up Aubrey’s house to complain about her husband, interrupting us when we planned on being alone…and I don’t have the heart to turn her away.  She asks for my advice, but then never follows it and gets all lovey dovey with Beau like nothing happened...they both just blow things off like nothing happened and it’s really weird.  Sometimes when I want to talk about Aubrey with her, our conversations always come back to Beau.  Of course, she also really wanted to do this dinner party on the 30th and I wanted to go…”

                “Booth and I would have attended too...”

                “I know, but she was upset when everyone couldn’t go.  Then she got herself shit faced and was bitchy the rest of the time at lunch the other day.  She cried the entire way home...still drunk.  I felt like…she wanted me to choose her party over Aubrey and Booth’s.”

                “I will admit that I felt a similar sentiment when we were all together in that bistro.”, Brennan said, sipping her coffee.  “However, my place is with my husband at the FBI banquet.”

                “Dr. B, my boyfriend, Genny, and Booth are being honored for their bravery by the Director of the FBI.  They didn’t choose this date, and it would look really shitty if they didn’t show up.”

                “Yes, I agree.  Of course, the FBI asked Cam and Hodgins to come along as well to honor the lab, so they were unable to attend Daisy’s gathering either.”

                “She’s hinted that she’d be open to everyone leaving the FBI party early or skipping it all together to go to their condo to hang out later that evening.  I thought about making an appearance, but Aubrey said these things can run really late.”

                “Yes.  The last one Booth and I went to lasted until midnight. I do admit that I’m also perplexed by Ms. Wick’s difficulty in understanding about this commitment.  I would think if Beau had something going on with his Deerskins team that she would choose to be with her husband and support him.”

                Jessica smiled as she sipped her tea, deciding not to correct her mentor.  “Dr. B, I think Daisy feels left out since she doesn’t work for the lab anymore and especially misses working with you.”

                “Ms. Warren, while I’ve enjoyed mentoring Ms. Wick, she is now the Lead Forensic Anthropologist at the National Forensics Laboratory, a job I would not have recommended her for unless I felt she could be successful.  Now, she must set her own course on her career.  She will have work gatherings as an employee of the NFL where we cannot attend, and that is normal.  Likewise, she shouldn’t be upset that we will attend parties for either the lab or for the FBI without her.  Of course, this means that we won’t always be involved in the same activities.  We all have lives outside of each other, mine with Booth, Hank, and Christine, hers with Lance and Beau, yours with Aubrey, etc.  However, that doesn’t mean we are no longer part of each other’s lives.  On the contrary, Booth is taking his role of uncle to her son very seriously, including spending a couple of Saturdays a month with him, taking him on outings along with Hank and Christine.  If she chooses not to accept that change and instead dwells on the fact that our lives have diverged somewhat, then that’s on her, not you.”

                “Okay…” Jessica said quietly.  “I...almost wonder if remaining connected to the lab is a way for her to be connected to Sweets...and her past.”

                “What do you mean, Ms. Warren?”

                Keeping her thoughts about Oliver to herself, Jessica thought for a moment before speaking.  “She had it...rough growing up, you know.  She had her dream of living a fairy tale life with a perfect Prince Charming husband, 2.2 kids, and a white picket fence while being a famous forensic anthropologist.  Sweets was her Prince Charming...they had the child, but her prince died, along with the picket fence.  She picked up the pieces for her son’s sake but it seems what life offered her instead after Sweets died...wasn’t what she wanted.  Of course, then she met Beau...who seemed to be her Prince Charming and her path to that perfect life she always wanted.  However, I think that the perfect life she expected isn’t what she’s getting.  Am I making any sense?”

                “It’s possible that part of her...maybe still isn’t over Sweets or what he represented.”  Brennan sighed softly.  “I still miss Sweets, but life has to go on.   It’s okay to have a part of herself that still loves him.  On the other hand, if your hypothesis is correct, Daisy needs to find a way to move past her expectation of that fairy tale, because it’s not reality nor a healthy way to live.  My husband would say something like one’s life is controlled by fate and you can’t escape it.  I don’t believe that, but I can personally attest that life doesn’t always give you what you have planned, although it’s usually better that what you expected.”

                “I know what you mean, Dr. B.”, Jessica said with a small smile, thinking of Aubrey.

                “Well, hopefully, Daisy will find that out for herself before it’s too late.”  Brennan sipped her coffee.  “Now regarding the dress…do you know what you would like?”

                Jessica blushed.  “It sounds silly…”

                “Ms. Warren, I’m sure it’s not silly.  Hit me with it.”

                Jessica sipped her tea.  “I think I want to go vintage…say 1930s, 1940s, or 1950s.  I don’t like a lot of the modern styles and…Aubrey loves movies from that time period.”

                “Well...there are a few vintage clothing stores nearby where you may find something you like.”

                “I suggested that to Daisy when we were out Saturday, but she gave me a whole spiel that for a party like this a consignment dress is unacceptable.  Of course, that made no sense, because her wedding dress was consignment, until she mentioned that she’s _‘learning’_ from her mother-in-law, who she barely gets along with.  She thinks I need haute couture, but I didn’t like the stuff I saw.  It seemed…snooty, and in some cases, ridiculous.  She wants to go shopping again Friday after work at another boutique that the wife of Beau’s team owner frequents in Baltimore.  I have the money to buy whatever I want, but I don’t see the point of spending thousands of dollars on a dress I probably won’t wear again.  Anyway, if I choose wisely, nobody would know it was a consignment dress, right?  In a way, it’s like recycling…”

                “That is a very logical thought, Ms. Warren and one I agree with.”  Brennan considered for a moment before looking at her watch.  “There is a new vintage clothing boutique that opened recently just past the Hoover.  I went there last week and got the most beautiful pair of earrings to wear with my dress for the Gala, and I saw some very lovely evening dresses as well.  If you like, we can make a quick stop there before going back to the lab.”

                “I’ve heard that place is awesome.”, Jessica replied before she realized what her mentor had said. “Is that alright...us shopping during our lunch?  Will Curly be mad if we’re late?” 

                “I wouldn’t have suggested it if it wasn’t, Ms. Warren, and Dr. Hodgins will be fine.  Now, finish your lunch so we can go.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Twenty minutes later, the two women arrived at the new boutique.  Brennan was about to open the door when she saw Jessica transfixed at the display window.  “Ms. Warren, are you all right?”

                “That’s the dress…that’s my dress.”

                Brennan walked the few steps over and looked at what Jessica saw.  “That is very lovely indeed.”

                The dress was a silk velvet the color of a rich royal blue with a bias cut neckline.  The skirt was long, reaching the floor.  The dress was backless to the waist.  The simple, tank style bodice had straps that crisscrossed the back, which were held in place on the back waistband of the skirt with a round clip make of rhinestones.

                “Well, Ms. Warren, why don’t we go inside so you can try it on?”

                A giddy Jessica ran inside, followed by a smiling Brennan.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Fifteen minutes later, Jessica emerged from the dressing room to where Brennan was sitting and sending a text to Booth.  Looking up, the anthropologist smiled.

                “Ms. Warren, that is a lovely color on you.”

                “It’s a little big, but I can get that taken in.  Looping the straps through that circle in the back could be a pain, although I guess they could be adjusted..”

Brennan walked up and looked at her intern’s back.  “You could have those straps attached to the back and remove that jeweled decoration.  That way you could step into it and simply pull the straps up over your shoulders.”

                “Oh shit...I can’t wear a bra under this dress…”  Jessica said with a giggle.  “Not that I have a ton to hide anyway.”

                “Well, there are items you can wear to...assist you in that endeavor.”  Brennan said with a smile.  “Now, pair this dress with a nice wrap and you would look very nice, Ms. Warren.  However, the most important thing is how you feel about the dress.”

                Jessica looked in the mirror and smiled.  “I love it...Aubrey will love it too.”  Looking at the tag, she saw the price.  “It’s 700 dollars...a couple hundred dollars more than I wanted to spend, but I can totally see myself wearing this dress again.”

                “Oh, that dress is lovely on you, Miss.”, the proprietor said as she came up to them.  “However, if you want to look further…”

                “I don’t have to look...this is my dress.”,  Jessica giggled.  Turning to the saleswoman, she almost bounced to the cash register.  “I’ll take it.”

                “Well, I’ll ring this up while you change.  I do have the perfect wrap to go with this if you want to look when you’re done.  I can also tell you about this history of this dress.”

                “Yes!”,  Jessica squealed before running back into the dressing room to change.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Thirty minutes later, the two ladies came out of the store, both holding bags.  As they briskly walked back to the lab, Jessica couldn’t help but peek inside again.

                “I’ve got not only my dress, but also a beautiful wrap to go with it, and a lovely pendant.  All I need now are shoes and some earrings.”

                “Actually, Ms. Warren, I have a set of earrings that would match this dress...if you are interested in looking at them.”

                The redhead’s eyes got large.  “Seriously, Dr. B?  That would be so cool.”

                Brennan smiled.  “Well, when I get home tonight, I’ll send you a picture and you can let me know.”

                “This was fun, Dr. B.”, Jessica said.  “That dress you found was really cool, but I think Booth will love that négligée you found.”

                “Yes, a very pleasant unexpected find.”, Brennan replied before the two giggled on the way back to the lab.

*****************************************************************************************

                At 1:30, Aubrey was finishing his lunch of leftovers from last night at his desk while working on case audits when his phone buzzed.  When he looked at the message, he smiled.

**_I got my dress!  Dr. B helped pick it out.  It’s blue & U r going 2 luv it._ **

                Aubrey sent a text back.  **_Can I c it?_**

                Jessica responded with a simple **_No Superman.  U have 2 wait until the party...but it will b worth the wait.  Promise._**

                The SAC was disappointed, but he trusted his girlfriend.  **_OK, trust u.  Can’t wait 2 show u off at FBI banquet.  C u at home._**

                **_Having drinks w/ Andie tonight.  I know u drove 2 work today but call if u need ride home.  Love u.  C u at home._**

                Aubrey knew she was planning to go back to her apartment eventually, but her calling his house _‘home’_ warmed his heart.  Once again, maybe it was time for her to make her time in his house permanent.  However, he knew her independence was important to her, and considering how that and her self esteem had taken a beating with Gerald’s antics, that needed to be his first priority.

                But there was something he could do...something that should have been done a long time ago.  Maybe...just maybe...it was a step towards cohabitating...and perhaps more down the line.

                Thoughts of Jessica living with him led him back to Gerald Maxwell.

                Thinking back to his conversation with Genny about the case, he’d suspected that there was more to Karen’s _‘accidental meeting’_ with Gerald, and his ASAC had agreed.  However, they had no proof that the two ‘friends’ had actually made arrangements to see each other.  He knew that as long as Karen hadn’t solicited any criminal activity, there was no crime.  However, he wouldn’t put it past the profiler to use her psychological acumen to push the right buttons in the younger man, both as revenge for Aubrey rejecting her and in keeping with her perceived rivalry with Jessica.

                He planned to stay on his guard with the profiler.  Being understanding and forgiving had gotten him and his girlfriend in this mess, and he going to make sure they got out of it as soon as they could.

                After another 30 minutes, he decided he’d earned himself a macchiato.  He always forgot how much he depended on Genny until she took a day off.  He knew that Jessica wasn’t thrilled that he’d stretched Dr. Elias’ work restrictions, but she understood that it was only temporary.

                As he cut through the bullpen, he recalled the hotel hosting the FBI’s party had a meeting room nearby.  Maybe as long as they had the all clear, perhaps he and Jessica could sneak away for a while for a quick tryst.  Perhaps she would wear another garter belt under her dress…and panties that were quick to remove, since it isn’t kosher for his girlfriend to attend one of his work parties naked under her dress.

                However, thinking about her standing next to him at the party like that...like she did at the Halloween Gala after they’d made love in the intern’s locker room...knowing that he was the only man who knew she was practically nude...it was a definite turn on. 

_Down, boy...no use getting yourself all hot and bothered since you can’t do anything about it right now, anyway..._

                When he got to the glass walled conference room, he stopped to watch the workmen putting in the new pane of glass and shook his head.   Last Wednesday, Stark was ready to suspend Agent Bower indefinitely, but Aubrey had talked him out of it.  As much as the man annoyed the SAC with his constant bragging about his love life, Karen had been the instigator of the fight, and she deserved the two day suspension.   After Genny had briefed Stark on Karen’s connection to the Gerald Maxwell case, Stark had not only locked all access to the case except for Genny and anyone else she deemed fit to add, but he’d also put the profiler on a 30 day probation, as well as ordering her to take mandatory anger management classes.

                Looking at the new furniture in the corner of the room and the new table, he decided he liked it better than the previous stuff, although he wished it had been replaced under different circumstances.  Aubrey couldn’t help but smirk as he remembered Pay Management’s email to Steve, Karen, Deputy Director Stark, and himself this morning.  He knew that purchasing the new table and two new chairs, Steve’s new tablet, paying for the overtime hours the cleaning crew put in to clean the walls and windows, as well as replacing all the housewares, would take a decent bite out of the Special Agent’s paycheck Friday.  Even with half of the costs being taken out of Karen’s check per Stark’s orders, the repairs were more than the agent had anticipated, but Steve and Karen deserved it for making his first day back a mess.

                “Maybe that idiot learned a lesson about screwing around on women...although he said he was cleaning up his act for Mitzi.”, Aubrey laughed to himself.  “Of course, she could take more of a bite out of him.  Hopefully, Karen also learned something about picking better choices for her love life...as long as she doesn’t stalk me.  I’m over all that shit.”

                Deciding to get back to better things, he continued walking to the break room while contemplating the naughty things he could with his girlfriend at the Gala.  Wearing a big smile on his face, he turned the corner to enter the break room to get his well-deserved macchiato and those thoughts died as he heard the couple’s comments from within.

_“Stevie Bear…I have to go.  I have to go get my drug test and physical for my new job.”_

_“Okay...I’m gonna miss you, Mitzi Muffin…”,_ the agent crooned. _“God, I can’t wait to get you naked when I get home…”_

                 Aubrey’s fears were confirmed as he saw Agent Bower and his fiancée Mitzi canoodling by the cappuccino machine. 

                 Seeing the flirtatious, womanizing agent get all cute and loving with a woman...much less plan to marry her...still shocked the hell out of Aubrey.  The two agents were still due for a discussion...and it would be soon, but right now, Steve was otherwise occupied.  Putting that aside, he steeled himself as he walked to the open room but stopped in his tracks when what he heard next almost made him gag.

                “We’re going to make love…hard, Baby…so hard.”, Mitzi said, combing through the man’s dark hair as he sat on her lap.  “Maybe we’ll use our new love toys and break the bed just like we did while you were home at Thanksgiving.”

                The agent’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.  “You mean they arrived today?”

                The tall blonde smiled wickedly.  “Yes, they did, Stevie Bear.  The new whip I ordered came in the mail this morning, along with that ball gag and the anal beads you picked out.  And wait ‘til you see my new black leather outfit.  I had it custom made...with those spikes you like...”

                _‘Anal beads...ball gags….whips...leather outfits with spikes...ugh…..no more sex talk or I will be traumatized for life.’_  Aubrey thought.  “Hey there, kids.”, the agent said loudly before walking in briskly, deciding that a macchiato would take too long.  “Don’t mind me.  Just came to get some coffee.”

                Mitzi offered a coy wave. “Hello, Agent Aubrey.  It’s so nice to see you again.”

                _‘Note to self...always bring coffee cup, even when you plan on cappuccino.’_ Aubrey thought, desperately looking through the cabinets before finding the Styrofoam cups.  Pouring himself a cup of probably very old coffee, he tried to smile.  “It’s nice to see you, too Mitzi.  Enjoying DC so far?”

             “Oh, tons...so glad I’m here with my Stevie Bear.”  The tall woman gave her fiancé a kiss as he jumped off her lap.  “I’ll see you when you get home, Baby Boy.  Remember that if mean old Karen goes after you again, you tell Agent Aubrey…or call me.”

                Steve snuggled close as he looked up into his fiancée’s bright blue eyes.  “Don’t you worry, Muffin.  I’m all good…because I’m marrying you, and I know you’ll protect me from big, bad profilers.”

                Mitzi giggled like a schoolgirl.  “Just like I had to when those nasty bullies teased you back in high school.  Don’t worry, Babe.  Mama Bear is here for you...”

                Steve smiled.  “You’re so hot, Mitzi…I just want to shove my face between your legs and—“

                “I’m heading out.”, Aubrey said loudly, not wanting to lose his lunch.  “Steve, I’m starting the briefing in thirty minutes at the Homicide Conference Room since they are still working on ours.  Don’t forget...”

                “Sure, Boss.”, Steve said as he stared at Mitzi with love in his eyes.

                Aubrey turned and walked out quickly before he heard anything else that would traumatize him for life.

*****************************************************************************************

                An hour later, everyone listened as Agent Satterly finished briefing her division on her case.  Aubrey nodded as he listened to suggestions from the other agents.

                “So go ahead and coordinate with all the shops, Deb.  Keep me posted.”, Aubrey said before standing up slowly.  “So, my first day back last Wednesday was…a little…chaotic to say the least.”

                Some of the agents snickered while a couple gave Agent Bower the face.  The older agent turned red from all the attention being on him…and not in a good way.

                “However, the conference room will be good as new by tomorrow.  Moving on from that, we should congratulate Agent Bower on his engagement to his new fiancee, Mitzi.”

                The agents’ reaction ranged from applauding politely to still in shock that the gorgeous woman who had kicked Karen Delfs' ass was actually marrying Bower.  Aubrey joined in the applause, wearing a small smile on his face as he prepared his final order of business.

                “Now to my last topic.”, Aubrey said.  “I know that before I started here back in September as your new SAC, it was a bit…looser and the standards weren’t as high.  When I came in, I made changes and I’m sure some of you thought I was an asshole…drill sergeant…”

                He looked right at Steve.  “…a beanpole, dick, scrawny nerd, skinny putz…among other things…”

                Holding back his smile at the other man’s discomfort, Aubrey continued to speak.  “…but I think we’ve come a long way.  I found out from Stats this morning that as of today, our closure rate is up to 90% from 79% a few months ago.  You guys are awesome.”

                Everyone clapped for a moment until Aubrey indicated it for to end.  “Which makes me unhappy about this next subject.”

                There was an awkward silence as Aubrey composed his words.  “Currently there is no rule against personal relationships with contractors that work with the FBI.  However, there is a basic understanding that when that person does not want to have a personal relationship with you, much like in real life, you accept it and continue to treat him or her in a professional manner.  Unfortunately, I’ve received reports of agents in this division having difficulty understanding that concept.  One agent in this room in particular has aggressively propositioned a graduate student at the Jefferson more than once until she had to physically assault him as well as with an FBI recruit here for her Phase Two testing about a month ago here at the Hoover.  The FBI recruit in question also happens to be the daughter of Dr. Camille Saroyan, the director of the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab.”

               Aubrey saw he had everyone’s attention but noted how Steve gulped while he looked down at the table.  “Folks, these people are not playing hard to get...they’re not interested in you.  You keep pushing it, it’s not cute or funny, it’s sexual harassment...and it has no place in the Major Crimes Division or in the Bureau.  In case you have forgotten, the FBI has a zero tolerance policy in place, and it is strictly enforced.”

                The SAC focused on Steve as he continued to speak.  “I shouldn’t have to tell any of my agents this, but when a woman…or a man…tells you no, you do not continue to ask them out.  You don’t try to touch them or suggest following them home to make them feel good.  You don’t push the person until they assault you to get away.  You accept it, and keep your relationship professional.”

                Looking back at all his agents, Aubrey saw everyone nod in understanding.  “We need to give as much respect to the folks at the Jeffersonian…frankly, to anyone who comes through our doors, as possible.  We are representing the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and I don’t know about your folks, but when someone makes us look bad, it pisses me off.”

                Aubrey looked down at the table, gathering his thoughts before facing his agents again.  “Now, I’m putting everyone on notice.  I take sexual harassment very seriously and I won’t tolerate it.  If there are any more reports of this nature, the agent will be called into my office for a frank and uncomfortable discussion.  If that doesn’t work, I will get HR involved, and any discipline could include losing your badge as well as your pension.  Do I make myself clear?”

                Getting affirmatives from everyone in the room, Aubrey nodded his head.  “Okay, the meeting is now adjourned.  Steve, stick around for a few minutes.  I have some questions for you regarding the Bayer case.”

                Relieved after that uncomfortable lecture, Steve waited until Aubrey finished his conversation with Agents Haggarty and Thompson.  When they were alone, he carried the file over to his boss.  “So what can I answer for—“

                “Agent Bower, you’re a player.  I think it’s disrespectful, but what you do outside these walls is your business.  However, when your business becomes a distraction for the other agents in our division, like last week’s Wrestlemania in the conference room…or when you can’t figure out that no means no…like when Jessica Warren tells you multiple times that she wasn’t interested in a sexual liaison with you…it makes my job infinitely harder.”

                Steve gulped.  He’d figured that since Aubrey had never brought Jessica’s complaint up when he came back, that he was in the clear.  “I was just being friendly—“

                “You were being an annoying asshole, Steve...and that is sexual harassment.”  Aubrey took a breath to control his anger.  “I don’t like my girlfriend being sexually harassed...especially by one of my agents who should know better.  Starting now, all future interactions with her will be professional.  You will not grope her leg, flirt with her at crime scenes, or be a pest.”

                Aubrey stepped into the other’s man’s personal space and his voice became a low growl.  “Because the next time you do so much as breathe on her wrong, after Jessica gets done with you, I’ll hunt you down and show you what this scrawny nerd, skinny putz, beanpole dick can do to anyone who doesn’t give the woman I love the respect she has earned and deserves.  I’d sure hate to make you piss yourself in the bullpen, Steve.”

                Steve saw the look in Aubrey’s eyes and it reminded him of the confrontation at the Halloween Gala with Gerald Maxwell.  Realizing the man was serious, he nodded his head.  “Y-yes, Boss.”

                Aubrey continued to stare at the older man.  “Now, your personal business is not going to take over Major Crimes again like it did last week, will it?  I really didn’t enjoy the circus that I had here on my first day back to work.”

                “No sir…”, Steve said quietly.

                Aubrey bore his blue eyes onto his subordinate agent.  “You now also understand the concept of _‘no means no’_ , meaning you will take Jessica…and any other woman who tells you they’re not interested, seriously and not harass them?”

                “Yeah, but those days are done anyway, Boss.  I’ve got Mitzi now…I’m a one woman man from now on.  She knows everything, and I know if I fuck up with her she’ll make me pay for it.”

                “Good.”, Aubrey said as he pointed his finger into Steve’s chest.  “Because if I’m forced to have this discussion with you again, there will be a letter of reprimand in your file and I’ll bring HR in.  Clear?”

                “Crystal, Boss.”

                “Good.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.”

                The older man watched her supervising agent walk away and gulped.  “Shit…”

*****************************************************************************************

After Jessica got home from hanging out with Andie around 9:00, Aubrey and his girlfriend sat and talked about their day.  Eventually, after Jessica set the timer for the coffee, the two headed up to bed after 10:00.

                The two had their nightly rituals, like always.  When done, they got into bed and read from their tablets.  Aubrey looked at his girlfriend, so cute with her hair up and wearing flannel pajama pants with a shirt showing her old educational cooperative.  Taking a breath, he came out with what was on his mind.

                “I talked to Steve today.”

                Jessica growled in irritation before turning to her boyfriend.  “Superman...I told you that I already took care of it.”

                “I know you did, Jess, but I’m also his supervising agent.  I can’t have him hassling any contractors that work for the FBI.  If he was doing the same thing to Karen, I would still have to lecture him about it.”

                Jessica gave him a face.  “You’re still pissed he called you a scrawny nerd, aren’t you?”

                “Nah, I’m over that.”, Aubrey said as he continued to read.

                The redhead put her tablet down and turned to her boyfriend.  “Wow...your pajama pants must feel awfully warm since they’re on fire, you liar.”

                Exasperated, Aubrey put his tablet down and crossed his arms over his chest.  “Fine.  Yes, I was pissed about the names, but I’m a grown up.  One of the first things Booth told me when I was bumped up to a Supervisory Special Agent and became his second was that I had to develop a thick skin.  Becoming the Special Agent in Charge of Major Crimes, it’s even more important.  Thankfully, between that and all the shit I dealt with about my father, I had enough practice with that.”

                “But….”

                “But when my subordinate commits sexual harassment against my girlfriend, it really pisses me off.  You don’t deserve that, Jessica, especially with being sexually harassed by Gerald Maxwell on top of it.  I couldn’t do anything about that entitled little weasel, but I could do something about Steve.  He won’t be bothering you anymore.”

                Jessica took Aubrey’s hand.  “You are doing something about Gerald, Superman.  You’re standing by me...you believe me even though he’s said some nasty shit to people about me...even though I used to get around a lot before we dated...I mean you could have anyone--”

                “Jessica..”  Aubrey said before tilting her chin up with his finger.  “I don’t want anyone else.  I want you.  I don’t give a shit about anything you’ve done before we met.  Even if you fucked every guy in that museum, every guy at the FBI, and every guy at MSU, you did nothing to deserve what Gerald has put you through.  People make mistakes...to paraphrase someone who is very wise, are you the same person who used to sleep around when you were younger?”

                Jessica narrowed her eyes.  “Using my own words against me...very smart...and no, I’m not.”

                Aubrey looked intently into Jessica’s green eyes.  “Then, I don’t ever want to hear you say that you’re not good enough for me...understand?”

                Jessica smiled as she squeezed her boyfriend’s hand.  “Yes, Special Agent Aubrey.”

                “Good.  Now let’s try to get some sleep, shall we?”, Aubrey said before indicating to the end of their bed as the cat sat up and watched them.  “Skinner is waiting for us.”

                “Sounds good.”,  Jessica said. 

                After Aubrey turned out the light, they kissed and snuggled the covers before Skinner walked over and laid against her ass.

               “Skinner is laying against my butt again, Aubrey.”

               Aubrey’s eyes were closed as he responded.  “What can I say?  The cat knows a good ass when he sees it.”

               The dark room was punctured with laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Christmas and New Years Eve 2016 is coming up soon in our Bones world...and that includes lots of L & C extras. Follow @mphs95 on Twitter or MIBonesFan on Tumblr to see them.


	52. 30, 40, or 50 Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey is looking forward to going back to work full time, but runs into an unexpected obstacle. Is Karen up to her old tricks? Also, who's wedding bells are going to chime?

            The next couple of days were quiet for Aubrey as he got himself back into his routine.  Since he was feeling healthier, he decided Wednesday afternoon he wanted to work full days for the rest of the week.  With both of them working that day, the agent had to wait until dinner to present his plan to Jessica.  As far as he could tell, it was sound and made sense.  His redhead may be flighty, but she was also smart and rational when she needed to be, and he had no doubt that she’d see things his way.

            Sitting down to their meal of Jessica’s fried chicken, they first shared their days and discussed their plans for the upcoming holiday weekend.  After savoring another bite of his girlfriend’s amazing garlic mashed potatoes, he decided it was time to state his case.

            “Jess, I know my recheck is Monday, but I’ve been feeling great the last few days.  I think I’m going to work a full day tomorrow—“

            “No.”, Jessica responded as she ate a piece of chicken.

            Pulling out the big guns, Aubrey gave her his most charming smile.  “I just said that I feel fine, Jess—“

            “No.”, the redhead replied before sipping her beer.  “Just because that cute smile usually gets my panties off, that doesn't mean you can use it to convince me that you can go back to work full time early.”

            _‘Your panties...and the rest of your clothes have stayed on for almost a month.’_   Aubrey thought.  Frustrated at Jessica’s obstinacy, he continued to push his side of the argument.  “A few days early isn’t going to kill me—“

            “I said no, Aubrey.”, Jessica shot back before picking up her empty plate and heading to the kitchen.  “You’re not doing full days until Dr. Elias clears you.”

            “I worked seven hours on Monday—“

            “Because Genny’s son was sick.  That was the only reason to stay longer that day.”, Jessica replied as she scraped the small remnants of food from her plate into the garbage.  “Danny is doing better on his antibiotics and Genny returned to work today, so you can continue doing half days for the rest of the week.”

            Aubrey crossed his arms and glared at her.  “I’m not a child.  You’re not my mother.”

            “No, I’m definitely not your mother.  However, if she were here, something tells me she would agree with me…and possibly even kick your ass for being so stupid with your recovery.”  Jessica leaned her hip on the counter and crossed her arms over her chest.  “Now, are you done with your dinner?”

            Irritated, Aubrey wiped his mouth with the napkin, tossed it on the table, and grabbed his beer.  “Yeah, I’m done.”

            Jessica watched her boyfriend storm off toward the den and exhaled in frustration before tossing the towel she was holding onto the counter.  “Shit!”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            The next few hours of their evening were quiet as Aubrey cleaned Skinner’s litter boxes and watched TV while Jessica worked on her dissertation research at the dining room table.  At 10:30, the two went upstairs and got ready for bed while enduring a deafening silence.  Getting under the covers, each put their full attention onto their tablets.

            Without looking up at her, Aubrey grunted softly.  “I work 8:30 – 3:00 tomorrow and Friday, and no work at home.”

            “We were supposed to meet for lunch tomorrow around 2:00 or when my doctor’s appointment was over.” Jessica said as she scrolled down on the Star Wars fanfiction she was reading.  “Stay at the Hoover both days until 1:00 and then you can work from home.  I can bring lunch home tomorrow.”

            “Tomorrow you can meet me at work after your appointment and we can walk to the diner for lunch.  I can work from home after that.” Aubrey said as he continued to read his law enforcement journal on his tablet.    “Friday, I’ll go in around 8:00, work until 2:00.  Then I’ll work from home until we go out for half price appetizers from Founding Fathers.” 

            “That is acceptable.”, Jessica said as she put her tablet away and plugged her phone in.  Turning, she saw her boyfriend looking at the page on his screen but not scrolling.  “I know you’re feeling better, Aubrey, but I want to hear you get the all clear, all right?  I’m still a little scared about you overdoing it.”

            Aubrey couldn’t stay mad at her after hearing that.  Turning, he melted when he saw Jessica’s large green eyes look at him with worry.  “Jess, I just hate being cooped up doing nothing when I can be useful.”

            “I know, but it’s not just you anymore, Superman.”, the redhead said as she took Aubrey’s hand.

            “Okay, Jess.” Aubrey said. “I’m sure the rest of the week will be pretty uneventful.”

            “Oh, I hope so.”, the redhead replied.

            Pulling his girlfriend close to him, he waited until she laid her head onto his chest before shutting the light off.

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

            Aubrey arrived at work promptly the next morning at 8:30.  Heading to the break room, he topped off his Star Wars travel mug before stealing a chocolate glazed donut.  While stirring in the cinnamon and munching on his morning prize, he thought about his argument last night with Jessica.

            He knew it was stupid to make such a big deal over his work schedule, and he was glad they’d made up.  However, the last few days they’d occasionally snapped at each other for dumb things.  Both were under a great deal of stress, but he was hopeful that with the holidays coming up, things would blow over.           

Ready to tackle what needed to be done, he walked down to the Major Crimes wing of the 4th floor.  Greeting his agents, he saw Bower’s empty desk as he made his way through the bullpen.  Tuesday morning, the agent had requested today and tomorrow off.  He didn’t ask for the reason why, but Bower had volunteered it anyway.

            _“Mitzi and I have special plans.”_

            _‘I bet they’re special alright.’_ Shuddering as he recalled the conversation he’d overheard in the break room, Aubrey unlocked his office.  Setting all his stuff down, he unlocked his computer, read his emails and began his day.             

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Two hours later, Aubrey returned to his office with his favorite quad shot cappuccino with cinnamon and his mid-morning snack from the diner.  While eating his egg sandwich and hash browns, he went over his notes from his meeting with Genny.

            After she’d given him an update on her warrant returns from yesterday, they’d discussed their open cases.  When he’d asked about Gerald’s case, she’d told him that she didn’t have much more to add.  Knowing that she needed to be careful in regards to his involvement in the case, he reluctantly left it at that.

            Pulling out the administrative items in his IN box, he finished his food and got to work.  Now that he ran his own division, he understood why Booth was always eager to teach him things like payroll and audits.  He hated it, but unfortunately this crap was part of his job as Special Agent in Charge.

            Just when he thought the rest of his morning was going to be boring, he had a surprise visitor at 11:00.

            “Hi, Aubrey.”

            Looking up, he groaned inwardly as he saw Karen standing in the doorway, the remnants of a faded black eye showing underneath her glasses.  It also didn’t escape his attention the way she was leaning heavily against the door jam and that she had a sling on her right arm.  _‘Damn, Mitzi really kicked her ass.’_

            “Can I come in?”

            Aubrey nodded affirmatively and the profiler walked in and leaned against the small table in his office.  Feeling bad for her, he indicated the chair in front of his desk.  “Karen, do you want to sit down?”

            “Um, I’m fine standing.  It…hurts to sit.  Bruised tailbone.  Doctor said I should be fine by next week, though.”

            “I see.” Aubrey said, recalling how easily Mitzi tossed her on the floor like a sack of potatoes.  “What can I do for you?” 

            Karen shifted slightly.  “I’m here to offer an apology for my behavior last week.  I’m sorry Mitzi and Steve provoked me with their despicable behavior.  The Deputy Director and I agreed when we talked that it will never happen again.”

            _‘Ah…so Stark ordered her here…no surprise.’_   Aubrey thought.  “Is there anything else?”

            “Well…” Karen said softly. “...I would like to continue to work in your division as a profiler….if that’s okay with you...”

            Aubrey studied the woman in front of him.  “Karen, I’m not going to stop you from assisting my agents if you are the best for the job, because I’m a professional.  However, any personal business with my agents stays out of the Hoover…because if you cause one more disruption, I will go to Agent Tanner personally to recommend you be banned from any Major Crimes cases without my personal approval.  Booth has said he will do the same thing if you pull any of that shit at Homicide.”

            “Of course, Aubrey…”

            “Also, the name calling and the rumors that you’ve tried to spread about Jessica will stop immediately.”

            “I haven’t—“

            “Bullshit, Karen.”, Aubrey said sharply.  “I’ve heard people here at the office talking about how supposedly Jessica gave gonorrhea to all the interns at the lab and in the Antiquities Department, as well as a couple of agents here at the Hoover. Then there’s the one where she got her internship at the Jeffersonian by sleeping with Hodgins...and Angela.  My favorite is the rumor that she forced herself on Steve in the break room one night while I was in the hospital.”

            Keeping a straight face, Karen held back her glee.  “I don’t know what--”

            “Enough, Karen.” Aubrey growled, barely keeping his anger in check.  “There’s only one person who would say that shit about Jess, and I’m looking at her.  Those rumors are cruel and degrading to Jessica, especially since she has done nothing to you…”

            “She stole both you and Steve from me—“

            “For the final time, she never stole me from you, because we were never going to be together in the first place.  I had just broken up with my girlfriend and not one time did I tell you that I was interested in a romantic relationship with you…you assumed all that without asking how I felt.  Now, I’ve apologized enough for inadvertently leading you on, and it’s time for you to get over it.  As for Steve, you had to know his reputation around here as a womanizer and a flirt.  If it has two legs and a skirt, he’s on it like a lion on a pork chop, Karen.  I’m sorry if you thought differently about your relationship with him, but it is what it is.  Jessica had nothing to do with all that.”

            “Steve and I were happy until your girlfriend decided she had to have what I already had...again.  I know she was checking him out...Steve saw it, too.  Obviously she’s getting bored with sharing domestic bliss with you.”             

             Aubrey took a patient breath, knowing that losing his temper wouldn’t do him any good.  “Steve Bower thinks that all women want him.  Also, Jessica and I are doing fine.  If she was bored, she at least has enough respect to talk to me about it.  Anyway, my relationship with Jessica is none of your business and you will not butt in again, understand?”

            “But Jessica--”

            “Contrary to what you think, Jess wants nothing to do with him except in a professional manner.  If you still choose to believe that several people have lied about him and his skirt chasing, go ahead, but Jessica did not flirt or entice him in any way.  I’m sorry to destroy your delusions about him, but Steve pretty much admitted to me on Monday that he’s been a pig with Jessica and other women.  However, he also said that he’s all in with Mitzi now, so that ship has sailed, too Karen.”

            “Jessica just wants what is mine, Aubrey.” Karen retorted stubbornly.  “She’s jealous of what I have…”

            Not taking the bait, Aubrey rolled his eyes before he got up and walked carefully toward the profiler, making sure to stand in front of the open door.  “This is how it’s going to be.  No more rumors, Karen…no more snide remarks…no more crude name calling to her face or in this building.  Jessica is not a firecrotch, whore, slut, cunt, or any of the other demeaning terms you have called her.  You don’t like her?  Fine, but you will treat her with the respect and professionalism she deserves at the workplace and leave your opinions at home.”

           “I can think what I want about her.”

           “You’re absolutely right...you can _think_ whatever you want, but you have to keep those thoughts to yourself.  You’re already on both Dr. B’s and Hodgins’ shit list for all your previous stunts with Jessica.  Now, if you pull any shit with her either here, the lab, or anywhere you two work in a professional capacity, I will do what I can to talk her into filing a harassment report with the FBI.  As a lawyer, I can tell you that she could sue you for creating a hostile working environment if she was that vindictive.  Be glad she’s not.”

            Karen took a breath, steadying herself to keep from crying at Aubrey’s blunt words.  “Fine.  I don’t care what you do anymore, Aubrey.  We could’ve been amazing together, but if you choose instead to waste your life with her, that’s up to you. Someday, you’re going to realize that what I can offer you is more than she ever will.”

            “If you think I would ever give up what I have with Jessica to be with you, you’re mistaken.  This conversation is over.”

            Karen fought to keep her composure.  “I won’t be around forever, so hopefully you realize the truth before she dumps your ass again.  When that day comes, you’ll owe me an apology, but I won’t have a bucket of chicken to comfort you again.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting with an agent in International Operations.”

            Aubrey let the woman slowly make her way to the door.  “Oh, and Karen…”

            The profiler turned around, smiling slightly, hoping he’d changed his mind about them.  “Yes, Aubrey.”

            “If I find out that you misled Genny about your involvement with Gerald Maxwell...that you were part of his campaign to terrorize Jessica, or if you ever pull another stunt with him that results in Jessica being hurt or worse, I will make it my personal responsibility to make sure you will always have an asterisk by your name in your FBI file...that is, if I don’t drum you out of the Bureau myself.  Is that clear?”

            Karen grimaced when she saw the look in his eyes.  “Yes.  Fully.”

            Aubrey made his way back to his desk.  “Your apology is accepted.  Now, if you don’t mind, I have a lot to get done before I meet my girlfriend for lunch this afternoon.”

            When the profiler walked out the door, the agent visibly relaxed.  Hopefully, his message had come through loud and clear.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            As Karen made her way through the bullpen, she heard the snickers of the other agents behind her.  Pushing aside her embarrassment, she kept walking until she was out of the immediate area.  As she thought once more of the agent’s parting words, her stomach began to knot up as she contemplated Aubrey’s words.

            He was serious...of that, she had no doubt.  Aubrey would ride to the ends of the earth for that little bitch. 

            Stopping in the break room, she noticed when the conversation ceased between Agent Haggarty and one of the profiler’s previous flings, Agent Wilson from Homicide.  Seeing an opportunity, she dove in head first.

            “Good morning, Agents.  Blustery day, isn’t it?”

            “Sure is, Dr. Delfs.”, Haggarty said before turning to the other agent.  “So, I’ll text you my address later today.”

            “Sounds great, Jill.  I’ll talk to you later.”

            Haggarty walked back to Major Crimes, leaving Karen alone with the other agent.  “So, Shawn...I was thinking that you and I could get together and...renew our acquaintance tonight.”

            “Sorry, Karen, I have plans with someone else.”

            Surprised, Karen continued.  Agent Wilson was always reliable for a few hours of no strings sex.  “Oh, well, I wasn’t looking for all night...just a few hours of fun...and maybe we could go to the FBI banquet together next Friday.  We could get a hotel room there--”

            Wilson quickly stirred his coffee.  “Sorry, Karen, I’m going to the banquet with Agent Haggarty.  If you’ll excuse me...I need to get back to work.”

            Karen turned red as the agent made tracks back to Homicide.  Recovering quickly, she poured her cup of coffee, but stewed over what to do next.

            Once again, her love life sucked.  No way would she be going to that banquet by herself.  She needed to show Aubrey and Steve that she wasn’t waiting around for them.

            Thinking of her recent ex, yes, Steve Bower had made her look stupid, but his newfound love for his high school sweetheart would blow over.  Eventually, he would screw over that Amazon giant like he did to her and come crawling back for the fantastic sex she’d always provided him.  Of course, she might give him something before telling him to fuck off, and then she would be vindicated. 

            Just like when Jessica Warren had finally showed her true colors, she would be vindicated, and everyone would have to apologize to her.  If they welcomed her back into their clique at the lab, she might decide to join them...but they would have to beg first.  They owed her after taking that intern’s side over hers, a professional profiler in the FBI.

            Heading out of the break room towards the middle corridor leading to International Operations, Karen thoughts continued. 

            No matter what she did, that witch always came out on top.  Karen had a lock on Aubrey after his and Jessica’s insecurities had gotten the best of them, leading to their break up. The rumors she’d started about the agent and herself hooking up at lunch had been working to keep that twit away, too.  Of course, the dumb bitch had to go and change her mind, and Aubrey went along with it because he was obviously scared of being with a real woman.

            But then she found Steve and things were looking up.  Of course, Jessica had to flirt with her new boyfriend once she got bored with the SAC.  Steve said she was checking him out and he had no reason to lie.  She wasn’t angry with him...any 44 year old man would be flattered that a 28 year old college student wanted his attention.

            Then he became distant before going to Wisconsin…and the hang up calls that had to be Jessica stepping up her pursuit.  She barely saw him when he returned home...obviously avoiding her to fuck that red headed trollop and others like that CSI slut Candi with an I.  Aubrey was unable to see the truth because he was too blinded by _‘love’_ to see that Jessica had been using him.

            Jessica had humiliated her more than once.  At the lab...Aubrey’s birthday party...Thanksgiving at Booth and Brennan’s...stealing her spot with the lab group...making her look stupid at the hospital during Aubrey’s surgery.

            She hated the little cunt...and all she wanted was to make Jessica Warren get out of town so she could stop causing trouble for her.  Her plan of getting rid of Jessica by riling up Gerald Maxwell was perfect...but it had backfired on her badly. 

            She knew he still had the hots for Jessica and wanted to use it to her advantage.  The plan was simple:  provoke his thin skinned self enough so that he would use his father’s influence to get Jessica fired from the lab.  The intern would fall off her pedestal, fail to finish her program, and then she would have to leave American University.  Once she got kicked out of her program, she would have to find another PhD program somewhere in the country or even Europe, leaving Aubrey and Steve behind.  Then Karen would have both guys.

_‘I don’t care what Aubrey says.  No way would he leave his job to follow her...he’s too ambitious.  Steve would be a nice distraction until Aubrey made a true commitment to her.’_ Karen thought.  _‘Of course, that dumb asshole Gerald was just supposed to get her fired and kicked out of school.’_

            She didn’t tell that stupid prick Gerald Maxwell to do what he did.  If he’d decided that scaring the shit out of Jessica by slashing her tires and breaking into her apartment was the right thing to do, he was the stupid one.  If the rumors were true and he’d stolen her lingerie, then he was a stupid perv on top of it. 

            As she arrived at the bullpen of International Operations, another moment of guilt hit her.  Pushing it away, she focused her mind back on her work.

_‘I did nothing wrong.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            At 2:00, Aubrey was tying up loose ends as he waited for Jessica to arrive at his office.  Finishing his cup of coffee, he heard his office phone ring.  Not recognizing the number, he picked it up on the second ring and answered.

            “Aubrey.”  He listened for a moment before his eyes got large.  “You want me to what...why are you asking me...oh...you really have no one else to ask?”

            Aubrey listened for a moment while rolling his eyes.  “Calm down, alright?  I’ll ask Jess if she minds coming along, but, no guarantees, Steve.  After the crap you pulled, if she says no, that’s it, do you understand?  Fine, I’ll touch base with you when she gets here…yes, I have Mitzi’s number on the phone…bye.”

            Hanging up the phone, he shook his head.  “Out of all the things to ask me…that wasn’t one I was expecting.”

            “What are you talking about?”

            Looking up from his phone, he saw his girlfriend looking cute in her winter coat as she swept snowflakes out of her hair.  She was also wearing his favorite skinny jeans, and he knew if she turned around those jeans would give him a great view of her butt.

            The same butt he wanted to get his hands on and enjoy with his lips as well.  Suddenly feeling more lustful stirrings, he flashed back to lunch with Steve and Karen at the diner last month to calm himself down.  He was still scared to watch _‘Wizard of Oz’._

            “Aubrey…what’s up?”, Jessica asked as she moved to stand in front of his desk.  “You haven’t finished your stuff yet?  It’s snowing like a bitch out there and remember our agreement…we need to go...”

            “No…no…nothing that I can’t work on from home.” Aubrey said with a chuckle.  “Um, Steve Bower just called me with a favor and I told him it was up to you if I said yes.”             

            “Um, all right…why are asking me?  He’s your agent, Aubrey.”  Jessica listened to her boyfriend discuss their phone call, her jaw dropping as he got further into the story.  When he was done, the redhead nodded.  “Wow…didn’t expect that.”

            “Yeah, Agent Baxter from Financial Crimes and Agent Smith from Homicide were going to do the honors, but both are busy with interrogations and Steve can’t get another appointment until after New Years.”

            “I’m not changing my clothes.”, Jessica said.  “They’re paying for parking, too.  The garage by there is like $15.00.”

            “You look fine and we can take my SUV.  We can grab some food on the way.  I’m really hungry.  I haven’t eaten since after 10:00.”

            Jessica exhaled quietly before nodding in agreement.  “Oh, why not.  If he has someone who is willing to love him like that, I’ll help.  It might even be fun.  Besides, if he screws up with Mitzi, she’ll punish him more than anyone could here.”

            “You got that right.”,  Aubrey said as he got up.  “I’m going to text him back, and then we can leave.”

            “Sure.”  Jessica nodded as her boyfriend sent the message and packed up his work laptop.  “This ought to be interesting.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Thirty minutes later, Aubrey parked his SUV and they got out.  Holding hands, they walked to the large marble building through the snow.

            “Superman, I still can’t believe this is happening.”

            “Well, it is, Jess.”, the agent replied.  “Between our talk Monday, Karen’s craziness, and with Mitzi…being Mitzi, I seriously think he’s really in this for the long haul.  There’s always somebody for someone.”

            Jessica wrapped her arm around Aubrey’s as they walked towards the main doors of the Moultrie Courthouse.  “Well, I have my somebody, Aubrey…”

            Aubrey smiled.  “And I have my someone, too.”

            “Are these steps too much for you, Superman?”, Jessica asked as they continued to climb.  “Are you getting tired?”

            “I’m all right, Jess.”,  Aubrey replied as he opened the door for them.  “I promise to take it easy when we get home.”

            “Okay.”, Jessica said as they came in to the wide lobby.  “Now where are they?”

            Aubrey looked at the listing of rooms.  “They said Room JM 690…here.”

            Taking the elevator, they found their floor and headed to where Bower had directed them.  After getting directions from the clerk in the Marriage Bureau, they found Steve and Mitzi standing outside the Marriage Ceremony room.

            “Boss, here we are…oh, hey, thanks for doing this for us…”

            “Yes, thank you, Agent Aubrey.”, Mitzi gushed.  “When Steve’s two friends were stuck working, I was afraid I would never get to marry my Stevie Bear…”

            “Mitzi Muffin, I would wait forever for you…”, Steve replied,, his voice all gooey as he gave he a loving look. 

            Jessica looked up at the tall woman, who didn’t look so formidable with her smaller heels.  She admired her knee length dress with the bateau neckline and A line cut.  “Your dress is lovely, Mitzi.”

            Smoothing the skirt of her pale pink silk dress, the blonde smiled shyly.  “Thank you. It’s hard for me to find a nice dress because I’m 6’2”.  I was starting to panic, but then I found this dress at a little boutique near here.  I know I’m a little old to be a blushing bride…but Steve said it doesn’t matter how old we are…just that we found each other again…”

            Jessica kept her surprise at Bower’s romantic words to herself.  “That’s…very sweet.”

            “Stevie got me this bouquet, too.”  Mitzi said as she held up a small bouquet of pale pink roses and lavender irises.  “These are my favorite flowers.”

            Jessica was still trying to wrap her head around the difference between Agent Bower, the pig who hit on her, and the romantic Agent Bower being described by the woman standing next to her.  “It’s very beautiful.”

            The blonde looked over to where Bower and Aubrey were talking.  “So…are you and that adorable Agent Aubrey talking marriage?”

            “Ohhhh…um…wow…well, we’ve been occupied with him recovering from being shot…wow…”.  Jessica stumbled over her words as she glanced toward Aubrey.  Before she could respond further, someone peeked out from the ceremony room.

            “Bower and Nilsson.”

            “This is it!”, Mitzi giggled.  “Thanks for standing up for me, Jessica.  I haven’t had much time to meet new friends yet in DC.”

            “Sure…”, Jessica said with a smile as they followed Aubrey and Bower in the room.

            After dealing with a few formalities, the ceremony began and Jessica had a flood of thoughts in her mind.

            _‘Would I like to marry Superman?  I think so someday...but marriage is a lifetime commitment…would I always love him?  That’s what he deserves…not a woman who always puts herself first…could I commit to 30, 40, 50 years with Aubrey?’_

            Looking at her boyfriend, she blushed when she saw that his attention was not on the couple in front of them, but solely on her.  Her best friend looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the room, even though her attire consisted of an oversized MSU sweatshirt, skinny jeans, and boots.  The redhead felt her heart go aflutter at the love in his eyes.

            Jessica and Aubrey were distracted from their looks and thoughts by the judge performing the ceremony.  “You may kiss the bride.”

            Both watched as Steve and Mitzi kissed for the first time as husband and wife…or more like sucked face.  The couple and the judge were too stunned to stop watching as the bride and groom made out in the ceremony room.  It continued until the judge cleared this throat.

            “I have another couple I have to marry.  Congratulations.”

            Breaking up reluctantly, Mitzi and Steve turned to Aubrey and Jessica.  “It’s time to celebrate.  Want to have an early dinner with us?  We have reservations at 5:00 at Le Diplomate.  Our treat.”, Mitzi asked while giggling. 

            “Sure…sounds fun.”,  Jessica replied.  “We just need to go home and change.  Aubrey and I will meet you there...”

            “Alright…”,  Bower said before turning to his new wife.  “Come on, my cute little cheese nip.  I got us the Federal suite at the Hays-Adams, so we can start our honeymoon before dinner.  I can’t wait to rip your panties off with my teeth!”

            “Sounds good, Stevie Bear.”, Mitzi said with another giggle, oblivious to the shock of the other couple.  They had only taken a few steps when the blonde turned around and tossed her bouquet at Jessica, who caught it with a look of surprise.  “Looks like you’re getting married next.  See you in a little while...hopefully we’re not late....”

            As she held the flowers in her hand, she flashed back to Cam and Arastoo’s wedding.  Aubrey intoxicated…her shock at catching the bouquet…then looking up to see her boyfriend two fisting liquor as he saw her with the flowers.  Holding her emotions in check, she was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

            “Jess…you’re a million miles away.  What’s going on in that beautiful brain of yours?”

            “Nothing…just thinking about what I’m going to wear to dinner.  Come on, Aubrey…let’s get going.  If we’re going to make it home in time to change and make it back before 5:00 with this weather, we don’t have time to lollygaggle.”

            The agent immediately sensed something was not right.  “Jessica, what’s wrong?”

            “Nothing, Aubrey.  Now come on.  It’s rude to be late.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Arriving back at the house, Aubrey and Jessica entered in silence.  He watched as she carelessly tossed the bouquet on the end table by the door and walked upstairs.  The agent’s eyes followed her, puzzled about her mood’s 180 turn after the wedding.  Turning to look at the flowers, a light bulb suddenly went off.  Hanging his head in shame, he took a deep breath before walking up the stairs.  Reaching the bedroom door, he knocked first before slowly pushing the door open.

            _“Come in.”_

Aubrey opened the door only to find Jessica, wearing only underwear, taking a polyester mint green dress A-line dress and a skirt bordered with black cats and stars out of the closet, along with a black cardigan sweater.  He enjoyed how the sea blue color of her bra and panties suited her pale complexion, but his lustful thoughts were superseded with worry.

            Jessica didn’t hear her boyfriend speak after the door opened, so she turned to him.  “Aubrey, why did you knock?  It’s your bedroom.”

            “I know…but I got the feeling I may be persona non grata with you at the moment.”

            Jessica exhaled slowly.  She didn’t want to make what she was feeling a big thing with a life of its own.  Trying to move past it, she took the dress off the hanger.  “Aubrey…that’s silly.  Now if you don’t want to change, what you’re wearing is fine, but I would take the tie off.”

            Aubrey looked at her before saying the only thing he could say.  “I’m sorry, Jess.”

            Trying to move past what had happened, Jessica pulled her dress over her head and zipped up the front.  “I hope this dress was okay.  We didn’t have time to run to my apartment.”

            “Your dress is fine, Jess.”, Aubrey said before taking a step closer.  “Did you hear what I said?  I’m sorry.”

            “For what, Aubrey?”, Jessica replied, wanting her boyfriend to drop the subject.

            “You know what for.”,  Aubrey replied quietly.  “Don’t play games with me…”

            Jessica looped the dress’s black ribbon belt around her waist while avoiding eye contact with him.  “It’s okay, I’ll get over it.  Now I don’t want to make it a big deal---“

            “Too late, Jessica.  I’m making it a big deal.”, the agent said, biting his lip before walking over and taking her hand.  “If I could go back and do it again, I wouldn’t have gotten so damn drunk at Cam and Arastoo’s wedding, and then I wouldn’t have slammed those drinks after you caught the bouquet.  That’s what has you upset, isn’t it?  Mitzi tossed you the bouquet and you remembered all that shit from last August.”

            Taking a breath, Jessica wiped away the tear that had formed on her eyelashes.  “I know you’re sorry, and I forgave you for all of that a long time ago.  I guess…I didn’t want to think about it.  I would’ve been over my mood in a little while.”

            “Jess, it’s okay—“

            “No, it’s not.”, Jessica said before letting go of Aubrey’s hand and walking to the bathroom.  “It’s a stupid thing to be upset over.”

            Aubrey followed her into the bathroom and watched his girlfriend plug in her curling irons.  “It’s not stupid, Jessica.  Not when it has you upset.”            

            Jessica looked down into the sink.  “I’m upset because something that made me feel bad...something that I got over months ago...crept up on me at a stupid moment.  I’m even more upset because it makes me angry that the whole catching the bouquet thing made me upset again.”

             “Are we…am I...pushing you?”  Aubrey didn’t want to voice it out loud, but he knew he had to.  “Are you feeling rushed because we’ve been talking about our future a lot lately?”

             “Superman, I’m not going to break up with you again.  I’m not going to let some stupid thing or my fears push me into doing something stupid again.”  Walking over to her boyfriend, she caressed his face.   “No, you’re not rushing me, and I would tell you if you were.  Marriage is a big, big step that I’m not ready for right now.  Are you?”

            Aubrey shook his head in the negative.  “No…I’m not.”

            “Am I going too slow for you?”, Jessica asked.

            Aubrey shook his head again.  “No.”, He said quietly, shrugging as a little smile teased at his lips.  “I like where we’re at.  I figure that we’ll get there when we get there.”

            Jessica smiled as she knew exactly what her boyfriend was referring to.  “Yes, we will.  I love you, James Aubrey.”

            “I love you, too, Jessica Warren.”, he whispered as they embraced.  Unconsciously, his hand moved down to her rear end and he gave her a little pat.

            “Superman, don’t do that.  I’m trying to be good, and you playing with my butt is not helping.”, Jessica snickered.

            Reluctantly, Aubrey let go.  “I’m sorry, Jess.  I think the no sex restriction that Dr. Elias put me on while I’m recovering is why we’ve both been so edgy.  I don’t know about you, but I’m dying here.”

            The redhead smiled.  “I’m suffering too, Superman, but it’s only hopefully four more days, okay?  December 26th will be here before we know it.”

            _‘But I still can’t get any Christmas nookie.’_  Aubrey sighed to himself.  “Okay.”

            Jessica saw his little boy pout and couldn’t help but laugh.  “I will tell you that I have something planned to break our forced abstinence...a little late Christmas present for you.”

            The lanky man’s face lit up.  “You do?”

            “Yes, I do...and I think you’ll love it.”, Jessica responded with a smile before grabbing one of her curling irons.  “Now hurry up and get ready to go.  Steve Bower is treating us to a fancy dinner.  I’m sure you don’t want to miss that.”

            “Nope.”  Aubrey smiled as he began removing his tie.  “I’ll be ready to go shortly.”

            Jessica watched his walk out of the room and her thought from earlier popped up again.  _‘Could I commit to 30, 40, 50 years with Aubrey?  Yeah…I definitely could…’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watch for a special Love & Carbonite Extra on Twitter and Tumblr. Follow @mphs95 on Twitter or MIBonesFan on Tumblr.


	53. Free at Last!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Steve and Mitzi are now married, and it's time to celebrate. However, it seems that our favorite couple may have another cause to celebrate as well. Read on to find out more about their own little private party.
> 
> Please note: some mildly spicy bits at the end of the chapter. Take care if you're reading at work.

Twenty hours after the wedding, Aubrey ate his lunch of leftover steak, green beans, mashed potatoes, part of Jessica’s sea bass fillet, and assorted appetizers from _Le Diplomate_ at his desk.  He took a bite and groaned in pleasure as he worked on case audits that he wanted to complete before leaving for the day.  As he enjoyed the perfection that was his New York Strip, he recalled dinner last night.

**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**

_Jessica and Aubrey barely arrived by 5:00 at Le Diplomate due to the icy weather.  Holding his girlfriend’s hand, the SAC walked up to the podium.  “We’re here for the Bower-Nilsson party?”_

_“Yes, sir.”, the host said with a polite smile.  “The other couple called a few minutes ago to say they’re running late.  However, they’ve ordered a bottle of champagne and the Grand Plateau for the table.  Please follow me.”_

_“I’ve heard that thing is amazing, Jess.”, Aubrey said with glee.  “Lobster, scallops, crab, oysters...yeah, baby…”_

_“We should probably save some for Mitzi and Steve, Aubrey.”, Jessica replied before whispering in a sly tone, “Unless you think he’ll be too full from using his teeth to pull her underwear off.”_

_Aubrey laughed loudly until he saw the angry looks of patrons.  “Sorry…”.  Simmering down, the couple snickered softly together as they were shown to their table._

_**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-** _

           _“So...Steve...do you two have any honeymoon plans?”, Aubrey asked politely as he enjoyed a crab leg, trying to ignore the fact that his agent’s left hand was not on the table as well as Mitzi’s glazed over expression._

_“Um…”, Steve said with a smirk.  “...we’re going up to Michigan this summer to check out Mackinac Island…”_

_“That sounds nice.  I went there once with some friends when I was in school.”,  Jessica said, sipping her champagne.  “it’s beautiful…”_

_Mitzi took a deep breath.  “Then we’re going to Milwaukee.”_

_Puzzled, Aubrey hoped he didn’t regret the question.  “So...anything in particular you’re going to do in Milwaukee?”_

_“We’re going to stay in the same room we had sex in after our senior prom back in 1990.”, Mitzi replied, relaxing with a satisfied smile.  “Steve’s so romantic.”_

_Jessica barely kept a straight face as the couple came down from their fun under the table.   “Will you all excuse me for a moment?”_

_Aubrey watched her walk towards the restrooms and enjoyed the view until he was interrupted by Mitzi clearing her throat.  Startled, he turned to the other couple. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”_

_“I said Jessica’s dress is so adorable on her.”, Mitzi replied.  “That red hair of hers is also  so striking.  Is it real?”_

_Aubrey smirked, understanding that the nurse wasn’t asking to be rude.  “Yes, it is.  Her father and two of her brothers are also redheads...and you’re right...it certainly makes her stand out in a crowd.”_

_“Looks good on her, unlike Karen’s fake red shit.”_

_Aubrey groaned.  Only Steve Bower would bring up an ex-girlfriend on his wedding day.  His groan became a held back chuckle when Mitzi smacked Steve’s arm hard, causing the older man to flinch visibly.  Before the SAC could comment, his phone buzzed.  Seeing the message, his countenance became serious.  “Will you two excuse me for a moment?  I have a phone call to make.”_

_“Is that code for finding Jessica for a quickie?”,  Steve said, laughing at his own humor._

_“No, it’s really a phone call.  Excuse me.”, Aubrey said, glaring at the man across from him.  Walking briskly towards the entrance, he looked at the text message again, sent by Genny, whom he had informed about the evening’s plans,  in case there was an emergency._

_**‘Bell saw GM coming up 2 entrance of LD.’**_

_Hoping to cut the asshole off before his girlfriend saw him, Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the podium as Gerald walked in with someone the agent recognized as one of Hodgins’ interns.  He waited patiently for the prick to notice him and it didn’t take long._

_“Hi, Gerald...bye Gerald…”_

_The blonde man stopped, a face full of fury.  “Why are you here?”_

_“We were invited here, Gerald.  Once again, goodbye and don’t let the door hit you in the sexist, perverted ass on the way out.”_

_“Excuse me.”, the mousy brunette chimed in.  “Gerald is innocent until proven guilty, so he has a right to be here.  Jessica can just leave.  She’s screwed up enough men's’ lives.”_

_“Thank you, Ashley.  It’s nice some still believe in that concept., even if this jackass doesn’t.”, Gerald said with a smirk._

_Aubrey merely shook his head as he answered calmly.  “Actually, he doesn’t have a right to be here.  According to the terms of the restraining order Jess and I have on your boyfriend,  he is required to stay 100 yards away from both of us.  If we’re somewhere first, he has to leave immediately.  If he doesn’t, we call the police and he goes to jail.”_

_Gerald put his arm around the younger woman before turning back to Aubrey.  “Well, I don’t give a damn what you say.  Ashley and I are eating here tonight.  Now do as my date said...go get your slut and leave.”_

_Aubrey saw the young woman with Gerald cringe slightly before she recovered her composure.   Glaring at the former intern, he spoke quietly.  “You’re lucky we’re in public, or else I would do more than make you piss yourself again in front of a crowd.”_

_“You need to stop spreading that rumor Jessica started, Agent Aubrey.”, Ashley complained.  “You know that can’t possibly be true…”_

_“It’s not a rumor.  There were several witnesses to that event, including his date for the night...two FBI agents...someone from the Virginia House of Delegates...and many others.”_

_“That’s a lie Jessica started because my boyfriend turned her down when she tried to have sex with him in the locker room on his first day back.  Just like she set him up in the alleged burglary of her apartment and messing with her tires.  He was weak with her one time in the past but that’s over now.  She’s needs to move on because Gerald is committed to me.”_

_Aubrey couldn’t believe how snowed the young woman in front of him was, but he knew there was nothing he could do to change her mind...yet.  “We can’t discuss all that here. There’s evidence tying him to all of those circumstances, and it will come out in court in a few weeks.  Gerald will get what’s coming to him.  I just hope it’s before he takes you down with him.”_

_“Ignore him, Ashley.  He’s just a glorified beat cop who needs to make excuses for his girlfriend.  It’s sad, really.”  Gerald turned to the maitre d’, who had just arrived at the podium.  “Good evening, Andre.  My dad’s secretary called in a reservation for two at 6:00 for your best table, as always.”_

_“I’m sorry, Mr. Maxwell, but I can’t hold your reservation tonight.”, the maitre’d stated._

_The former intern’s charming smile turned cold.  “Why the fuck not?  I’m a regular here.”_

_“You are, sir, but there is a restraining order against you, and we are bound under the law to obey it.”_

_“How do you--”_

_“I showed him a copy when I saw you talking with Aubrey.”, Jessica chimed in from behind.  “Caroline has asked both Aubrey and me to carry a paper copy and a digital copy.  Now walk away, or I’ll call the police for violating your PPO.”_

_“Andre...you’ve just lost my business and my father’s.  I’ll be calling your manager and you will be out of a job tomorrow...and I’ll have this place closed down by New Years Eve.”   Gerald gave Aubrey and Jessica an angry face.  “I’m not going to forget this stunt either, Jessica.  My lawyer is going to drag you through the mud at the trial.  You’re going to regret going up against me and my family.”_

_“I hope you don’t forget, Gerald, because I’m going to fight whatever you throw at me.”,  Jessica said as she took Aubrey’s hand._

_Looking the younger man in the eye, Aubrey’s expression was grim.  “I’ll be right by her side, along with our friends, to make sure you pay for what you’ve done.  You’re not going to do this to anyone else, you son of a bitch.”_

_Gerald’s eyes hardened into a cold glare.  “When I’m done with you, you and your lap dog agent will have nothing.  Nobody fucks with me and gets away with it.  I’m a Maxwell.”_

_Holding back a shiver, Jessica turned to her fellow intern.  “Ashley, there are better guys out there than him.”_

_“You’re just pissed because he dumped you after you two slept together.  I know the truth about you and your whoring around at the lab.  Gerald will prove you for the liar you are.”, the girl shot back before taking Gerald’s hand as they left._

_“Wow...he’s going to hurt her, Aubrey.”, Jessica said.  “Ashley is very shy, naive, and reserved...she doesn’t have a lot of boyfriends.  That prick has blinded her with charm and a ton of bullshit.”_

_“His exact type when he wants something, unfortunately.”,  Aubrey replied before taking her hand.  “Are you okay?”_

_“Yeah, Superman, I am.”, the redhead said with a smile.  “Now come on, we’ve got a fancy dinner coming to our table and a newlywed couple to make us cringe.”_

_Aubrey kissed her hand.  “I won’t let anyone hurt you, Jess.  If Gerald pulls anything, he’s going through me, first.  However, if you kick his ass before I can, I am secure enough in my manhood to say that it would be a major turn on.”_

_“I’ll keep that in mind, Superman, once we get the all clear.”,  Jessica acknowledged as they walked back to their table._

**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**

            They’d enjoyed the rest of their dinner last night, especially Aubrey, who’d ordered two entrees.  Both the Trout Amandine and the Steak au Poivre were fabulous while Jessica enjoyed the Grilled Loup de Mer.  When it was time for dessert, the PDA from the newlyweds became too much, so Aubrey threw in $40.00 towards a tip on what he knew would be an expensive tab before he and Jessica made their excuses, and left.  They had stopped at their favorite ice cream parlor before heading home where they called Caroline with a report about what had happened.

            Shortly after he came into work, the US Attorney called his office to let them know that she had informed Gerald’s lawyer about the intern’s faux pas, along with a stern warning that any more attempts at intimidation would result in a motion to have his bail revoked.  Ms. Jensen had given her reassurances that it wouldn’t happen again.

            Deciding Maxwell wasn’t worth his effort today, he stabbed at some of his green beans as he examined one of Agent Thompson’s cases.  When his phone rang, he answered without looking at the caller ID.  “Aubrey.”

            _“This is Susan from Dr. Elias’s office.  I’m calling because there was a cancellation today and you are on the call list—“_

Aubrey didn’t even wait for her to finish.  “On my way.  Bye.”

            Hanging up the phone, he left his food carton open on the desk as he grabbed his keys and jacket.  Racing out of his office, he ran down the hallway to Genny’s office.  “Heading to the hospital.  Be back ASAP.”

            Before the ASAC could get a word in, Aubrey was already out of the bullpen and jogging to the elevator.  ‘ _Please...please…get me off restrictions...I miss sex with my redhead..._ _and Steve Bower should not be getting more sex than me.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           Using his siren, Aubrey arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes later glad that the blowing snow blowing hadn’t made the roads icy.   _Hell yes, it really is an emergency….what Stark doesn’t know won’t hurt him._ Getting into the first parking spot he saw, he pulled in and jumped out as soon as he could.

           “I’m going to get laid tonight…going to get…laid tonight... by my hot girlfriend…”,  Aubrey sang to himself as he armed the vehicle.

            When he entered the hospital’s lobby, he saw construction and arrows directing him elsewhere.  After walking through what felt like a maze for almost fifteen minutes, he arrived at Dr. Elias’s office.  Opening the door, he saw five people in the waiting room as he headed up to the desk and signed in.

            “Ah, Agent Aubrey.”, the receptionist said with a cordial smile.  “Thank you for coming in early, but the opening today was for 2:15.”

            Aubrey groaned with embarrassment as he realized he was almost ninety minutes early.  “Shit…do you think she can get me in sooner?”

            “Actually, Dr. Elias and Mr. Sturgis are both running behind today.  If you want, you can walk down to the cafeteria and get something to eat or a beverage.”

            Frustrated that he would be sitting around doing nothing and at the food he left behind, Aubrey resigned himself to waiting, knowing the results would be worth it.  “I’ve already eaten my lunch, but a Coke or a shake wouldn’t be bad.  Where’s the cafeteria?”

            Following the receptionist’s directions, he navigated the construction maze to the cafeteria.  He got his chocolate shake, but then he also saw some assorted donuts.  Buying the last four glazed along with a fruit cup, he took his purchases back to the office and made himself comfortable.  

            Over an hour later, Aubrey was reading some email his phone.  As he finished his last donut, he was interrupted by a medical assistant calling his name.  Getting up, he wiped the crumbs off his suit and followed her into an exam room.  Seeing the sign that stated no cell phones during the visit, he put his on silent.

            “Here’s a gown for you to change into.  Like before, change down to your underwear.  Dr. Elias will be in shortly.”

            Aubrey stripped in record time and put on the colorful gown before pulling the back closed.  “Hate these damn things.”

            Climbing up on the table, he leaned back and got comfy.  Looking up at the ceiling, he pictured how it would be when he stripped down to his boxer shorts for Jessica later tonight.

            _‘I’ll pick her up and take her on the kitchen counter…no, it should be in our bedroom f_ _irst…although the shower may be nice…I do enjoy her breasts when they’re all wet and soapy, especially when I nail her from behind…but we’ve never done it in the Star Wars room at my house...screwing each other by my Han Solo carbonite statue would be awesome...’_

Then it hit him.  Tomorrow was Christmas Eve…Sunday was Christmas Day…

            _‘Yes!  Jess can wear the stuff I got her and we can make love all over the house…at least until her brothers and father come to the h_ _ouse later in the day.  Then I have to behave in front of them…and if she decides to wear a pair of the crotchless panties just to mess with me…well, if she does, just wait til they go home...’_

            Aubrey had a goofy smile on his face when there was a knock on the door. Sitting up, he gave permission and Dr. Elias walked in.

            “Hello, Agent Aubrey.  How are we doing today?”

            “Awesome, Dr. Elias.  I’m hoping to get a clean bill of health from you so I can go back to normal activities.”

            The doctor smiled.  “…and sex with your girlfriend.”  When she saw Aubrey turn red, she chuckled.  “Agent, I remember your reaction when I explained all restrictions to you before I discharged you a few weeks ago.  You are not the first man I’ve had to put on that restriction after surgery.  I’m sure it was frustrating, but it was for your own good.”

            “Don’t worry, Doc.  Jessica kept me on the straight and narrow.  She wouldn’t even let me take a shower with her.”,  Aubrey grumbled.

            “I had a feeling she would keep you in line.”, the petite blonde replied.   “Now lay back down and lift your gown up for me…”

            For the next several minutes, the trauma surgeon quizzed him on his recovery as she palpated his abdominal and left thigh areas.  Aubrey was getting antsy, but he didn’t want to antagonize the woman who would decide if he could be naked with his squintern again.  When she was done, she made a couple of notes in his electronic medical record chart.

            “So what’s the verdict, Doc?”

            Dr. Elias smiled.  “I think we can put you back on active duty.”

            Aubrey rolled his eyes.  “What about…you know…”

            “I think you’ll be fine to use the exercise equipment in your home again...”, Dr. Elias said, smiling when she observed Aubrey’s impatient face.  “…and you may resume sexual activity.”

            “Yes!”, Aubrey exclaimed, but was interrupted by the surgeon.  

            “Now, Agent Aubrey, you’ve recovered from a major trauma.  You were shot twice, had a vein graft transplanted into your left thigh, and you barely avoided lacerating your spleen.  So you can resume sexual intercourse, but you need to go slow.  At least the first few times, you need to avoid putting any weight on your abdomen.  No major gymnastics right away.  If you are not experiencing any pain or discomfort, then you can work your way up to more…ambitious physical activities.  Understand?  I don’t want to see you back here anytime soon.  Dr. Brennan and Jessica were both very thorough when we discussed your condition after surgery.  Dr. Brennan even said she would have no problem informing Deputy Director Stark if you weren’t compliant with my instructions.”

             “Yes, Dr. Elias.”,  Aubrey nodded as he thought back to what the doctor said.  “Oh, I’d like to make a change regarding my personal information.  Can I do that at this office?”

            “No problem. After you get dressed, just stop by the front desk and Susan can help you.  Congratulations, Agent Aubrey.  You’re free.  Now don’t come back to see me anytime soon.”

            “No, I won’t, Dr. Elias.”  Aubrey shook the doctor’s hand and when she left, he got dressed and stopped to see Susan.  After making his request, the receptionist handed him the _Health Care Directive_ paperwork.

            “Remember to get two signatures on the form, then you can turn it in here or your primary care physician and it goes into effect as soon as it’s filed into the system.”  

            “Thanks, Susan.  Have a nice Christmas.”,  Aubrey said before walking away.  When he was only a few steps away from the front door, an announcement came over the PA.

            _“Code Orange…ER…Code Orange…ER…Code Orange…ER.”_

Before Aubrey could say anything, Susan ran out of her office and pushed buttons on the door.  “What the hell is going on?”

            “There’s an active shooter, Agent Aubrey, in the ER two floors below us.”, she whispered.  “We’re on lockdown.  No one leaves.”

            “Except me.  I have a job to do.”, Aubrey replied as he instinctually went for his service weapon.  Turning around he saw a woman and two children.  “Susan, everyone needs to get in the back now.”

            “So do you.”

            “I’m a federal agent--”

            Aubrey was interrupted by what felt like an earthquake under their feet, knocking them both backwards.  Gathering his wits, he went into work mode.  “Are you all right?”

            Wiping the blood from her eyebrow, Susan shrugged.  “I’m fine.  I’m ex-Air Force.  A little cut isn’t going to get me.”  

            Aubrey picked up his service weapon, which had fallen out of his hand, before turning to the others.  “Everyone all right?”

            When the family nodded, another message came through the overhead speaker.   _‘Code Yellow...ER...Code Yellow...ER...Code Yellow...ER.’_   

            “What the hell is going on now?”, Aubrey said before the speaker entailed another message.   _‘Code Red...ER...Code Red...ER...Code Red...ER’_

            “Code Yellow is a bomb threat and Code Red is a fire.  There’s some serious shit going down in the ER.”, the older woman said drolly.  “Come on, Agent, protocol states we all get into Rooms Four and Five unless police come to evacuate us.”

            “What a way to start my Christmas weekend.”,  Aubrey muttered before Dr. Elias ran out to check on everyone.

            “Susan, is everyone all right out here?”  Seeing the young family, she hurried over.  “Owen, buddy, doing all right?”

            “Yes, Dr. E.”, the nine year old said.  “My knee hurts a little, though.”

            Aubrey rubbed his elbow.  “My elbow smarts but I’m good.  Susan has a cut on her head from falling.”

            “Is the electronic door shut off?”,  Dr. Elias asked her receptionist.  When she nodded, the surgeon took charge.  “Okay, come on everyone.  We have to go in the back and wait things out.  I’m checking you all out while I’m doing that.”

            “Dr. Elias, I’m a federal agent--”

            When the others were in the back, the petite woman stood in front of her patient.  “Agent Aubrey...you’re in my playground now.  Heroes who think they’re above established protocols piss me off.  So, while you may have a gun, whoever is running around this campus may have a bigger gun, plus there is a fire and maybe a bomb in this hospital.   Now, text Jessica about our triple whammy and get your ass back here so I can check you out.”

            “But--”

            “Now!”, Dr. Elias said before pointing to the door.

            Seeing that he’d lost this fight, he followed the trauma surgeon to the back area.   _‘Man, my Christmas better not be fucked up or I’m going to kick some major bomber ass.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Jessica, still upset about the news of Carrie Fisher being hospitalized because of a heart attack she’d suffered during a flight, took a deep breath.  Knowing she needed to be on her A game for the woman with her, she pushed through.

           “So Dr. B, with these types of fractures on the knuckles and the mandible, and based on what I saw during the Lola Marshall case, I’m speculating that the victim was first tossed in the car’s trunk or a similar confined space.  She tried to get out, but when the killer saw she was still alive, he or she...then tossed the flare into her mouth.” Jessica said, shuddering.  “That’s so...awful.  Who could do something like that...”

            “Either it was a weapon of opportunity as the flare was all the killer had on hand...or a very sick person, Ms. Warren.  No one really can understand what goes through the mind of a killer unless they experience it themselves.”

            “No doubt.”, Jessica replied before feeling her phone buzz.  Pulling it out, she became alarmed when she read the text.

            **_Don’t panic but there’s active shooter & possible bomb at hospital.  I’m fine.  Phone not totally charged.  Will text when I know more._**

            “What the hell, Aubrey?”             

            Surprised at her intern’s comment, Brennan walked over to her intern.  “Ms. Warren, what’s wrong?”

            “It’s Aubrey.  He’s at some hospital where there’s an active shooter and bombs...what the hell is he doing there?”

            Angela waddled toward her friends as quickly as she could.  “You two need to see this.”

            Following the pregnant woman into her office, they saw the Angelatron showing the news with the headline, _‘Active Shooters with Bombs hold Hospital Under Siege.’_

“Medstar Washington was the hospital Booth and Aubrey were at after they got shot.  What is Aubrey doing there?  I need to get there as soon as possible.  If he’s working a case, his ass is totally grass.”

            Brennan saw her distressed intern and acted quickly.  “Ms. Warren, you are in no shape to drive.  Come with me.”

            Startled, Jessica saw her mentor walk out the doorway before pausing and turning around to face her..

            “Ms. Warren, are you coming or not?”

            “Y-yes, Dr. B.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Later that evening, Jessica stood outside the hospital with Andie, who was earlier evacuated as she finished her shift in the oncology wing.  Nearby, Brennan was on her cell phone while Wendell went to get coffee.

            “Andie, why it taking so long?”, Jessica said, obviously upset.  “First Carrie Fisher has a heart attack and now my Superman is stuck in a building where there may be bombs and a shooter.  Can this day be any shittier?”

            The nurse put her arm around her friend.  “Honey, Carrie is in the hospital now, according to the reports.  As for Aubrey, he’s a tough and smart FBI agent.  He’s probably taking care of people right now and doing his job so these buttholes don’t hurt anyone.”

            “I know he’ll take care of himself, but I still don’t know why Aubrey is here.  I got his text message saying the hospital was on lockdown but he was fine.  When I tried calling Genny, she was in the middle of an interrogation.”, Jessica said, turning to her friend.  “Andie, what if something happens to Superman...”

            “Aubrey’s coming out of there, girl.”, Andie said.  I know it.”  Turning to the side, she saw her boyfriend coming toward them with four cups of coffee.

            “Damn, it’s cold out here.”, Wendell said, passing a cup to his girlfriend.  “Here you go, Babe.  Here’s one for you, too Jessica.  Have you heard back from Daisy yet?”

            “No.”, Andie shook her head.  “No, but she may be out in the field somewhere and can’t get a phone call.  She’ll check in when she can...I’m sure she’ll want to know Aubrey is all right.”

            The redhead continued to watch the building.  “If Superman is working in the field I’m so going to kick his ass when he gets out….”

            Brennan returned to join the group.  “Booth made a few phone calls while he was driving back from Philadelphia.  The police are going to hold a press conference soon, but it seems that three people are holding a few hostages in the ER due to a failed attempt to kidnap DC’s deputy police commissioner.  From what the hostage negotiator said, the kidnappers said they planted bombs in the hospital and one already went off.  They’re still trying to get the doctor and nurse who were shot in the ER out of there.

            “Here, Dr. B.”, Wendell said while handing the anthropologist a cup of coffee.

            “Thank you, Mr. Bray.”, she responded before signaling her former student and Andie to give her a little privacy.  When they were out of earshot, Brennan said what was on her mind.  “It doesn’t get any easier, Ms. Warren.”

            Startled, Jessica turned to her mentor.  “What?”

            “The worry...the fear...it doesn’t get any easier.  It’s even more pronounced when the person you love is in law enforcement.”

            Jessica stared at the crowd of police officers and bomb squad personnel.  “How do you deal with it?”

            Brennan sipped her coffee.  “There’s really not a...way I deal with it.  Booth is a selfless man who will always help anyone in trouble, but he’s also trained in how to protect himself.  In addition, he made me a promise that he would always be as careful as he can.  I guess the answer to your question is that...I just...accept Booth for who he is and cherish every day we have together.  If I chose not to be with him because he has a dangerous job, it would leave a hole inside of me...a hole that could only be filled by him.”

            “I...feel the same way about Aubrey.  He makes me so mad sometimes...but I know he loves me and would always protect me...like he protects others.”  Recalling how they shared each other’s hurts and fears in the last few weeks, Jessica smiled slightly.  “He’s my best friend, Dr. B.  I’ve never felt as close to anyone as I do him...not even Andie and Daisy.  When we were broken up, I felt so...empty and sad.  I am afraid every day he goes out, especially once he is off restrictions, but he wouldn’t be my Superman if he didn’t try to save the world every day.”

            Brennan saw Jessica relax.  “Have I helped you at all?”

            “Yes, you have, Dr. B.  Thank you...for making me see what was in front of me.”

            “You’re welcome, Ms. Warren.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            Around 9:30, Aubrey finally emerged from the front entrance, hungry and relieved to be out of there.  Looking to his right, he saw three people being dragged out in cuffs along with members of the DCPD Bomb Squad carrying out what looked like a series of small bombs.  As he bypassed the reporters trying to get a statement, he was jumped by a redheaded tornado.

            Aubrey hugged her.  “Jess, I’m fine.  They got the men.”

            “Superman, you scared the hell out of me today.”, Jessica muttered into his neck.  “Are you hurt?”

            Aubrey let his girlfriend go.  “My elbow’s going to have a bruise in the morning, but nothing permanent…I’m good.”

            “Is it true about the bombs?  They’re saying that those crazy gunmen were lying about the bombs.”

            “Yeah.  From what the officer told me as he was escorting us out of Dr. Elias’ office, they were going snatch Deputy Commissioner Kirkpatrick at the Watergate Hotel where she was to give a speech today and hold her for ransom.”, Aubrey said.  “However, she was in an car accident on her way there, so she went to the nearest hospital...here.  Of course, Tweedle Dee, Dum, and Dumber decided to sneak in as doctors and take her here.”

            “They weren’t very bright to do something stupid like that in an ER.”

            “Nope, I guess they blew up an oxygen tank in an empty room away from patients in the ER, which thankfully was almost empty.  Then one of them said it was a bomb, and told everyone that several more were planted around the place before one of them shot a doctor and nurse. The doctor was released early and sent to Georgetown.  The nurse, who was hit in the shoulder, has a flesh wound.  Luckily, no one was killed.”

            “What took them so long getting you evacuated?”

            “Well, they had to clear the area near the ER without the assholes seeing them, and with the hospital under construction, it made things difficult.  I’m sorry I didn’t communicate more.  I had to share a charger with two others and I let a couple kids play with my phone…I tried to leave, but Dr. Elias said we were on lockdown and made me stay.”

            Jessica was trembling with fear as Aubrey hugged her tight.  “What were you doing here, anyway?  Did you get a call?  You’re still on desk duty, Aubrey.  If you went out in the field I’m going to kick your ass—“

            “Jess, I wasn’t working a case, I promise.  Dr. Elias’ office called me today.”

            Still in panic mode from what happened, Jessica didn’t put the pieces together.  “Why?  Your appointment isn’t until Monday.”

            Aubrey smiled.  “Jess...the office had an opening today and I took it so we didn’t have to wait until after Christmas...”

            The agent’s eyes conveyed his meaning and it finally hit Jessica.  Grinning, she put her arms around his neck.  “So, are you okay?”

            Aubrey smiled at his girlfriend.  “I’m off restrictions, Jessica…all of them.  We just have to be careful regarding weight on my abdomen the first few times, but we can celebrate Christmas in the lifestyle we’ve become accustomed to.”

            The anthropologist realized that she would have to move up her special plans for Aubrey, but that was a minor issue.  “I’m very happy to hear that.  Now let’s go home and renew our acquaintance.”

            “I can’t yet, because I have to go to the police department and make a statement.  It may be a while, so why don’t you just meet me back at the house?”, Aubrey said as he noticed the other couple and Dr. B.  “Hey, you guys.”

            “Hey, yourself.”, the nurse said, walking up and rubbing her friend’s shoulder.

            “Thanks for being here with Jessica.”, Aubrey replied.

            “No problem, Aubrey.  I got the scare of my life when I heard about it on the news and rushed down here.”,  Wendell said.  “Andie was just evacuated when I arrived.”

            “Booth got home from Philadelphia an hour ago and is with the children.  He wanted me to stay and make sure you’re alright.”, Brennan replied.

            “Tell Booth I’m all right...and I’m touched he cares so much.  You should get home, Dr. B...you guys, too.  You all must be freezing.”  

            “Jessica, do you need a ride home or are you going with Aubrey?”, Wendell asked.

            “He has to go to the police department, but if you could run me over to the lab, I can pick up my Jeep there.”, Jessica said.  “I just need a minute with him.”

            “No sweat.  We’re parked over there.”, the anthropologist indicated before leaving the two alone.

             The redhead turned and smirked.  “Okay, I’ll go get my Jeep and head home but I’m going to wait up for you, Superman.  We have a month to start catching up on.”

            “I can’t wait.”,  Aubrey said before kissing his girlfriend.  “See you when I get home.  Oh, nothing fancy…just your PJs.  They’re easy to get off.”

            Jessica laughed.  “Okay.  See you later.”

            As he watched his girlfriend walk away, he was called over by the patrolman to go to the police station.  “I’ll follow in my SUV.”

            Jessica watched her boyfriend walk away and smiled.  “So now my little surprise is going to be a Christmas surprise...”

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

            It was almost midnight when Aubrey finally pulled into his driveway, munching the rest of his double bacon cheeseburger.  After parking in the garage, he went to the front door and saw the living room light on.  “Good…she’s awake.”

            Unlocking the door, he came in and armed the house.  Slipping off his jacket and shoes, he began removing his tie while giggling excitedly.  Then he stopped in his tracks as he saw Jessica sleeping peacefully on the couch, a science fiction movie on TV with Skinner on top of the couch doing the same.  Seeing her look so lovely made him fall in love with her even more.

            Shaking his head, he finished undressing before laying his clothes on the bannister to keep them from Skinner.  Stripped down to his boxers, he shut off the light before gently shaking his girlfriend.  “Jess, let me in.”

            “Okay, Superman.”, the redhead said groggily before moving over, half asleep.

            Aubrey made his way on the couch and Jessica snuggled next to him before he covered them up.  Kissing the top of her head, he shut off the television with the remote on the floor.  Holding her close, he fell asleep almost instantly.

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

            Six hours later, Jessica woke up slowly to greet Christmas Eve morning.  Getting her bearings together, she realized that she was snuggled into her boyfriend’s warmth.   _‘I was supposed to stay awake until he came home so we could celebrate, damn it…_ _”_

Looking up, she saw Aubrey sleeping with his cute little pout and his disheveled hair, but was interrupted by a call of nature.  Slowly, Jessica climbed over Aubrey and walked into the bathroom where she did her morning constitutional.  Coming out, she fed a hungry Skinner and was pleasantly surprised when she saw Aubrey awake on the couch.

            “You’re hot in the morning, Jess.”, the agent said sleepily.

            “You’re still asleep, Aubrey.” the redhead said good-naturedly.  “Now let me in, it’s cold.”

            Aubrey lifted up the heavy blanket and Jessica jumped back under the covers.  Pulling them back over them, the agent held her close before he kissed her softly.

            “So, in case you forgot, I got some good news yesterday...an early Christmas present from my surgeon...”, he said, rubbing his hand down her over her breast and abdomen.

            “Yeah, I do recall that, but you got home too late.”, Jessica said with a snicker before lightly touching Aubrey’s ass. 

            “I did…”, Aubrey said, lying down on top of her.  “But since we’re both up and we have the day to ourselves...”

            “James Aubrey, stop talking.” Jessica said before kissing him hard and wrapping her arms around his neck.

            For the next few minutes the couple kissed and caressed each other under the blanket before Aubrey pulled down the spaghetti straps of Jessica’s top so his lips could trail down her soft skin.  Her familiar cherry vanilla scent intoxicated him as he quickly latched on to her breasts.  When she pulled her arms out, he pulled the top down to her waist before making a sensuous trail down her abdomen.

            Jessica held onto Aubrey as tightly as she could as a month of frustration translated into moans as she moved her body against his.  When she felt his hand go into her pajama pants and between her legs, she groaned.

            “You’re already wet…”

            Jessica touched him through his boxer shorts before she began pulling them off her boyfriend.  “And you’re hard as a rock, James…get inside me now.”

            When he got his shorts kicked off, they both pulled off her pants before Aubrey settled himself between her legs and they joined together.  Delirious with joy at being with Jessica, the agent pumped in and out of her as his lover’s nails began trailing down his back.  When he felt her thighs tighten against him, he pressed harder, loving her as she screamed his name.  Just when he felt her claw his lower back, he exploded inside her.

            Aubrey collapsed on top of his lover as both worked to catch their breath, the blanket pushed down to the point where the top of the agent’s ass was sticking out.  However, neither cared, both happy to be together again.

            “Damn, Aubrey…”, Jessica breathed.  “That was...wow…”

            Getting himself together, Aubrey kissed Jessica before his lips trailed down her neck.  “Thank you….but it wasn’t all me…”

            “Want cinnamon pancakes for breakfast?”

            “Sure.”, Aubrey said, crawling off Jessica and standing up.  When she stood up naked except for the tank top pooled around her waist, he stopped her from going into the kitchen.  “Actually, I don’t want cinnamon pancakes.”

            Surprised, Jessica thought for a moment.  “Okay, well, you have eggs, cheese, and peppers. I could make us Christmas Eve omelets.”

            “No…..”, Aubrey said before lifting her suddenly in a fireman’s carry.

            “Aubrey!  What the hell are you doing?” Jessica said while laughing.  “You need to be careful.  You just got off restrictions.”

            “I want naked cinnamon pancakes.” Aubrey replied, lightly smacking her on the butt.

            “Are you going to be naked, too?”, Jessica asked in between laughs.

            “Damn straight...we need to defile my kitchen...my Star Wars room...the den...wherever you want.  It is almost Christmas after all.”, Aubrey replied to Jessica’s laughs as he carried her towards the kitchen.

            Laying in the living room chair, Skinner eyes opened as his sleep was disturbed by the lovers.

_“Aubrey, be careful…”_

_“Don’t worry.  You’re not on my stomach.  Dr. Elias said take it easy the first few times, then we’re all good.  Now, it’s time for breakfast…”_

_“Oh my God, Aubrey...oh fuck....”_

Skinner’s eyes were closed until he heard pans falling on the floor.  His nap disturbed, the tabby ran upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Watch for an L & C extra...follow mphs95 on Twitter or MiBonesFan on Tumblr.


	54. Christmas Fantasies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After all that's happened recently, Aubrey and Jessica finally get a respite from the drama. Time for some holiday fun as we share Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with our favorite couple.
> 
> Please take note...this chapter is not recommended for at work reading due to some very spicy sections.
> 
> Watch mphs95 on Twitter or MIBonesFan on Tumblr for some very special L & C Holiday Extras coming up.
> 
> Merry Christmas in July...Laura and Michelle.

            It was late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve as Jessica worked in the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner.  A pan of lasagna from Mr. Leonelli’s delicatessen was bubbling merrily in the oven as she put a tossed spinach salad together.  The fresh green beans were ready to be steamed before being dressed with a spicy vinaigrette.  The garlic knots had been placed on the baking sheet, having been brushed with a mixture of butter and light olive oil before being sprinkled with a delicate mixture of freshly minced herbs.  The cheesecake had been sliced and was waiting in the refrigerator for the fresh cherry sauce to be drizzled on top.  All she needed to do now was to open the bottle of Barbera wine that she’d purchased especially for the occasion on Mr. Leonelli’s recommendation.

            Giggling to herself, she wiped down the kitchen counter before getting out the good china and flatware.  The best part of this Christmas Eve dinner was that she’d managed to pull off the surprise and her boyfriend hadn’t suspected a thing.  She smiled indulgently as she glanced into the family room.  Aubrey was stretched out on the couch in his ratty old Syracuse sweatpants and a beat up Green Day tee shirt, supposedly watching _Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,_ but he was snoring softly instead. 

            Jessica smiled to herself.  _That’s not surprising, I guess, since we made love when we woke up around six this morning…then before and after breakfast...and before and after lunch…he must really be tired...wow...I wonder how things would be if we ever had a honeymoon..._

            Jessica had taken a nap after lunch, exhausted but satisfied as Aubrey had once again made her scream his name in a frenzy of passion in the downstairs bedroom.  _It has definitely been a wonderful day…_

            She hummed to herself as she set the table for their meal.  The contentment she felt at that moment wasn’t merely from being sexually satisfied after what had seemed to be a never ending period of abstinence.  This was different, although at first she wasn’t sure why.  _I mean, we’re still in a good place...we’re getting along...we’re working things out…_

            Then it suddenly hit her.  _This warm, comfortable feeling...this incredible, amazing feeling that I’ve never had before...this must be what it’s like to be loved...truly loved...just for being me.  James loves me!  Oh, my God...he loves me...and it’s so wonderful..._

            Of course, she’d known for a while how he felt about her.  He’d told her how he felt every chance he got, but this epiphany was like a jolt of electricity passing through her.  He loved her, and she loved him.  It seemed that they were bound together now...that she was fully committed to him, whether she’d originally planned to be or not.  She knew at that moment that she’d never be able to love another man the way she loved James Aubrey.

            Jessica was preoccupied with her thoughts as she watched the snowflakes float past the dining room window, so she didn’t notice her boyfriend had joined her until he put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

            “Something smells good...besides you, that is.”  He chuckled softly, but his laughter faded as he noticed that Jessica was sniffling quietly.  “What’s wrong?  Hey, I know you miss your family…” 

            She shrugged slightly, embarrassed at being caught up in her emotions.  “No...it’s nothing.  I’m fine.  Anyway, we’re going to see everybody tomorrow.  My brothers were quite understanding when I told them I wanted to spend Christmas Eve with you all by myself, especially since you were wounded last month and with what happened to you yesterday. They like you, so they gave me the official Warren thumbs up for the plan.  It’s going to take some careful timing, but I think we can manage seeing them for lunch and then going over to Dr. B’s later in the day.”

            “Um...okay.”  Unsure about if he was really getting the whole story, Aubrey nodded slightly.  _I trust her...if something’s bothering her, she’ll tell me sooner or later._ “So what’s that wonderful aroma?  Wait!  I know…” 

            He headed into the kitchen and opened the oven, letting out a happy laugh at his discovery.  “Italian sausage lasagna! My favorite...but when did you have time…”

            Pulling out some potholders from a nearby drawer, Jessica chuckled at Aubrey’s boyish enthusiasm.  “Well, I wanted us to have a nice Christmas Eve dinner, and I’d originally planned to make the lasagna from scratch, since I know how much you like it.  However, when you told me last night that you’d been released from your restrictions, I realized I probably wouldn’t have much time to cook, so I decided instead to stop at Mr. Leonelli’s deli to buy some things for our meal...a premade lasagna, rolls, some cheesecake and a nice bottle of wine.”   She gave him a flirty smile as she set the pan on the counter next to the stove.  “With our busy morning, it seems that I was correct…I’ve had very little time, thank you very much...” 

            “You’re so smart.   I’m glad you were thinking ahead, Jess.”  Aubrey wore a broad grin as he pulled her close.  “Because we may not have a lot of time to clean up the kitchen, either…”

            “It doesn’t take a genius like me to figure that out.”  She laughed as she gave him a quick kiss.  “Okay, dinner will be ready in 15 minutes.  Can you open that bottle of wine?”  She picked up the spinach salad as she nodded toward the dining room.  I’m going to finish setting the table.”

**Oooooooooo**

            “I hope you don’t think I overdid it, Aubrey...but I wanted things to be special for us this evening.”  Carrying the pan of lasagna, Jessica blushed slightly as she led him into the dining room.  “What do you think?”

            The white china plates had been laid out on bright red placemats, and matching cloth napkins were folded around the gleaming flatware.  A small tray filled with glowing votive candles, greenery, apples, and nuts made up the rustic centerpiece.  Poinsettias flanking a bowl of silver and gold ornaments on the nearby buffet gave the room a comfortable elegance.

            “Everything looks really nice, Jess.”  Giving her a hug, Aubrey paused to admire the place settings, running his finger around the silver rim of one of the dinner plates.  “I’m glad you decided to use my mom’s china.  The red linens really look good with it.”

            “Come sit down.”  She pointed to the head of the table.  “You sit there…”  She sat down across the corner from him and pushed the pan of lasagna towards him.  “Help yourself…” 

            They laughed and talked as they enjoyed their meal, each one reminiscing about Christmases from their childhood and youth as Christmas music played softly in the background.  After three helpings of lasagna, salad, garlic knots, and green beans, Aubrey grinned at his girlfriend.  “I thought I saw cheesecake in the refrigerator…with cherries.  I guess that’s for me, right?”

            “You are correct, sir.  I’m surprised you didn’t ask about it earlier.”  Jessica reached over to pick up his dinner plate.  “Would you like some coffee to go with it?”

            “Nah...maybe just another glass of wine.”  Rising from the table, he helped her carry the dishes to the kitchen sink.  “That was a great dinner…”

            “Thanks.  I wish I could take credit for it…”  Jessica handed Aubrey a dessert plate filled with a large slice of Mr. Leonelli’s famous New York style cheesecake.  “...but the people at the deli did most of the cooking…’’

            “Well, you know the old saying...it’s the thought that counts.”  He grinned as he pointed to the dining room.  “This looks great.  Let’s go enjoy it in there.”

            “Alright.” 

            They sat at the table quietly, eating their dessert as they watched the flames from the votives cast dancing shadows on the wall.  Finally Jessica smiled at her boyfriend.  “Did your family have any special Christmas traditions?  You know, things you did every year?”

            Studying his plate, Aubrey grimaced slightly.  “Oh, not really.  I mean, we always had a big Christmas tree...a real one, you know...and we always put these red glass ornaments on it.  They were all different shapes, but they were all shiny red mercury glass, and then my mom would stick these red velvet bows on the branches and string white lights on it.” 

            “Of course, my dad was all about the gifts...the more expensive, the better, so I always got the best gifts money could buy.”  He fidgeted with his fork as he continued.  “Not that is was always a good thing, you know?  He bought me a fancy silver and blue bicycle when I was six, but he never had time to help me learn to ride it, what with his business taking off at the time.  I got a Nintendo in ‘91 with Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt included on it, but I could never convince him to play on it with me...real men don’t do that sort of shit, playing games with kids, you know?  I ended up playing the games by myself, but I did get pretty good at them...”

            “Oh, James...that’s too bad…that kind of takes all the fun out of the presents, doesn’t it?”  Jessica was thoroughly disgusted with her boyfriend’s father.

            “Yeah, well...I got used to it after a while.  I taught my mom how to play Mario, and she’d sit and play it with me when my dad wasn’t home.  Eventually, once I discovered the awesomeness that is Star Wars, she tracked down that game for me, too, so that was fun.”  Aubrey scooped up a bite of his cheesecake.  “Anyway, even after my dad left, we had the biggest tree my mom could afford set up in the corner of the family room.  We always had that Nativity set on the mantle, too, and on Christmas Eve, my mom would tell me the story of Christ’s birth, and what part each of the people played in the story.  And then she’d say _‘everyone has a part to play in the Story of Life_ , _Jamie.’_   That was kind of her philosophy...that everyone was important...even my dad...” 

            Shrugging, he smiled at Jessica, silently vowing not to let his bitterness towards his father ruin their evening.  “And then on Christmas Day, we’d open gifts and have a nice Christmas dinner on the good china...usually both turkey and ham, even though if it was just Mom and me.  Sometimes, later in the day, we’d go to the movies...I remember seeing _Galaxy Quest_ one Christmas Day.  Anyway, our holiday was usually pretty quiet, since I didn’t have any grandparents or cousins to visit.  I didn’t actually experience a big family Christmas until I went to Booth’s house a couple of years back.  That was pretty cool, you know?  All of those people together...having so much fun...I loved it.  One day I want to have everybody come here…”  He took a sip of his wine.  “What about your family?  What traditions do they have?”

            Jessica laughed softly as she moved a cherry around on her plate.  “Well, things at the cooperative were always different than they were for most people.  Not everyone who lived there celebrated the holiday, so individual families did their own thing. “

            Sipping her wine, Jessica continued quietly.  “My dad never liked the crass commercialism associated with the holiday, but that never deterred my mother.  She always like to overspend on setting up an elaborate tree, all decorated with sets of uniform, perfect decorations.  Her goal was to make our home look like the cover of _Architectural Digest_ so we could show off to the other families in the cooperative.”

            “In other words...show up everyone since your family had money.” Aubrey said.  “Yeah, I can relate to that…my dad did pretty much the same thing.”

            “Yep.  I mean, we did have money through the family winery and also from Dad’s books and his research, so we were comfortable and could afford very nice things.  However, we were also still a family of six children who needed food, shelter, clothes...among other things.  We weren’t swimming in tens of millions of dollars, although my mother liked people to think otherwise.”

            Jessica paused to sip her wine.  “When it came to Christmas, my grandparents had raised my father to appreciate the holiday for its meaning, and he never cared about using the holiday to flaunt our wealth to everyone else.  That has never been the source of his self-esteem.   He usually went along with my mother when she wanted to buy something expensive, but during Christmas he always put his foot down, making sure we weren’t swallowed up by the urge to buy excess stuff we didn’t need.”

            Remembering his own father’s taste for ostentatious gifts, Aubrey nodded in agreement.  “That makes so much sense.”

            “It really does.  He didn’t want us spoiled, but to appreciate what we had, so my brothers and I would draw each other’s names, and that’s who we’d get a Christmas gift for.  We had a ten dollar limit, and creativity was encouraged.”  She smiled at a happy memory.  “One year Jack bought me ten dollars’ worth of embroidery supplies and then he taught me how to cross stitch, so for the next Christmas he got a cross stitched picture.”

            Aubrey smiled at the thought of the jack of all trades who ran the family business teaching his little sister to cross stitch.  “Cool!  Does he still have it?”

            Jessica smiled as she shook her head.  “I doubt it.  I was only ten years old, so it wasn’t very good…”            

            “I bet he still has it...you’re his baby sister.”  Aubrey scraped the remnants of his cheesecake from his plate.  “So what else did you guys do?”

            “We each received three gifts on Christmas Day.  One gift was always a book of some sort...my favorite was the year I got _The Secret Garden._ The second gift was usually a new article of clothing, like a shirt or a pair of jeans, and the third was maybe a game, an educational toy, or something to use for a hobby.  Michael used to get fishing tackle on a regular basis.  Aaron and I usually got science equipment, like microscopes or glassware that we could use to conduct experiments. Stephan usually got wrenches and other tools, since he has a natural bent towards that kind of thing.  Because Jack’s interests were so varied, he got a variety of things...gardening tools, binoculars, or chemistry sets. Jason loved history and research, so he got games like _Stratego_ or _Risk_.” 

            She sighed softly as she continued.  “We were always happy with whatever we got, but my mom usually complained about the gifts my dad got her.  One year, about a month after she was back on her meds again, he bought her a pair of beautiful diamond earrings and she took them back because she said they were too small.  I mean, you’ve met my mother...nothing ever pleases her.  Anyway, she whined for weeks after returning them, because she said she didn’t have enough money to buy what she really wanted.  I don’t even remember what it was now...I just remember how upset my dad was with her attitude.  After that Christmas drama, he decided it was just easier to hand her a couple of hundred dollar bills so she could go get whatever she wanted.”

            Jessica stared into her wine glass.  “Of course, all that ‘nonsense’ about us kids giving her handmade gifts was out of the question, too.  You know what I mean...like the pencil holder and picture frame Christine and Michael-Vincent gave you for your birthday because they love you so much?”

            Aubrey nodded.  “Yeah, they’re on my desk at work.  I love them.”

             “Well, my mother made it very clear that she didn’t have any use for _‘that sort of cheesy crap’._   If it didn’t come from Nordstrom’s, she wasn’t interested.  It made it hard for my brothers and me to give her anything, since we didn’t get much allowance…even for Michael, her favorite child.”

            “Nice.  Way to share the Christmas spirit…”, Aubrey snarked.  _Eleanor is a real piece of work…_

            “Yeah, well…for my dad, she used to spend two or three hundred dollars on designer silk ties to give him at Christmas, wanting him to look the part of a well to do man.  I can count the times on one hand when he actually wore one of them, and then it was only because she’d nagged him about it.  Showy gifts were never his thing.  He didn’t want to take them back, though, because he said that would’ve hurt my mom’s feelings...as if she had any.  He would’ve been much happier with a couple of good books or maybe some music CDs, but my mom wasn’t really concerned about what he wanted as much as what other people would say if she got him something inexpensive.  She was all about keeping up the appearance of being wealthy.  Eventually she gave up buying him anything since he was such an _‘ungrateful’_ man, although I don’t think he cared all that much.”

            Realizing she sounded somewhat bitchy, Jessica decided to change the subject.  “We did have one tradition I will always remember.  On Christmas Eve, my brothers and I all got to open one package.  It was usually underwear or socks, but still...it was part of the holiday fun.  One year my grandmother sent all of us these crazy socks...mine were different colors and they had chemical symbols all over them…”

            “That sounds pretty cool.  Booth would appreciate that.”, Aubrey said, snickering as he reached for his wine glass.

            “Yeah, it was, but the next year, I got a package of panties that had ruffles across the seat, which might’ve been cute, but I was 14 and going to college the following fall...”

            Aubrey guffawed loudly until the redhead slapped his arm.  “Stop laughing, Superman, or no more sex this weekend.”

            He cringed slightly when he realized he was serious.   “Damn, that’s low, Jess.”

            “I know.”  Running her finger around the rim of her wine glass, Jessica arched an eyebrow at Aubrey.  “Anyway, I’d like to continue that tradition and let you open a package tonight, but we need to clean up the kitchen first…and feed Skinner.”

            “Aww.  Do we have to?  Can’t that wait ‘til later?”, Aubrey whined.  “I want my present now…”

            “Well, it’s upstairs...and once we’re upstairs and you see what it is, you may not want to come downstairs for the rest of the evening…at least until you get the munchies...”  Jessica took a sip of her wine, waiting to see what Aubrey’s reaction to that tidbit would be.

            He swallowed hard as he realized what she meant.  “Hmm...I suppose it won’t take very long to clean up…”

            “I think you’re right.  I’m going to wash the china by hand, but everything else can go in the dishwasher.”  She pointed to the wine glasses.  “Let’s take these and the rest of the wine upstairs with us.”

            “You got it…”  Laughing to himself, Aubrey made a quick detour by the Christmas tree to pick up a box wrapped in silver paper.  “I think I’m going to like this tradition…”

**Oooooooooo**

            Aubrey sat on the edge of the bed, waiting impatiently for Jessica to come upstairs.  Her hints had been tantalizing...he had tried to imagine what she’d had in mind for the rest of the evening, but he already knew the reality would be much more satisfying.  

            Running his fingers over the silvery package, he laughed softly as he thought about how good Jessica would look as she modeled her gift.  “It’s going to be wonderful…”, he sighed.  “Now...where is she?”

            He was on the way to look for her when he heard her footsteps on the stairs.  He quickly sat back down on the bed and picked up a glass, pretending to sip his wine as she entered the room holding her phone and a large gift bag.

            “Sorry...Nadia called to see if we needed anything else for tomorrow.”  Arching her eyebrow at him, she put her phone on the dresser and winked at him before turning to dim the lights.  “For this present to be extra special, you need to follow my instructions completely, okay?  You need to let me be completely in charge.”

            “Um...okay.”  Aubrey was slightly confused, but he shrugged in agreement.  “What do you have in mind?”

            Jessica smiled as she handed him the bag.  “Here’s part of your present.  I think you’ll know what to do with it.  Then I need you to sit in that chair…”  She pointed to a small side chair across from the bathroom.  “...and lose the tee shirt…”

            “Okay…”  A questioning look crossed his face, but he took the bag and handed her the box.  “Oh, by the way...here’s a gift for you, too…”

            “Thank you.”  She bent down to kiss his cheek as she took the package.  “Give me a few minutes….”  She gave him a coy wave before stepping into the bathroom and closing the door.  Ripping the silver paper off the box, she giggled happily.  “Oh...this is gorgeous…” 

            She was thrilled as she picked up the short purple nightgown, admiring the slender panels of purple lace, sheer mesh, and satin in front, and then wearing a sly grin when she noticed the back was made completely of the mesh fabric. Turning it around, she gently touched the low cut embroidered lace cups before holding it up to herself and admiring it in the mirror.

            “He outdid himself this time…and this will make his present even better.”  Pushing the box aside, she quickly slipped out of her clothes and put on the lingerie.  “Oh, yeah...he’s going to love this on me…”  

            Pulling out the matching panties, she held them up and chuckled.  “Do I wear the panties...or not?  I think not...not right now, anyway…”

            On the other side of the bathroom door, Aubrey peeked into his gift bag and grinned from ear to ear.  “Whoa…this is great...” he gasped before pulling out a pair of royal blue silk sleep pants.  “These are so cool…”.

            He wasted no time tossing off his t-shirt and shimmying out of his sweatpants so he could put them on. The pants felt so smooth against his bare skin.  He slowly ran his fingers along the crease in the leg.   “Now this is the kind of underwear I like to get…I may never wear flannel again…”

_“_ James?  Are you ready _?”_ , Jessica called from the bathroom.

            “Yeah.  Hey, these pants are nice...whoa…”  He gaped in lustful surprise as he saw Jessica step out of the bathroom wearing her new purple nightgown.  Staring appreciatively, he was stunned, not quite believing what he saw.  When his vision continued further down, the hem of the gown’s skirt hit in just the right spot to reveal a wonderful vision.

            “You look beautiful, Babe...but, um...I think you forgot something…”

            “No, I didn’t forget.”  She gave him a sly grin.  “I didn’t want you to tear up the panties that go with this gown, at least not yet, so I decided to do without for now.  Besides...they’ll just get in the way.”  She ran her hands down her sides to her hips.  “I love this, by the way...it’s beautiful.  The color is perfect.  No one has ever given me such beautiful lingerie...” 

            “So it’s better than panties with ruffles on the butt?”  Aubrey laughed as she cringed slightly.  He gave her a wolfish grin as he once again admired her in her new sleepwear.  “I hope to make this our own Christmas tradition...a new lingerie set for you every year.”

            “I’m looking forward to that.”  Arching a flirty eyebrow, she ran her fingers through her hair, giving it a very sexy bedhead look.  “So...I did some research…”

            Aubrey was already well past listening to nerd speak.  “Can we just get to the good part?”  He held out both hands to her.  “C’mere…”

            “Not so fast.  Listen, okay?   While your restrictions were still in place, I did some research on ways to have low impact sex that wouldn’t cause any further injuries to your spleen.  Dr. B is an expert on kinesiology, and she pointed me in the right direction…”

            “I can’t believe you talked to Dr. B about us having sex!”  Aubrey was horrified.  “That’s not any of her business…”

            “Relax...it was all very clinical.  Anyway, she’s done extensive research on the cultural impact exotic dancing has had on a society’s social mores…”

            “English, please.”  Aubrey was becoming more impatient, wanting to get closer to his girlfriend as he moved to the edge of the seat.  “Come on, Jess…”

            “I’m in charge tonight, remember?”  She gave him a stern look, and he grumbled his apologies as he settled back in his chair.  “As I was saying, Dr. B has actually done some fan dancing, so she gave me some pointers on how to move seductively.”

            Jessica picked up her phone and accessed a music file.  “But she suggested a different kind of dancing would probably be more suitable for our situation.  She said if we were careful, we’d be able to enjoy it for Christmas, even if you weren’t officially released by the surgeon. After all, since your original appointment was the 26th, it was only going to be a day or two early, right?  Of course, now that you’ve actually been released, that makes it even better.”

_Sunset on Tatooine_ began to play softly.  After adjusting the sound, Jessica began to gyrate her hips slowly, raising the hem of her nightgown to the top of her thighs, teasing him with the idea that she was without panties as she ran her hand down between her thighs.  After a minute or two, she turned and bent over so he could get a good look at his favorite view.  “I’m going to give you a lap dance for Christmas, Superman…”

            “Oh, my God…”  Aubrey was mesmerized as he watched her turn and slink towards him in her sexy lingerie, which was barely covering the important parts.  “Really?  Oh, my God…”  He gasped in amazement as she cupped her breasts and licked her lips seductively.  “Um...oh wow...okay...maybe I should lose these pants…”

            “No...not yet.  I want to feel the silk fabric against my skin.”  Facing him, she straddled him as he sat in the chair, moving her hips side to side across his growing erection in time with the music.  “Listen...there’s the _Princess Leia_ theme…” 

            She ran her hands tenderly over his shoulders and down his arms before gently brushing his nipples with her fingertips.  “It’s my favorite part…”  She bent down to nibble his earlobe.  “I want you to be my Solo…”, she whispered before laying kisses down his jaw.  She swayed with the music, running her hands through her hair as she continued to ride him.   “I want you, Aubrey…”            

            Aubrey wasn’t paying attention to the music anymore.  All he could think about was the fact that Jessica’s breasts were straining against the peekaboo lace cups, tantalizingly close to his mouth, but with the way she was moving, he couldn’t quite reach them with his tongue.  Reaching up to caress her, he groaned softly.  “Don’t you want to get closer?”

            “Don’t be naughty.”  She moved his hand back to his sides.  “I still have some dancing to do.”  Still straddling Aubrey, Jessica’s fingers moved between them to caress his throbbing arousal as she continued her dance, and he responded to her touch with a soft groan.  “I guess you like that, huh?”, she laughed.  “Want some more?”

            He nodded slowly, unable to form a coherent sentence as she stroked him in time with the music.  Cupping her butt cheeks, he tried to hold her in place as he strained against her.  “Unnhhh…”

            “Good.  On to the next song.”  The _Imperial March_ began, and Jessica’s body moved up and down against Aubrey’s erection in time with the music’s strong beat.  He began bucking against her, desperate to enter her. 

            “Come on, Jess…let me in, please.”, he whispered hoarsely.  “I can’t wait much longer.”

            She looked at his desperate expression and giggled.  “Okay...if you insist.”  She stood up, allowing him to quickly remove the sleep pants.  “Sit back down…”

            He eased himself into the chair, getting a pleasant shock when she caressed him once again.  “Jessica…” Aubrey moaned.  “What are you doing…c’mon...you said...”

            “Patient you must be.” She fisted him once or twice more before turning her back to him and easing herself over his member until he was completely inside of her. 

            “Oh, fuck…” the agent groaned as he was surrounded by his lover’s heat.

            Reaching for his hands, she placed them over her breasts as the _Star Wars Battle Theme_ began.  She started out slowly, moving gently up and down on him, increasing her speed as the music reached its frenzied peak. Aubrey’s hands seemed to be everywhere while she writhed against him, his fingers slipping under the lace gown so he could run his thumbnails across her rosy nipples to her moans of pleasure.   He tickled and stroked the silky skin of her inner thighs and stimulated her damp folds with his long, talented fingers...gently at first, and then more urgently as the battle music raged on.

            She continued her dance with him, grinding her body against him as he repeatedly thrust into her, spurred on by his moans and cries of pleasure.  Finally he grabbed her hips and called out her name in a fit of passion.  Feeling her boyfriend reach his forceful climax, emptying himself into her, Jessica finally let herself go in a wave of pleasure. 

            “Wow…”, she sighed as she slumped back against him.  “We may have to do that dance more often…”

            “Yeah…”, he panted, pulling her close and kissing the base of her neck.  “I’ll say one thing...whenever we dance, if you want to lead, I won’t have any problem with it.”  

            He helped her turn around so she was facing him again.  “Merry Christmas Eve, Jess, and thanks for my present.”  He grinned as he pointed to her phone.  “Do you have any other music saved on there?  Maybe we can ‘dance’ to it, too…”

**Oooooooooo**

            Groaning as she rolled over early the next morning, Jessica was met with her boyfriend’s cocky grin. 

            “Time to get up!  It’s Christmas!”  He began tickling her bare skin as she squealed with laughter.

            “Stop...come on, Aubrey…”  Breathless, she smiled up at him.  “You must think you’re getting some presents, but I’m not sure...have you been a good boy?”

            He bent down to kiss her.  “Well, you told me I was great more than once last night, so I guess that qualifies.  Besides, I’m hungry…”

            “There’s a surprise.”, Jessica said sarcastically.  She grabbed her phone from the nightstand.  “What time is it?  6:30? Are you crazy? You woke me up at 6:30 just because you’re hungry?” Pulling the blanket up around her shoulders, she turned away from him.  “Wake me up at eight…”

            “Nope...you’ve got to get up.  We’re going to open presents and have some breakfast, and then we’ll need to shower and straighten up the house, because your family will be here later.  Come on...we can take a _‘nap with benefits’_ this afternoon to make up for it, but it’s Christmas morning, so let’s go!  Rise and shine!”

            Huffing out a sigh, Jessica turned over and glared at her overly enthusiastic boyfriend.  “But I’m so tired…”

            “I know, but it’s a good tired, right?”  Aubrey grinned as he remembered how many times they’d made love within the last 24 hours.  “It was worth it, wasn’t it?”

            “I suppose…”  She laughed as she saw his pretend scowl.  “Okay...let me find my robe and we can have our Christmas.”

            “Yay!”  Pleased with himself, Aubrey picked up his new pajama pants from the floor.  “These pants are so cool, but they look kind of funny with a tee shirt”, he commented as he pulled them on.  “Maybe I need to get a nice robe to go with them…”

            “If I remember correctly, you didn’t wear them that long last night...but maybe next year you’ll get something to wear over them.”  Pushing her hair out of her face, Jessica loosely tied the sash on her robe.  “Okay, let’s go have Christmas.”

**Oooooooooo**

            After feeding Skinner and giving him a new catnip mouse, the couple sat on the floor in front of the glittering Christmas tree. 

            “Wow...look at all the presents.  I don’t know which one to open first…”, Jessica began.  “I think you went way overboard, Aubrey.”

            “Nah...remember, we didn’t have a three gift rule at my old man’s house, so I can give you as many presents as I want.”  He chuckled as he pulled out a red gift bag from the pile.  “Here...start with this one…”

            “Okay…” After removing the tissue paper, she peeked inside the bag and then laughed out loud.  “It’s about time you replaced them!”  She pulled out several pairs of panties in a variety of colors and fanned them out on the carpet in front of the tree. “Thongs….cheekies...bikinis...oh...what are these?”  

            She held up three pieces of sheer mesh and lace, one black, one red, and the third a vivid cobalt blue.  Realizing what they were, she grinned.  “Crotchless?  James Aubrey!  What were you thinking?”

            He pretended to be embarrassed as she inspected them closely.  “Well, you know...sometimes I get in a hurry and then I end up tearing up your panties, so I thought maybe this way it’d be easier for both of us…you know, easy in, easy out...”

            She gave him a sultry smile.  “True...but really, the way these are cut, I might as well not wear any panties at all…”

            “Yeah...I guess they’re more for decoration...here, open this one…”  He handed her box wrapped in gold paper.  “It kind of goes with those…”

            “A bustier?”  Jessica beamed as she held up the lacy black garment and the matching tanga panties.  “Oh James...it’s beautiful.  I don’t think I’ve ever had such nice lingerie...never.”  Licking her lips, she winked at her boyfriend.  “Of course, it could be that someone I know is merely giving in to his lingerie fetish, right?”

            “Hmm...could be, but with such a gorgeous model to wear them, who could blame him?”  Aubrey reached over to give her knee a gentle squeeze.  “I had fun shopping for everything at that little store by the diner, and I think Booth did, too…”

            “Wait a minute...Booth went with you?  The two of you were at the lingerie shop together?  That’s hysterical…”  Jessica giggled as the image of the two FBI agents looking through dozens of bras and panties flashed through her mind.

            “Yeah, well, he drove me there the day you had your thing at the bistro, so he decided to look around, too.”  Aubrey shrugged at her surprise.  “It turns out that he likes to buy Dr. B that frilly stuff, too.” 

            Jessica shook her finger at her boyfriend.  “I knew you two were up to something when I came home that day.  You both looked so guilty.”

            Chuckling, he leaned over to let Jessica in on a secret.  “Booth bought Dr. B a couple of things for role playing…”

            Holding up her hands, Jessica interrupted with a groan.  “Okay, way too much information.  I do not need to know what Booth and Dr. B do in their spare time.”   Reaching underneath the tree, she brought out a box wrapped in snowman paper.  “Your turn…”

            Pulling the paper away from the box, he wore a bright smile.  “Wow...this is cool…”  It was a gray tee shirt that had a picture of Kylo Ren standing with the First Order emblem.  “I don’t have any shirts from the newer movies…”

            “I thought you’d like it.  Here...open this one next…”  She held out a small bag. 

            “Tickets to the Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle here in DC!”  Aubrey let out an excited whoop as he hugged his girlfriend.  “That’s great!  I can’t wait…”

            “Well, it’s not until June, but the tickets can be preordered...look...these let you in to the event early so you can meet some of the chefs…”

            “Thanks, Jess!”  An ecstatic Aubrey pumped his fist as he read the tickets again.  “I may have to take a vacation day...you, too...by the time we make it around to all the food booths...the sampling pavilion...watching the hot dog eating contest...we’re going to need to rest the whole next day.  It’s going to be so exciting…all that meat cooking with rubs and sauces, just waiting for us to try it...”

            Happy that her Superman was pleased, Jessica laughed to herself.  _I wonder if his other gifts will make him as happy._ She was surprised as Aubrey handed her another gift.  “You’re spoiling me…”

            “Actually, this one is for myself…” 

            “For you, but you’re giving it to me?  That’s intriguing.”  Jessica opened the gift to reveal two more sets of lingerie:  a deep turquoise baby doll nightgown with matching panties, and a sheer seafoam green confection.

            Pleased with his girlfriend’s squeals of delight, Aubrey grinned.  “Maybe you can wear one of them tonight…” 

            “Maybe so…they’re both beautiful, but I thought the tradition was going to be to give me one new nightie at Christmas…”  Jessica blushed slightly.  “This is so extravagant...I don’t know what to say…”

            “Say you like them.”  Aubrey shrugged as he checked under the tree again.  “I couldn’t decide what color to get, you know...purple or turquoise or green...and Booth was getting antsy while I talked with the sales clerk, so I just decided to get all of them.  It was easier that way...” 

            “So you got me all three because it was easier?”  Jessica giggled as she ran her fingers across the pale green fabric.  “I know better...I’m surprised you were able to limit yourself to only three…”

            “Yeah, you’re right.  It was a struggle.”  Chuckling softly, he handed Jessica another package, much to her chagrin, but he shrugged off her embarrassment.  “Look, I know maybe I overdid it on the presents this year, but indulge me a little bit, okay?  I haven’t gotten to do this for someone in a long time…and it is our first Christmas together as a couple...”

            “I know...and I had fun shopping for you, too.”  She handed him another small package.  “Maybe next year we can be more rational…”

            “Yeah, probably so.”  He laughed out loud as he read the note attached to the gift card.  “This coupon entitles the bearer to one baker’s dozen of doughnuts per week for 52 weeks.  You bought me a year’s worth of doughnuts from my favorite doughnut shop?  That’s amazing…”

            Jessica nodded as she unwrapped her gift.  “I knew you’d like that...Oh, James!”  She smiled as she thumbed through a book.  _The Princess Diarist_ by Carrie Fisher!  I wanted this so badly…that’s why you kept talking me out of buying it...”

            “Yeah, I know.  I had to preorder that back in October.”  Looking at the tree, he pointed at a large box behind the tree.  “What’s that?”

            “Oh…”  Jessica smiled shyly as she got up to hand him the box.  “It’s something for your Star Wars room, or maybe for your man cave, if you want.  Here...open it...but you need to be careful, okay?  It’s fragile...”            

            Aubrey was a picture of concentration as he tore off the wrapping paper and carefully opened a packing carton.  Pulling away the bubble wrap, he sat in quiet awe as he studied the object.

            “Um…”  Surprised by his silence, Jessica chewed her lip nervously.  “I can send it back…”

            “Don’t you dare!”  He glared at her as he pulled the box closer.  “Sorry...that sounded rude, but this is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen…it’s the Death Star...the holographic plans from _Return of the Jedi..._ ”

            “Yeah, it’s a lampshade made out of recycled strips from the film.  It’s one of a kind…”  Jessica watched as he held it up to get a better look at it.  “You like it, right?”

            “Of course I do.  I love it, actually, but it must’ve cost a fortune.  You shouldn’t have spent that much money on me, Jess.”  He carefully put the shade back in the box.  “I’ll have to make sure I put it where Skinner can’t knock it over.

            “It wasn’t all that much.  Besides, when I saw it on Etsy, I knew you had to have it, and I would’ve paid a lot more for it.”  Jessica was thrilled with her boyfriend’s reaction.  “Merry Christmas, Superman…”

            He handed her a square box.  “Merry Christmas to you.  I hope you like your gift as much as I like mine.”  He watched with excitement as she unwrapped the package. 

            “Aubrey…”, she breathed, pulling out a small gold heart shaped lock with a tiny gold key attached.  The charm was hanging from a fine gold chain.   “...it’s beautiful.”

            “I want you to know...that you have the key to my heart.”

            “Help me put it on!”  Jessica held it up to her neck so he could fasten the tiny clasp for her.  “I love it...I may never take it off…”

            “I’m glad...but did you see what else was in the box?”  He grinned at her.  “I hope you like it, too…”

            “Oh…”  Picking up a layer of tissue paper, Jessica found a key ring that had an engraved silver heart attached to it.  “You will forever be my always…”, she read as she fidgeted with the key hanging from it.  “That’s so sweet!”, she sniffled, suddenly feeling emotional as she considered the meaning behind that statement.  “But what’s this key for?”

            “You mean besides my heart?”  Putting his arms around her, Aubrey pulled her close.  “It’s the key to my...our...house.  I want you to be able to come and go as you please, but there are no conditions, okay?  You don’t have to give up your apartment or anything like that.  I just want you to feel at home here...hey, why are you crying?”  Surprised by her tears, he quickly backtracked.  “Listen, you don’t have to keep the key…”

            “It’s not that.”  Wiping her eyes, Jessica handed him a small box.  “Here...open it.”  

            “B-b-but…”, Aubrey stammered.

             “Please?  Just open it.”  The redhead gave him a pointed look and he knew better than to argue with her. 

             Pulling off the paper, he opened the box and found an electronic key fob inside.  “Darth Vader?”  Pressing a button on the base of the tiny figure, Vader’s eyes lit up.  Pressing another button on the back, it emitted light saber sounds.  “Cool!”  He grinned as he noticed the key attached.  “Is this what I think it is?”

             “It’s the key to my apartment.  I want you feel like we can share everything, even my little apartment.”  She blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed.  “It’s not like I have a lot to share with you, you know?  I mean, I think we might spend most of our time here, since it’s bigger…”

             “I think it’s wonderful...just the thought that you want to share that part of your life with me is incredible.  I’m so glad you trust me like that…”  He leaned down to kiss her.  “This is the best gift I’ve ever received, Jess...I mean it.  I love it.”

             “I love my key, too.”  She smiled as she took his hand.  “This was a big step for both of us, and I’m glad we took it together.”  Picking up a piece of torn wrapping paper, she glanced around the room.  “I guess we’d better clean up, since my family will be here soon.  Do you want something to eat?”

             “Yeah...c’mere.”  Aubrey pulled her close and gave her a passionate kiss.  “But I’m not hungry for omelets or waffles, if you know what I mean.”  He untied the belt of her robe and pushed it down over her shoulders, running his hands over her smooth skin.  “I want to nibble on something else.”

              Jessica giggled as he pulled her over on top of him.  “I think I can satisfy your hunger…”

              “And my fantasies, too. See, for a long time I’ve had this dream about having sex with a beautiful woman underneath a Christmas tree…”

             “Your wish is my command.”  Jessica gave him a flirty wink as she bent down to kiss him.  “I guess the waffles will have to wait…”


	55. Christmas Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Aubrey and Jessica had a wonderful first Christmas together, didn't they? Now it's time for her family to come over for the day. Will that be as eventful as Thanksgiving? Read on to find out.

            Hearing a strange noise coming from somewhere close at hand, Aubrey’s eyes slowly opened.  “Hmm…”, he muttered to himself.  “...what was that?”  After listening for a minute, he turned toward the Christmas tree.  “Oh...just the cat.” 

            He watched in amusement as Skinner crawled underneath a pile of crumpled wrapping paper, looking for another piece of ribbon to play with.  “Okay…just don’t eat any of that stuff, Skinner.  Christmas ribbon turds are not the kind of gifts Daddy wants to see in your litter box again this year.” 

            Grinning to himself, he gently pulled his sleeping girlfriend closer so he could complete his nap in comfort.  So what if they were lying naked in a pile of cast off clothing, leftover ribbon, torn paper, and empty boxes?  It was his house, and they could spend their first Christmas morning together any way they wanted.

            Skinner, unfortunately, had other ideas.  He was busy crawling into empty gift bags and jumping from box to box, pausing now and then to paw at the tissue paper as it moved ever so slightly.  After a few minutes, the tabby was bored with his new playthings, so he jumped up on his man’s leg.  “MEE-OW!”

            “OW!  Get those damn claws out of me, you crazy cat!”  Taking a gentle swipe at the kitty, Aubrey brushed Skinner away.  “What is your problem?”

            Undeterred, Skinner rubbed his head down Aubrey’s arm before trying to climb onto his chest.  “Meow…”, the cat responded, kneading his owner’s shoulder.   “Meow…”

            Jessica sighed softly as she snuggled against her boyfriend.  “I think he’s hungry again.  In many ways, he’s just like his master…”

            “Yeah, but we just fed him, right?  I mean we got up at 6:30 and put some food out for him, and now it’s…”  He paused as he glanced at his phone.  “Now it’s 10:30.  Well, I guess he could be ready to eat...he probably wants his second breakfast.”

            Surprised as she reached for Aubrey’s phone, Jessica gasped loudly.  “10:30?  Oh, no...Aubrey!  My family’s supposed to be here in thirty minutes!”

            “What?  I thought they were coming at 11:30!”  Aubrey sat up, running his fingers through his dark hair as he looked around the family room.  “And this place is a mess…”

            “And neither of us is dressed...we both need showers…”

            “Okay, well, we don’t have time to talk about what we need to do.”  He grimaced as he looked at the pile of debris.  “I tell you what...I’ll start cleaning up this mess and you go shower.  That way you’ll be ready when everyone gets here...I mean, you know, since it is your family...”

            “That’s a good idea...although I don’t like to shower by myself anymore…”  She gave him a sultry grin as she picked up her robe and one of her gift bags.  “...but it seems desperate times call for desperate measures.  Maybe we can make up for it tonight…” 

            She licked her lips as she moved towards the stairs.  “Just something to think about all day today…Merry Christmas...”

            “Wow…”  He stopped cleaning to watch his nude girlfriend as she walked up the stairs.  “Yeah, I’ll definitely be thinking about that all day long…”

**Oooooooooo**

            Zipping in and out of the shower, Jessica laughed to herself as she ran a towel over hair.  It was amazing how much quicker it was to bathe when she was alone.  _It’s not nearly as much fun, though…”_

            Throwing her towel in the hamper, she combed her damp hair away from her face and brushed her teeth.   Grabbing a gray MSU sweatshirt and her favorite skinny jeans from the closet, she tossed them on the bed before opening the small bag she’d brought upstairs. 

            “Look at these cuties.”, she cooed as she held up the bright blue crotchless panties.  “Might as well get some use out of them…and I’ve got just the bra to match them, too.”  Grinning slyly, she giggled to herself.  “Aubrey really likes that bra.”

            Throwing on her clothes, she raced downstairs to find the family room neat as a pin.  “Wow...how did you manage to finish cleaning so quickly?”  She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend’s waist as he finished dumping ripped wrapping paper into the kitchen trash can.  “You really must be faster than a speeding bullet…”

            “Nah...I just put everything in a big trash bag and tossed it in the closet in the man cave...except for my lampshade, that is.  I put that on the upper shelf.  Anyway, I figure we can go through the bag later and make sure we’ve gotten the good stuff separated from the trash, and it’ll be like Christmas all over again.”  Aubrey wore a wide grin as he reached over to touch Jessica’s new necklace.  “Do you really like your gifts, Jess?”

            “Yes, I love them.”  Giving him a kiss and a flirty wink, she pulled away.  “And I’ll show you how much I love them later.  Right now, though, you need to go get in the shower and I need to get the food set out.  My family will be here any minute.  You know my dad hates to be late...they’ll be here at 11:00 sharp!”

            “Oh, okay…”  Aubrey sighed, drooping his shoulders dramatically.  “I guess I can wait until later…”

            “Go!”  Jessica pointed at the stairs, giggling at his sad puppy eyes.  He continued to slowly made his way across the family room until she snapped him with a dish towel.

            “Hey, watch it there, woman...my ass a hot commodity, you know!” Aubrey yelled as he ran up the stairs to Jessica’s laughter.

**Oooooooooo**

            Aubrey was just about to get in the shower when his phone rang.  “What the hell?”, he grumbled softly.  “I’m off today…Aubrey…”

            “Hey...it’s Booth…Merry Christmas, buddy…”

            “Yeah...Merry Christmas to you, too.”, Aubrey responded suspiciously.  “What’s up?  Is there a problem?  Do we have a case?”

_“Well…”,_ Booth began, hesitating slightly as he cleared his throat.  “I do have a problem, but it’s not work related.  Me and Bones...we need a favor…”

            “Um...sure...what can I do for you?”

            “It’s a big favor…but...”  Booth coughed nervously.  “Look...a transformer blew up on the electrical lines down the street from my house, so we don’t have any electricity right now.  The power company says it’s going to be out until late tonight...they have to get an emergency crew out on a holiday, so it’s going to take some time to get it fixed.  Anyway, we’re supposed to have everybody over for dinner today, but…”

            “But that’s going to be hard with no power, right?”, Aubrey chuckled.

            “Yeah.  We were in the middle of fixing stuff and the lights just blinked off, you know?  I mean, the potatoes are only halfway done…and the pies are still raw.”  Booth chuckled as he continued.  “No pie for you, I guess.”

_‘No pie for Christmas?  I don’t think so.’_  Aubrey thought.  “Well, that’s not going to happen. Why don’t you guys just pack up everything and bring it over here? Call everybody and tell them we’ll eat at my house.  That’d be the easiest thing to do, right?”

            “That’s what I was going to suggest, if you don’t mind, that is. I mean, it’s a little late to cancel the whole thing, but it’s not too bad if we just change locations. I know it’s an imposition, but you won’t really have to do anything.  We cooked the ham and turkey yesterday, so that’s already done, and people are bringing sides to have with it.  We just need to bake the pies and a couple of casseroles.  We’d have it at Hodgins’ house, but Bones doesn’t think Angela’s up for it…she’s been really tired with her pregnancy…besides, there won’t be any Karen this time...”

            “No Karen is definitely a point in your favor.”, Aubrey said, laughing along with Booth.  “Sure, it’s no problem.  When do you think people going to get here?”

            “Well, let’s see...it’s almost 11 now...and we have to let everybody know...so maybe 1:00-1:30?  Somewhere around in there.  Bones and I will head over there pretty soon so we can get things going. Will that work?”

            “Of course.  Jessica’s family will be visiting and we’re having sandwiches and munchies shortly, but, you know...the more, the merrier.  We can eat again this afternoon.”

            “If you’re sure...I don’t want to intrude on your family Christmas time…”

            “No, it’s fine.  Anyway, I think they’d all like to meet you and Dr. B, so come on over, okay? See you soon.” 

            Ending the call, Aubrey grinned as he turned on the shower.  _‘S_ o I guess I’m getting one of my Christmas wishes after all.  I’m going to have everybody at my house for Christmas dinner.’

**Oooooooooo**

            Running down the stairs, Aubrey called to Jessica.  “Hey...there’s been a small change in plans…”

            “Oh?  What’s going on?”  Jessica looked as if she might cry.  “You don’t have to go to work, do you?  Do you have a case?”

            “No, nothing like that.”  He grinned as he bent down to kiss her.  “Booth and Dr. B don’t have any electricity at their house, and it’s going to be awhile before it’s restored, so they asked if we could have everybody over here for Christmas dinner.  I said yes...I hope you don’t mind…”

            “Actually, I think that’ll work out better.  That way we don’t have to rush around getting ready to go somewhere later, right?”

            “Exactly.”  Aubrey gave her another kiss.  “Have I ever told you that you’re brilliant and beautiful?”

            “Yes, but I don’t mind hearing it again.  I love you…”, she said, caressing his cheek gently.  She was about to kiss him again when the doorbell rang.  “My family’s here!”

            Running to the door, she checked the video monitor before opening.  “Merry Christmas!”

            “Hey!  Merry Christmas to you, too!”  Aaron beamed happily as he held the door open for Nadia, who was carrying a plate of Christmas cookies.  “The girls are bringing in the rest of the food, and Niki is helping Dad…” 

            “Come on in...here, I’ll take your coats.” 

            After hanging up their outerwear, Jessica indicated a place on the counter for the platters of fresh vegetables and bowls of salad that Annabelle and Charlotte had brought in from the car.  “Let’s put these here…” 

            “Aubrey has a nice house, Jessie.”  Nadia said as she handed Jessica the cookies.  “It must be fun to cook in such a nice kitchen.

            Turning to the refrigerator, Jessica took out some large trays of cold cuts and assorted sliced cheeses she’d purchased from Mr. Leonelli’s deli.  Turning back to the counter, she smiled as she saw her nephew and father come into the kitchen.  “Hi, Dad.  Sorry we’re not having a big fancy dinner...but with everything that’s happened lately...”

            “It’s...okay...honey.”  Charlie wore his usual lopsided grin as he slowly walked into the kitchen, leaning heavily on his grandson’s arm.  “You’ve been...b...b...busy.”

            “You’re right.”  Jessica reached up to give her father a kiss on the cheek.  “We have been very busy, but the good news is that Aubrey is back at work, and maybe life finally can get back to normal around here.”

            Snagging a carrot, Niki gave his aunt a hug.  “Does Aubrey still have that sweet gaming system he talked about on Thanksgiving?”

            Walking into the kitchen, Aubrey grinned at Jessica’s oldest nephew.  “I sure do, Niki.  First food...then an epic battle on _Aerial Attack_.  You in?”

            “So in, G-Man.”

            Nadia grinned, resting her hands on her baby bump as she heard her son and Aubrey trash talking each other in the living room.  “So I see things are going well with your cute FBI agent, right?”

            Before Jessica could answer, the doorbell rang again.  “I bet that’s Stephan and Gail…” 

            “I’ll get it.”  Aubrey checked the video feed, and then opened the door, smiling as he stepped out on the porch to greet the visitors.  “Merry Christmas.  Come on in.”  Taking a container of potato salad from Gail, he grinned. ”Oooh, you remembered!  I love this stuff.”

            “Of course I remembered.  I knew I’d be in trouble if I didn’t bring it.”, the mechanic said, smiling as she recited the recipe.  “I used Yukon gold potatoes, pickle relish, and Vidalia onions, and, of course, I added extra mayonnaise, just the way you like it.”

            “And, in keeping with the Spirit of Christmas, she made a double batch so you and I wouldn’t fight over it.”  Towering over Aubrey, Stephan wore a big smile as he shook the agent’s hand.  “You’re looking good, man…I guess you’ve almost fully recovered…”            

            “Yeah, pretty much.  Jessica’s been a big help, you know?”  Aubrey grinned bashfully.  “I don’t know what I would’ve done without her...”

            “Knock, knock.  Why are you standing on the porch with the door open?” 

            The two men turned to see Jack and Greg come up the front walk carrying a pan of brownies, paper sacks filled with loaves of different kinds of bread and assorted condiments, as well as a cloth bag with _Saoirse Finn_ printed on it filled with bottles of wine.  “Aren’t you getting cold standing out here?”, Jack asked. “Or did we decide to have an al fresco Christmas dinner?”

            “Merry Christmas, you little shit”, Stephan teased as he grinned at his brother. “Come on, let’s go inside and have some lunch.”

            “Only by four years...only four years...but I guess that makes you the big shit right?”  Jack joked as the couple followed Stephan into the house.  “Nice digs, Aubrey…”

            “Thank you.”, Aubrey replied before being interrupted by Stephan.

            “Screw you, little brother...you know Mike is the biggest shit of all, then it’s me.”,Stephan responded, laughing as Aubrey closed the door with a large smile on his face.

**oooooooooo**    

             A short time later, Aubrey’s kitchen counter was transformed into a lavish buffet, with two large platters holding an assortment of cold cuts and cheeses.  Another large platter filled with different types of breads was sitting next to the meat, as well as various condiments, and several varieties of pickles and potato chips.  Different types of salads and Nadia’s cookies were nearby.  Next to those were several 2 liter bottles of pop as well as a couple bottles of _Saoirse Finn_ wines.  In the fridge were bottled water and beer.

            “Wow!  Look at this great spread!”  Greg smiled at Jack as he fixed himself a sandwich.  “Cotto salami or pastrami?  I can’t decide what to have first!”

            “Well, save room for brownies.”  Jack cut a large section from the pan and put it in the middle of his plate, much to everyone’s amusement.  “What?  These are my favorite and I want to make sure I get one.  You know how Aubrey is…I still remember what happened with Aubrey at Thanksgiving...”

            “Hey…”, Aubrey interrupted.  “They’re worth fighting for.  The ones you sent me while I was in the hospital were great, Jack...once I was finally allowed to eat them.  Your sister was mean to me, you know...”

            “No, I was making sure you followed the doctor’s orders while you were on bed rest, James Aubrey.”, Jessica retorted from the kitchen.

            “Everything looks good, Aunt Jessie!”  Niki grinned as he made himself three roast beef sandwiches.  “I’m hungry.”

            “Somehow I’m not surprised.  Okay, everyone...help yourselves to the food, and then join us in the family room.”  Jessica smiled happily, watching as her family talked and laughed with each other while they filled their plates with food.  Turning to her sisters-in-law, she shrugged shyly.  “Well, I know it’s not a traditional Christmas dinner…”

            “...but who has time to cook a big meal anyway, right?  I mean, we’re all busy with work and with life in general.” Gail chuckled as she put a spoonful of grape salad on her plate.  “Besides, in my experience with the Warrens, none of us are sticklers for tradition anyway.”

_‘And Mom isn’t here to make a scene about us doing things the non-traditional way…’_ Jessica grimaced slightly as she set out more paper plates.  Her mother had sent an email saying she was spending Christmas in Las Vegas with friends from work.  _“I guess that makes things better for everyone…’_

            “It also helps that Eleanor isn’t crashing this holiday.”, Nadia muttered quietly as she spread some Dijon mustard on pumpernickel bread.  After layering the bread with some ham and turkey and a thick slice of cheddar, she put the stack together and cut the sandwich into fourths.  “I think this was great idea, Jessie.  We can fix what we want and then enjoy each other’s company, right?  And it’ll be a lot easier to clean up.”

            Jessica smiled at her favorite sister-in-law.  “Very true.”

            Nadia carried a plate holding the sandwich and some chips into the family room where Charlie was sitting next to Aubrey.  “Here you go tată…”

            “Thank...thanks.”  The older man glared playfully at the agent as he put his plate on a small table next to his chair..  “Hands...off my...sang...sand...wich...buddy…”

            “Yes, sir!”  Aubrey held up his hands in mock surrender.

            “Don’t worry, Dad...if he manages to steal it, you can have another one.”  Stephan came to sit on the other side of his father.  “Jessica’s got enough stuff in the kitchen to feed a small army.  There’s lots of lunch meat, so Aubrey can have five or six sandwiches.   Remember?  Like he did when he used the leftover turkey, mici, some rolls and the rest of the sides to make those mini Dagwoods at Thanksgiving?”

            “I have low blood sugar!”, Aubrey said, chewing a bite of his sandwich.  “I have to eat to keep up my strength.  Jess, you’ve explained that to them right?”

            “I did explain it, but I’m not sure they’re buying it, Superman.”  Jessica laughed indulgently as she helped herself to some potato salad before coming to sit down next to her boyfriend.  “Hey, I knew I’d have to feed Aubrey, Aaron, Jack, Greg, and Niki today, so I decided it was better to be safe than sorry.  Anyway, I’m sure we won’t have any leftovers, but even if we do, Aubrey can take them in his lunch next week, since he’s back to work full time.”

            “So you’re feeling better, Aubrey?”, Aaron asked sympathetically.  “You know, you really gave us a scare…”

            “Yeah, you did.”  Gail shook her head as she grimaced slightly.  “And what happened the other day at the hospital didn’t help any…”

            “I feel great.  And as for Friday...just another day at the office…”  Slightly embarrassed at being the center of attention, Aubrey decided to change the subject.  “So Jessica has been telling me about one of your family’s Christmas traditions…”

            Aaron, Stephan, and Jack all grinned at each other.  “New underwear, right?”, Aaron asked, delighted to have a chance to tease his little sister.  “Yep...it wouldn’t be a Warren Christmas without all of us getting new underwear.” 

            “Please tell me we are not going to talk about underwear!” Jessica blushed as she remembered which pair of panties she was wearing under her jeans.  “Seriously?”  She wore a sly smile when she saw Aubrey’s furtive glance, knowing he was thinking about the same thing.

            “Yeah, Jessica was telling me about that.”, the agent began in a teasing tone.  “She mentioned something about getting underwear with ruffles on the seat…”

            “Yeah...Granny was sure proud of those, wasn’t she, Jessie?”  Stephan laughed as he winked at his little sister.  “Remember how she wanted you to model them for the rest of us?”

            “Oh, really…”, Aubrey chuckled.  “I bet that was interesting…”

            Mortified, Jessica glared at her brothers.  “Shut up, you guys!  Aubrey doesn’t want to hear about that!” 

            Aubrey interrupted her.  “Actually, Jess, Aubrey does want to hear about it.  Stephan, please tell the story.”

            “Aubrey, you asshat!”  Jessica was horrified as her brothers began to describe what had happened.

            Jack raised an eyebrow as he set the scene.  “There were three pair of ruffled pastel panties in the package...yellow, pink, and blue…”

            “And Granny wanted to see if they fit…”, Stephan added.  “So she sent Jessica to her room to put them on…”

            “And then hollered for her to come out and show us…”  Aaron chuckled at the memory.  “Jessie was so mad…her face was about as red as her hair...but Granny wouldn’t quit until we got a fashion show…”

_“Jessica Elizabeth...I want to see how your pretty new panties fit…”,_ Jack repeated in an old lady’s voice to his brothers’ amusement until the anthropologist threw her chips in his face.  “Hey Jessie...that’s not nice…”

            Seeing his daughter’s embarrassment, Charlie cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.  “Michael...skiing...with...the...girls...Vermont.  Called...me...last ni...ni..night.  Sent me…”  Holding up his phone, he showed them the picture his son had sent of the smiling family bundled up against the cold.  “Jay...Jason...with b...b...Beth’s...parents...Ja...mai...ca.”

            “Jamaica?”  Nadia arched her eyebrow at Aaron.  “I wonder if they’re planning a destination wedding.  What did he say when he called you last week, Charlie?  You asked him about when he was going to propose, right?”

            “Jay...said...mind...your own...damn...b...b...business...Dad.  He’s...funny…”

            “That’s my little brother.  It looks like you had a wonderful Christmas morning, too, Jessie.”, Jack remarked.  “I really like your necklace.  It’s new, right?”

            “Um...yes, it was Aubrey’s Christmas gift to me.”  Her fingers brushed the tiny lock and key.  “I love it…”  She gave her boyfriend a sweet smile, which he tacitly acknowledged with a wink.

            “Nice job, G-Man.”, Aaron replied. 

            “Yeah...Jessica and I had an excellent Christmas morning…we had a lot of fun opening presents.  She got some new clothes, too...”  Aubrey dodged Jessica’s swipe at his arm as he got up to answer the doorbell.  “Booth’s here…” 

**Oooooooooo**

            An hour later, the pies and potatoes were being pulled from the the oven, and platters of ham and turkey were placed on the counter next to the leftover cold cuts and bread. 

            “We both appreciate you allowing us to have Christmas dinner at your house, Aubrey.”, Brennan said as she stirred the giblet gravy.  “I know it was an inconvenience for you and Ms. Warren to have extra guests today.”

            “It really is no problem, Dr. B.  Jessica’s family is real easy-going.  I guess growing up in that co-op helped them to become more adaptable.”  Aubrey picked up a piece of turkey and popped it in his mouth.  “Anyway, if you want to get technical, it is your house…”

            “Yeah, and you’d better remember that, Aubrey.”, Booth teased. 

            “I’m looking forward to conversing with Ms. Warren’s father.  Dr. Charles Warren is a pioneer in neuropathology and I’ve read a couple of the articles her brother Aaron wrote for Medicinal Physics Quarterly.  Hodgins mentioned that he wanted to _‘_ brainstorm _’_ with her brother Jack about winemaking.”

            “Yeah, Jack has a PhD in Biochemistry and Bachelors degrees in Chemistry and Biology.  I never realized all that science was involved in wine making, although it makes sense.”, Aubrey said as he stole some turkey, giving a small piece to Hank.  “Greg has a Bachelor's degree in Botany, and an Associates degree in Accounting.  It’s probably why Saoirse Finn is doing so well.”

            Hank reached up to put some turkey into his father’s mouth, which Booth happily accepted as two children raced by.  “Hey, thanks, buddy...Christine, you and Michael-Vincent quit running in the house!”  Laughing as he bounced Hank on his hip, the older man ate another bite of turkey and laughed at the surprised expression on his friend’s face.  “Don’t look at me like I’m a mean dad.  Just wait ‘til you have kids…”

            “Whoa...that’s a long way down the road...oops, there’s the doorbell…” 

            Walking to the door, Aubrey just barely avoided being hit by a stray nerf dart.  _Kids and Christmas...for Jessica and me?  Maybe someday..._ “Hey, it’s Genny and Hunter...and here’s Danny.  Come on in.” 

            He reached down to shake the little boy’s hand.  “I bet you’d like playing with Christine and Michael-Vincent…”  Nodding his head vigorously, Danny raced off to play.  “So it looks like things are going well…”

            Looking up at Hunter, Genny smiled.  “Things are going very well.”

            “Good.  Come in and meet everybody…oh, there’s Cam and Arastoo with their boys…”  Aubrey waved as they started up the sidewalk.  “Glad you could make it…”

            Soon it seemed every room in the house was filled with lively chatter as Jessica’s work family intermingled with her ‘real’ family.  Wendell, Aaron, Charlie, and Brennan were engrossed in a discussion about neurotransmitters.  Andie and Nadia were talking shop about the clinics where they worked.  Cam, Arastoo, and Stephan were going over the pros and cons of their oldest son getting a motorcycle.  Angela and Gail were comparing techniques for sculpting with metals as Hodgins was helping Jack and Greg figure out the most efficient way to ferment grape juice.  Booth, Genny, and Hunter were nattering about hockey.

            The younger children were playing board games and the older children...and Aubrey...were playing video games.  Niki proved to be a worthy opponent on _Aerial Attack_ , beating all comers except Cam’s son Isaiah.

            Daisy and Beau were sitting at the kitchen table with Jessica.  “What a beautiful Christmas tree!, Daisy gushed.  “I love all the different ornaments, don’t you, Beau?”

            “Hmm?”  Beau looked up from his plate, unsure of what his wife was talking about.  “Oh, yeah.  Nice tree.”

            “I guess you’re lucky you didn’t have to play on Christmas this year, Beau.”  Jessica smiled as she bounced Lance on her knee.  “It must be fun to open presents on Christmas morning with a little one…”

            “Yep.”, Beau said as he polished off the last of his potato salad.  “That little guy had a blast this morning.  There were toys all over the family room…”

            “We were at Beau’s parents’ house, you know, and they got Lance this large battery operated Jeep for Christmas.  I don’t think he’s old enough to use it, but they insisted…”

            “But they also got him some really cool little kid toys, too.  He’ll be fine, Daisy.  He’ll grow into the car, just like he’ll grow into the trampoline.” Beau rolled his eyes as he grinned at Jessica.  “The little woman is kind of protective of the kid, but I’m going to help him get tough...aren’t I, Lance?”

            Jessica watched as Beau made silly faces, trying to get the fussy toddler to smile.  “I’m sure he will grow into them, but I understand Daisy’s concern as well.  I mean, those gifts seem like they’d be for older kids…I think things like blocks and books are more developmentally appropriate…”

            “Nah, we don’t need books right now.”, Beau scoffed as he reached over to tickle the baby.  “Lance can’t even read yet…right, dude?  Yeah...you’re going to be big and tough so you can tackle guys on the field like your daddy does...yes, you are...”

            Jessica was about to say more, but the doorbell rang.  “I’ll get it.”  Holding Lance as she looked at the video monitor, she was surprised by the visitor’s identity.  Opening the door, she greeted her visitor.  “Oh...Oliver…”

            “Hello...or, I suppose I should say, ‘Merry Christmas’, Jessica.  Hello, future Dr. Wicks.”, Oliver Wells said, acknowledging the little boy in his colleague’s arms before the two stepped into the foyer.  “Daisy said it would be okay if I showed up for Dr. Brennan’s Christmas party.”

            “Well...sure.  Come in.”  Jessica smiled at Oliver’s companion.  “I don’t think we’ve met…”

            This is my girlfriend...Dr. Rani Mittipalli.  She’s a theoretical physicist...head of the physical sciences department at Georgetown…”

            “How do you do…”, Rani said, flashing a beautiful smile as she brushed her long black hair over her shoulder.  “I hope we aren’t intruding…”

            “Of course not.  It’s a very informal get together.  We have more than enough food…”

            “Cool.”  Holding Rani’s hand, Oliver made a point of introducing his lovely girlfriend to Hodgins and Aubrey.  “We met at a seminar she was leading about thermodynamics...she’s brilliant.   She’s originally from Mumbai.  Tell them about your research, darling…”

            Dr. Mittipalli willingly complied, explaining her esoteric mathematical computations as Oliver beamed proudly. 

            Jessica had returned to join Daisy and Beau, but her fellow anthropologist was in no mood to take part in idle chit chat anymore.  “Who’s that with Oliver?”, she whispered loudly.  “I’ve never seen her before…”

            “He introduced her as his girlfriend.”  Jessica noticed her friend’s pained reaction.  “She seems very nice…”

            Beau turned to see who they were talking about.  “She’s cute.”

            “Cute?”, Daisy grumbled.  “You think every girl is cute, Beau.  You even said Jessica was cute…”

            “Well, she is.”  Aubrey laughed as he joined them.  “Oliver’s girlfriend is really smart.  I can’t even begin to understand what she’s talking about.  I think even Hodgins was confused by her science lingo…”

            “Hmmph.  I bet she just latched onto Oliver so she could get citizenship…”, Daisy said in a spiteful tone.  “I can’t imagine what he sees in her…”

            Aubrey caught the bitterness in Daisy’s voice, but ignored it as he winked at Jessica.  “You mean besides being brilliant, beautiful, and pleasant?  Yeah, neither do I.  To tell you the truth, I can’t understand what she sees in him.”

            “Oliver’s very nice, once you get to know him.”  Daisy stuck out her chin as she defended her colleague.  “He’s a very insightful person, too…”

            “Yeah, I think he’s just a big, ugly scarecrow, but if he’s lucky enough to get a woman like that, more power to him.”  Beau ate a bite of pie and shrugged.  “He may almost be as lucky as me...I’ve got a sweet little woman…” 

            He reached to put his arm around Daisy, but she ducked out of the way, ignoring the hurt expression that Aubrey and Jessica didn’t miss. “Excuse me, please.  I need to find the bathroom…” 

            Rising from the table, Daisy ambled toward the hallway, pausing to stand next to Dr. Mittipalli for a few minutes as Brennan, Hodgins, and Wendell talked to the newly arrived couple.  It was obvious to everyone, except perhaps Beau, that the anthropologist viewed the physicist as an intruder.

            “Hmph…”, Daisy began after listening to the physicist’s discussion.  “I’m not sure why anyone would care about how fast molecules vibrate.  I mean, we can’t even feel them move…”

            “Please excuse my fellow scientist, Rani.  She’s only an anthropologist.”, Oliver said in a disparaging tone.

            Dr. Mittipalli smiled patiently.  “If we understand how heat is transferred in various materials, we can use that information to make all sorts of heat sensors.  As Oliver has pointed out to everyone, if we can find the right combination of materials, we could make a type of sensor that may help a forensic scientist ascertain how long a person has been deceased by measuring the body’s temperature more accurately than what we can do with the technology we have available to us now.”

            “Sounds a lot like conjecture to me.”, Daisy replied spitefully.  “Forensics isn’t the place for experimentation.  Wouldn’t you agree, Dr. Brennan?”

            “Actually, Daisy, what Dr. Mittipalli is suggesting would be most helpful in narrowing the time frame in which a crime may have occurred.  Dr. Hodgins agrees and has suggested that she and Dr. Wells come up with a proposal for building a prototype to demonstrate her theory.”

            Embarrassed at Brennan’s rebuke, Daisy crossed her arms over her chest.  “Isn’t that going to be expensive?  Does the lab have the funds to cover such an endeavor?”

            “What the lab won’t cover, I will.  I’m going create a research grant with my personal funds, Daisy.  Their theory is viable and I’m surprised that the NFL isn’t all over this.”, Hodgins said, turning his attention back to the physicist.

            With Hodgins’ encouragement, Dr. Mittapalli continued. “We can also design more plastics that change color as they respond to temperature.  For example, perhaps we could develop a sort of thermometer for home use that changes temperature as it is laid on the skin, so that it would be easier to gauge whether or not an infant is running a fever.  As I’m sure you are aware, because you have a small child yourself, most young children are not always cooperative when it comes to using a normal thermometer.” 

            “My son is well behaved and it isn’t a struggle to get him to do anything.”, Daisy replied petulantly. 

            The physicist smiled as she reached for her boyfriend’s hand.  “That’s one thing I love about Oliver.  He’s always coming up with unique ways of looking at things…he helps me make my theoretical ideas into reality.”

            “Yeah, he’s definitely unique.”, Daisy mumbled, glaring angrily at Dr. Wells.

            “So how long have you two been together?”, Angela asked.  “I know he said you met at a seminar…”

            “We’ve dated off and on for almost six months.”  Rani smiled shyly at Oliver, who winked back at her.  “I travel a lot for my work, so I’ve missed many of his social functions…”

            “Six months?”, Daisy gasped as she turned to Oliver.  “You’ve been dating her for six months?  And you never told me?”

            “Why would I tell you?”, Oliver snarked.  “Daisy, we’re only professional colleagues.  You know that I keep my personal life separate from my work.”

            “Hey, Oliver.”  Beau waved as he strolled over to the group with Lance on his hip.  “Good to see you, buddy.  So this is your sweetie, huh?”

            Glancing over to gauge Daisy’s reaction, Oliver put his arm around Rani and gave her a tender squeeze.  “Yeah, she’s my sweetie.  We’re even talking about making it permanent…”

            Daisy, obviously upset, quickly excused herself.  Seeing Aubrey’s nod, Jessica casually went to see what her friend was up to, and found Daisy sobbing in the man cave.

            “What’s wrong?”  Jessica sat down next to Daisy, rubbing her arm as she tried to soothe her.  “Aren’t you happy for Oliver?  He seems to have finally found someone…”

            “Well, good for him...”, Daisy sniffled,  “...but it was really inconsiderate of him to bring a date today.  You don’t bring uninvited guests to Christmas parties with friends.”

            Jessica decided not to bring up the fact that the sobbing woman next to her was the one who had invited Oliver.  “Daisy, I’m not understanding the issue here.  You told him off when he said you shouldn’t get married to Beau, right?  You said it was your decision.  Well, he’s accepted that, and now he’s moving on with his life.  He’s your friend, and the fact that he’s happy should make you happy.”

            “But who am I going to talk to now, Jessica?  I feel so alone...” 

            “You can talk to me...or you can talk to Andie, or to Dr. B…but most of all, you should be talking to Beau.  You two have a future to build together.”

            “Trying to talk to Beau about anything other than football is so difficult.”  Daisy shook her head as she wiped tears from her cheeks. “I don’t know what I’m going to do…”

            “I know.”  Jessica sighed softly as Daisy continued to cry.  “But you and Beau are married with a child.  You made a commitment to each other and you can’t keep pretending things are alright if they aren’t.  You two need to have a serious heart to heart talk...no cover ups...no chickening out...no excuses...no picking a fight so you can run away from each other...no using gifts as a distraction.  You two need to really discuss where you stand, and you need to do it soon.  You can’t keep running to Oliver when you have problems, Daisy.  That’s not fair to Beau.”

            “You’re right.  Maybe after the New Year…”

            “I wouldn’t wait that long, Daisy.”, Jessica warned.  “Things won’t get better by themselves…”

            “I know, but I’ll take care of it.  I know what to do.”  Daisy tried to smile at her friend. 

            “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

            “Yes, Jessica.”, Daisy said softly as she wiped her eyes.  “Just give me a minute, okay?”

            “Yeah...sure.”  Rising from her seat, Jessica rubbed Daisy’s shoulder.  “If you need a friend, I’m always here for you…”

            “Thanks.”  Daisy sniffled a bit as she continued wiped her eyes.  “I’ll be out in a minute.”

            Nodding, Jessica left the room, closing the door behind her.  She wondered if Beau had any idea of the drama that was playing out right under his nose.

            Walking back out to the family room, Jessica was surprised to see everyone gathered around Jack and Greg.  “Hey, you’re just in time, Jessie.  We’re going to play ‘ _Name that Christmas Song.’_  Greg’s got an app on his phone…”

            “Yeah...it plays a few notes of a song, and we have to guess the title.  We’re divided into teams…and the team that guesses correctly first gets a point.  Okay, everybody...are you ready?” 

            The game was a big hit, especially since everyone could participate.  In the end, the team of Brennan, Arastoo, Hunter, Michael-Vincent, and Angela won the game, thanks mostly to Brennan’s eidetic memory, although Arastoo scored several points as well.

            “What can I say?  Cam starts playing Christmas music November 15th”, he laughed.  “I guess I picked it up through osmosis.”

            “That’s not how osmosis works, Dr. Vasiri.”, Cam grumbled, to everyone’s amusement.

**oooooooooo**

            By late afternoon, Charlie was noticeably tired.  Aaron glanced at Nadia, who nodded as she began to gather her bowls and platters.  “I think we’re going to grab the kids and hit the road, Jessie.  Dad’s beat.”  Giving his sister a hug, Aaron smiled.  “You did a great job hosting the party…we all had a lot of fun.”

            “Thanks, Aaron.  It was fun, wasn’t it?”  Jessica watched as Aubrey helped her father get up from his chair.  “Maybe we can make this a yearly tradition...you know...having everyone here for the holiday...”

            “Here at Aubrey’s house?  Really?  I’m your favorite big brother...is there something I should know?”

            Blushing as she realized her slip of the tongue, Jessica hurriedly explained.  “I meant us all getting together like this...you know, casually.  We can have a formal meal at Thanksgiving and something more informal on Christmas Day…you’ll be living in Bethesda full time next year...maybe even Jason can come with Beth...”

            “I see.”  Aaron arched his eyebrow as he grinned at his little sister’s stammering.  “And, of course, Aubrey will be here…since it’s his house...”

            “Of course, smartass.”  Wise to her brother’s fishing for information, Jessica giggled as she playfully pushed him toward the door.  “I think it’s time for you to leave, buddy…”

            “Okay...okay.  Now, I know you’re a big shot intern with a busy schedule, but let’s try to get together before Nadia, the kids, and I head back to Richmond next Sunday.  Lunch at that diner you always brag about sounds good.”

            “I guess I could introduce you to the Royal Diner...”, Jessica replied as she opened the door for everyone.  “Bye, Aaron...bye, Nadia.  Bye, Dad.  Thanks for coming.  Merry Christmas...”  Jessica waved as they walked out toward their car.

            “Merry Christmas to you, too, kiddo.”, Aaron yelled back.

            Laughing to herself, Jessica walked back into the house.  _If I have anything to do with it, Aubrey and I are going to have everybody come to our house for Christmas for the next fifty years…_

**Oooooooooo**

            It was six o’clock in the evening as the last guests left Aubrey’s house.  Sprawled out on the sofa, he grinned as he looked over at his girlfriend, who had collapsed in a chair.  “Wow...I’m exhausted…”      

            “Yeah, me, too...but I don’t want to wake up to a messy house in the morning, especially since you have to go back to work and I have errands to run.”  Pushing herself out of the chair, Jessica walked over to the sofa and grabbed Aubrey’s arm.  “Come on...let’s go…”

            He laughed as he pulled her down on top of him.  “Ha!  Gotcha!  Now you have to stay right here with me…”

            “Aubrey…”, she giggled, batting her eyelashes at him.  “Be nice, okay?  Let’s pick things up and then we can play.  I won’t be able to relax until the kitchen and family room are clean…”

            “Oh, okay.”  Giving her a squeeze, Aubrey sat up on the couch.  “Have you noticed how often we have to clean the kitchen?  I mean, it seems like we have to do this every day…”

            “You’re so ridiculous.”  Jessica rolled her eyes at her boyfriend as she headed for the kitchen.  “After we have a meal, we have to clean up.”  Realizing he wasn’t beside her, she turned around to find Aubrey still laying on the couch.  “The kitchen isn’t going to clean itself, Agent Aubrey.  Get up.”

            Standing with her hands on her hips, she surveyed the project, hiding her smirk as her boyfriend trudged into the kitchen with a pretend pout on his face.  “Oh stop...it won’t take us very long.  We’ll just put away what’s left of the meat and cheese…”  She bundled the slices up in some wax paper so she could put them in a large plastic storage container.

            “Wait...you can’t put all that meat in the same container.”  Aubrey was shocked.  “The flavors will all blend together…believe me, we do not want that to happen.”  He opened a drawer and took out some smaller boxes.  “Here…”

            “Don’t the flavors blend when you make a sandwich with them?” 

            “Jessica...there is a fine art to making a sandwich.  You don’t just slap meat, cheese, and condiments together on a whim and then throw all that between bread. The different ingredients have to be balanced and distinct, creating a perfect blend of flavors that makes the sandwich a true culinary delight. Have you not learned anything from being associated with me for almost two years?”

            “I guess not, Sandwich Master.”  Jessica puffed out a sigh.  “Okay, whatever…” 

            Letting the meat and cheese expert arrange the items so they’d be available for his lunches in the upcoming week, she piled up a stack of dirty paper plates and dropped them into a large plastic bag.  “The glasses and silverware can go in the dishwasher...we only have one or two platters…” 

            “So...um…”  Aubrey watched as Jessica wiped down the counter.  “...I noticed that you and Daisy took off for a while…”

            “Yeah.”  Jessica’s mouth twisted into a slight frown.  “It’s kind of weird.  I mean, she’s married, you know?  And yet, she’s jealous of Oliver’s girlfriend…and not a ‘he’s my friend’ jealous, either.  It was more like a jilted lover…”

            “Wow...that’s crazy.  Beau looked really hurt when he tried to put his arm around her and she blew him off to listen to Oliver and his girlfriend.”  Aubrey shook his head as he put some cut vegetables into a plastic container.  “I don’t think he’s as ignorant as he seems, Jess.  Daisy has to realize what she’s doing, right?  She’s going to ruin her marriage…” 

            “I wonder if Daisy and Beau should’ve even gotten married to begin with…”, Jessica said as she rinsed out the sink.  “As much as Oliver annoys me, he really cared for her at one time, but he wouldn’t tell her.  He was probably afraid he would seem weak, and so he wanted her to make the first move.  She, of course, got fed up waiting for Oliver to tell her how he felt, and he wasn’t exactly what she anticipated in regards to a future mate.  Of course, she then made a big production about how she’d moved on from...whatever the hell they were.  Oliver didn’t bite, thinking she was bluffing, I guess, and then she found a guy that matched what she always wanted...a fairy tale prince...so Oliver lost out.”

            “Just because you want something doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for you, Jess.  I know Daisy had it rough growing up, but a person needs someone that can grow with him or her as they get older...not someone who merely matches their childhood expectations.  It’s obvious that Daisy has certain expectations that Beau isn’t living up to, and I know it must be frustrating her, which leads her to take out her annoyance on him.  Beau drives me nuts, but he’s never tried to be more than he was.  For her to expect something other than that isn’t really fair to him.”

            “I think she still has a thing for Oliver, and vice versa.  However, she’s married now and he’s dating someone else.  I told her that she and Beau need to have a serious talk…”

            “You’re right.  They do.”  Aubrey bagged up the leftover cans and bottles.  “Well, you know, except maybe for Daisy, I think everybody had a great time this afternoon.  You did a great job putting the party together…”

            “I didn’t do much...just put out the food…”  Jessica smiled as Aubrey embraced her.  “But you’re right about how much fun we had.  I was pleased with how my family was able to mix with the people I work with.  Aaron offered to help Wendell with his research, and I think Gail and Angela may put on an exhibit of their sculptures.”

            “Of course they had fun.  We’re a fun group of people, right?” He reached down to pat her butt.  “I liked hearing the stories from when you were kids together, too...especially the underwear story…”

            “Jerk.”  She laughed as she pretended to slap his hand away.  He chuckled as she pretended to pout.

            “Aw, c’mon...you know you like to model your underwear for me…”

            “No, I’m don’t like modeling it for you, okay?  Normally, it’s just the underwear I happen to be wearing before you rip them off of me because you get so damn impatient, Superman.”, Jessica retorted with a chuckle.  “You may be buying me a bag of panties every Christmas for the next fifty years at the rate you’re going.”

            “I don’t always rip your panties off, just when they’re super annoying.  Also, a nice attempt at deflecting, but I don’t think so.  As I was saying, based on how you were blushing earlier today, I think you picked out some of your Christmas panties to wear today, right?  Let me see…”  He grabbed the waistband of her jeans, pulling it away so he could peek inside.  “Ooooooh!  You’re wearing the blue ones!  Okay...drop those drawers…”

            Jessica’s mouth twitched into a smile as she concentrated on her task.  “Not now, James.  I’m busy…’’ 

            “Jessica…”, he whispered in a sexy voice as he stood behind her.  Moving his hands under her sweatshirt, he ran them down her abdomen as he held her tight against his body.  “I just want to make sure they fit right...c’mon...I want to see…”

            Pretending to be annoyed, she turned and faced him, trying not to laugh.  “If I show you my new panties, will you leave me alone?”

            “Hell, no!”

            “Good!”  After slowly unzipping her jeans, she shimmied out of them, leaving them in a pile on the floor.  “What do you think?  They look good with the sweatshirt, right?”

            “Wow…”  Aubrey was speechless as he took in the view.  “You look...you...God…you look so hot…”

            “Thanks.”  Deciding to have a little fun with her boyfriend, she smiled.  “So, now that you’ve gotten what you wanted, can we please finish cleaning up?”

            “Nope.”  He pulled her sweatshirt up over her head and threw on top of the jeans.  “And the matching bra, too?  Wow...I’m just...I mean…”  After staring at his beautiful girlfriend for a few seconds, he took the dishrag away from her and threw it in the sink.  “Okay...break time.  I want to see how those crotchless panties work.” 

            “James Aubrey, we have to finish cleaning up the kit--what are you doing?”  Jessica shrieked as her boyfriend efficiently put his right arm under her legs and scooped her up.

            The agent merely smiled, carrying her to the couch as she squealed with laughter.  Kissing her gently, he caressed her cheek as he twitched an eyebrow at her.  “We can finishing cleaning the kitchen later tonight, right?”

            “Maybe…”  Jessica wrapped her arms around Aubrey’s neck.  “...or maybe tomorrow morning…”


	56. Friendship Makes The World Go Round

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well Christmas is over and 2016 is nearing it's end. This chapter has one friend helping another, another friendship blossoming, and another one bringing two people closer together. How does it happen? Read and find out.

                 It was like everything was in slow motion.  Vinnie Sipoletti had fired his gun at Booth, who was sprawled out on the ground, bleeding profusely from his shoulder.  “Booth…”, Aubrey cried out.  “Come on, Booth...get up...you gotta move, buddy…” 

                Turning to face their assailant, the agent drew his revolver and pulled the trigger.  Suddenly there was a searing pain in his leg...there was blood everywhere...things were getting darker...he could hear the ambulance in the distance, but he was tired...he was so tired.  All he wanted to do was sleep...but wait...Jessica...gotta tell her...tell her...Jessica…

**~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~**

                Aubrey gasped as his eyes flew open.  His heart was pounding, and it took him a few seconds to get his bearings as he looked around the darkened bedroom.  Looking to his left, he saw his girlfriend sleeping soundly next to him.  There was no blood...no pain...he was safe…she was right there...

                “Wow…”, he sighed as he glanced at his phone.  “4 am and that stupid nightmare wakes me up again.” 

                Grumbling to himself, he rolled over to put his arm around Jessica.  His nightmares were becoming less frequent, but they were still a nuisance.  “It sucks waking up at 4:00 when I don’t need to get up until 5:30.”, he muttered softly before Jessica moaned in her sleep before nestling closer to him.

                _I’m glad I didn’t wake her up...I hope I wasn’t thrashing around too much._ He chuckled softly as his redhead stretched in her sleep.  ‘ _Although it might be payback for all the times she’s practically pushed me out of bed.”_

Closing his eyes once again, he tried to relax into his lover’s warmth, hoping he could get one last hour of sleep in before a very busy day.

**oooooooooo**

Almost three hours later, Aubrey opened the stairway door to the 4th floor of the Hoover, carrying the first week of his bakers’ dozen Christmas donuts.  He was tired from waking up in the middle of the night, but he wanted to get a head start on the week.  He had a lot to catch up on, he had to go pick up his tux today, and he was without Genny until Wednesday.

                The SAC didn’t begrudge her taking the two days off, especially since he was the one who pushed her to do it.  As far as he was concerned, with her taking the reins for him while he was recovering, she had earned a little vacation.  He nodded to himself happily as he recalled seeing how much she enjoyed herself with Hunter and Danny at his house yesterday.  If anyone deserves some happiness, it was Genevieve Shaw.

                ‘ _It just sucks that Jess is off toda_ y _and I have to work...oh, well...that’s what happens when you’re in charge, right?  Maybe that means she’ll have time to finish cleaning up the family room…’,_ he thought, smiling as he remembered how they spent their Christmas morning.

                Deciding that today would be a macchiato morning, he whistled the _Star Wars Battle Theme_ as he walked down the hall.  Entering the break room, he greeted a few early bird folks with a smile.  Sure, some would wonder why he was so cheerful on a Monday morning, but he didn’t care…because he’d spent the weekend with the woman of his dreams.

                Of course, the only thing marring his perfect weekend had been the nightmare that had awakened him this morning.  He was never able to go back to sleep fully, and it wasn’t long before his restlessness woke up Jessica.  When she questioned why he was awake, he didn’t want to bother her with his problems, but he couldn’t lie to her either. 

                After Aubrey confided about what had disturbed him, she asked what she could do to help.  He responded by taking Jessica in his arms and she allowed him to get lost in her with a quick and heated interlude.  When they were done, he recalled the last time he used his girlfriend to forget his pain and felt sick.  Immediately, he began apologizing for its brevity and lack of tenderness.

_“Jessica, I’m so sorry...”_

                However, Jessica stopped him with a kiss.  _“It’s okay, Superman.  You needed me.  Now, let’s take a shower.”_

                Determined to make it up to her, they spent thirty minutes under the hot water as Aubrey pleasured Jessica with his tongue and hands until she screamed his name.  After a quick breakfast of leftover cinnamon pancakes and bacon, he kissed her goodbye before trekking out into the bitterly cold December morning.

                _‘God, I love Jessica so much.’_ Aubrey thought as he waited for his coffee drink to brew.  Unable to wait any longer to enjoy part of his Christmas gift, he pulled out a chocolate glazed donut covered with red sprinkles.  Smiling happily as he bit into it, he remembered how he and Jessica had defiled his house over the Christmas weekend.

                They’d had sex on the couch…on the kitchen counter…on the dining room table after they’d eaten their pancakes…in the shower before lunch…in the downstairs bedroom…that amazing lap dance in his bedroom chair...twice afterwards in their bed…under the tree Christmas morning…and that was all before their guests came over yesterday. 

_‘Yeah...Merry Christmas to me…’_ He grinned, tapping his foot as he remembered what Jessica looked like in her new turquoise lingerie last night after they enjoyed her crotchless panties.  _Those are great colors on her...not that she actually wore it that long..._

                Leaning against the counter, he was startled when he heard the sound of a lightsaber in his pocket.  Pulling his keys out, he stared at the Darth Vader keychain and the new key hanging off it.  He still couldn’t get over the fact that Jessica presented him with that little token of her trust and affection.  He had been afraid the keychain he’d gotten her was too schmaltzy, but she loved it.  In fact, she’d loved all of her gifts. 

                It had been their first Christmas together, and the best one of his life.  Nothing could ever top it. 

                Suddenly, the agent had a vision of a future Christmas morning with Jessica holding a redheaded infant up to look at a glittering ornament on their tree as he watched them with pride.  The baby’s face lit up with glee as his love pointed to the shiny bauble. 

                _‘Whoa…Jess is not even close to babies yet, Aubrey...and neither are you, buddy’,_ the agent thought as he shook his head.  He was fairly certain Jessica wasn’t ready to move in to his house full time, and he still wasn’t certain whether he was ready for her to move in with him full time, either.

                Aubrey had loved having her there to take care of him the last month, but he also knew Jessica needed to regain her sense of independence.  That independence was one of the reasons he loved her so much, and it had almost killed him that Gerald Maxwell damaged that for her, as well as her self-esteem. He knew she was still afraid to go into her apartment alone.  However, the agent vowed to do whatever Jessica needed so that she could feel safe in her own space again, because she loved her little third floor apartment.   He wasn’t going to push her to make a decision either way.  It had to be what she wanted.  If she was happy, that was all that mattered to him.

                He had to admit...he loved the place, too.  The selection of imported food items at the ground floor Korean grocery store was amazing, especially those chocolate treats, the spicy mustard, those Crown biscuits, Pocky treats, and other goodies.

                Getting his morning prize, Aubrey carried his donuts and macchiato back towards his office.  After he got settled, he enjoyed the quiet that was typical on Monday mornings before his agents reported to duty.  He hated being up that early, but he liked doing the long day on Monday to get a head start on the crappy administrative stuff expected of a division’s agent in charge.  It was nice to complete his work week on Friday with a sense of accomplishment.

                Then a recurring thoughts made its way to the surface.

                Maybe Gerald wouldn’t have gotten the idea to make up lies about having sex with Jessica if he hadn’t routinely worked late on Mondays.

_‘No, that’s stupid.  I’m not going to let that fuck stick creep into my everyday life.’_ the SAC thought, enjoying his coffee drink as he completed payroll.  As he finished his beverage, he decided to it was time to get another one.  “After waking up at 4 am, I’m going to need it.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Ten minutes shy of 8:00, he left the break room, stopping to greet a few more agents who had arrived to work.  As he entered the bullpen, he thought about some of the recent changes in his life. 

                His career was going places, as was Jessica’s.  He was off restrictions and he was able to make love with Jessica again on a regular basis...the two of them were moving forward in their relationship, no longer encumbered by fear of upsetting the other…he was happy with the woman he loved as they had a somewhat normal life together or as close to it as possible…nothing was going to ruin his day today.

                Until he saw what was going on inside the newly remodeled conference room.

                Through the window, Aubrey could see Steve Bower and his new wife making out.  _‘Um...wow...It seems the newlyweds are still on their honeymoon.’_

                Willing to cut the agent some slack, he was about to turn away when he saw Steve grab his wife’s ass and push her up against the glass.  Shaking his head, he walked up and banged on the glass.

                “Take it down a notch, Steve.  No one needs to see that here...especially before 8:00.”

                Startled, the couple broke apart and Mitzi straightened her skirt, smoothing it over her hips.  “Sorry, Agent Aubrey.  It’s our first day back at work after getting married…it’s going to be hard to be away from my Stevie Bear.”   Mitzi reached over to pinch her husband’s cheek.  “I wuvs my widdle Stevie Bear to pieces...yesh, mama bear wuvs him...”                

_Baby talk?  Jesus, really?_ Rolling his eyes, Aubrey cringed as he took a long drink of his coffee, exhaling quietly as he tried to remain professional.  “On the clock, Steve, okay?”

                “Yeah, Boss.”  Bower pulled his wife close and gave her a big sloppy kiss.  “It’s even worse for me staying away from you, Mitzi Muffin, especially after the amazing weekend we had after we called our folks for Christmas to tell them we got married.  Those new toys you got me yesterday were awesome!  I can’t wait to see you at home later in that outfit I bought you for Christmas...”

                Afraid of where the conversation was going, Aubrey stepped toward the door, wanting to escape to his office as soon as he could.  “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed your first married Christmas together.”

                “Oh, it was wonderful.”  Mitzi batted her eyelashes as she caressed her husband’s cheek, her engagement and wedding rings gleaming proudly.  “I have to go now, Stevie Bear, for my 8:30 orientation at the hospital, and then I need to pick up some new scrubs so I can be ready to start work at the Psych ward tomorrow.  I’m going to miss you, baby, but I’ll be thinking about you all day long...”

                “I’m going to miss you, too, my little cheese nip…” Steve grinned as he kissed her knuckles.  “Hey, don’t forget to pick up the chocolate syrup on the way home because tonight is whipped cream and feathers, okay?”

                “Anything for you Stevie Bear…”

                Seeing them come together to suck face again, Aubrey shook his head and walked away.  _Ick...I need a shower..._

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

                 At 9:30, Jessica walked into Millie’s Tailor Shop on F Street.  After giving her name, the seamstress gave her the dress and the redhead almost skipped towards the small dressing booth.  Putting on the velvet gown, she smiled before turning around to see how it looked on her posterior side, amazed at how it fit her like a glove.

                _‘I know I went over my budget for this dress and the accessories, but it will be so worth it.  Aubrey’s going to flip his lid when he sees how I look Friday, especially with the new things I picked up at Karine’s last week.’_

                Realizing the seamstress was waiting for her, she quickly came out of the room.  “Sorry…”

                “It’s okay Ms. Warren.”, the older woman said, pleased with her handiwork.  “Honey, that dress looks beautiful on you. You’re going to knock your boyfriend dead.”

                “Hopefully not dead…but stunning him speechless would work.”, Jessica, smiling as she admired her reflection in the mirror.  “I’m so going to that shop again.” 

                As the seamstress checked over her work, Jessica saw a familiar face walk in.  When the woman got closer, she called out for her attention.  “Genny!  I didn’t expect to see you today.  I figured you would be at work with Aubrey.”

                The ASAC looked up and smiled when she saw who was beckoning her.  “Hey, Jessica.  No, the boss said I need to take today and tomorrow off.  His words were, _‘I promised you December 26 th when you covered for me on Thanksgiving...and you earned the 27th off.’_”

                “He appreciates all you did while he was recuperating at home these last few weeks.  It made me feel better, too.”, Jessica replied.  “Where’s Danny?”

                “At home with Hunter.  Boss loaned Danny his _‘Aerial Attack’_ game yesterday so he could show him how to play.”  Genny said, smiling happily.  “Danny’s warming up to him a lot.  I think they’re finally getting comfortable with each other.”

                “Aubrey mentioned the chat they’d had that morning he babysat for him, and I’m glad he could help.”, Jessica said.  “Got your dress altered here, too, I see.  It’s beautiful.”

                “I did.  Angela suggested the place to me.  I got a great deal on this gown, too...only $295.00.  No way was I going to spend over a thousand dollars for an alleged one of a kind dress like I heard Karen Delfs bragging about last week.”

                “Why on earth would anyone pay that much for a dress is beyond me.” Jessica said before looking down at herself.  “I went over my planned budget for this dress but it’s so beautiful and I know I can wear it again.  Now I just have to hide it from Aubrey because I want to surprise him Friday.”

                Genny admired Jessica’s gown.  “The boss is going to flip when he sees you.  That color is perfect.   In fact, all the guys at the banquet are going to drool.”

                “Well…I only care about Aubrey, but I agree.  He’s going to love this dress.  Now, I want to see what you’re wearing.”

                “Ms. Shaw?”

                “I’ll show it to you in a moment.”, the blonde replied before following another seamstress to a dressing room.

                Suddenly Jessica saw her seamstress looking impatient.  “I’m so sorry.  I’ll change.”

                Putting her street clothes on quickly, Jessica came out and handed her attire to the woman just as the ASAC came out wearing her evening gown.  Walking over to her friend, Jessica whistled in appreciation.  “Genny, Hunter is going to be all over you Friday night…you’re smoking, girl.”

                Blushing, Genny gave a nervous giggle.  “I wouldn’t go that far, Jessica.”

                “Uh, I would.”, the redhead said as she admired the sleeveless blush colored gown with its pearl studded neckline.  “That dress was made for you, Genny.”

                “Thanks.”

                “I’ll let you get dressed.”, Jessica said. 

                As Jessica paid for her alterations, Genny came out of her dressing room holding her dress.  When the agent joined her, the redhead had an idea.  “Genny, do you want to get some coffee?  Or are you needing to get back to the boys?”

                “Coffee sounds nice, actually.  It’s really cold out today.  I haven’t had breakfast yet, either, so if you don’t mind, maybe we can get something to eat, too...”

                Thinking of her shower with her boyfriend, Jessica smiled.  “Yeah, I’m getting a little hungry, too.  I had an early breakfast with Aubrey this morning before he left for work.”

                ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                “Oooo-kay.”  Still uncomfortable after his tete a tete with Mitzi and Steve, Aubrey tried to go through the stack of case files piled on his desk.  Opening another case file, Aubrey glanced through the paperwork.  “How come people commit crimes over the holidays?”, he wondered.  

                Judging the case file to be satisfactory, he put in his completed file on the floor before opening another one.  “Hmm...McCarthy forgot to sign his paperwork again…I’ll send that back…”

                He was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t realize he had a visitor until the man coughed softly.  “Agent Aubrey?”

                Startled, Aubrey looked up and was embarrassed.  “Deputy Director Stark!  I’m sorry...I was so wrapped up in these files...please come in.  Can I get you a bottle of water?”

                “No, I’m fine, thanks.”  Stark smiled as he entered the office, making himself comfortable in one of the armchairs.  “I just came by to see how you were doing.  Today is your first day back full time after the incident, right?”

                “Yeah...I wanted to come back to work earlier, but the doctor wouldn’t release me…”

                “That’s no problem.  Believe me, the Bureau would much rather err on the side of caution when it comes to our agents’ health.  No need to push it, especially with Shaw running the division.”   Stark raised an eyebrow at Aubrey.  “Unless you’re really worried about her taking your job…”

                Both men laughed at the joke.  “Nah...I figure she’ll be gunning for your job instead, right?”  Aubrey smiled at the man sitting across from him, wondering about his real motives behind this visit.  “Anyway, I feel great, so, you know...back to the salt mines…”

                “Well, that’s good.”  Stark rose from his chair.  “I’m glad to hear it.  There is one little detail that you still need to take care of, though…”

                “Oh?”  Aubrey’s brows knit as he thought through the protocols for agents with work related injuries.  “I gave the doctor all the paperwork to fill out...she said she would send it in to personnel…”

                Stark sighed softly.  “That’s all been received.  That’s not the problem.  It’s Dr. Dalton...she says you haven’t made the appointment for the psych evaluation that needs to be done before you can return to field work.”

                “Yeah...about that…”  Aubrey winced as he realized he’d forgotten all about that little detail.  “I’m sorry. It completely slipped my mind.  I’ll call her right away.”

                “Excellent.”  Stark nodded as he moved toward the door.  “Don’t forget about the Gala...my wife and I are looking forward to meeting your girlfriend Friday night…she’s one of Dr. Brennan’s interns at the lab, correct?”

                “Yes, she is.  She hopes to have her PhD in Forensic Anthropology in a couple of years.”  Aubrey smiled with pride.  “Jessica and I are looking forward to the Gala.  Thanks for checking on me, sir…”

                “No problem, Agent Aubrey.  Just remember to make that appointment.”  Waving, the director quickly left the office.

                “Great...just what I did not need to worry about today…”, Aubrey groused.  Sighing loudly, he picked up the phone and dialed the psychologist’s office.  “Might as well get it over with…”

**oooooooooo**

                At the Royal Diner, the ladies received their orders from their waitress.  “Joanne, what kind of pie do you have today?”

                “Pecan and Cherry.”

                “Aubrey loves Frankie’s cherry pie.  Can I get some to go?  He’s staying at the FBI for lunch today because he has a lot of work to do.”

                The cheery blonde waitress smiled.  “His usual two pieces?”

                “Yeah.  Thanks.”, Jessica said.  When the woman left, she smiled at Genny.  “So…after seeing that dress, I have to ask.  Do you and Hunter have plans for after the banquet Friday?”

                Genny cut into her pancakes.  “Oh, you know…it’ll be a late night.”

                “You should get a room at the Willard if Danny is staying with your mom.  Get an award…dance…flirt…then give your forensic accountant some bow chicka bow wow…”  Jessica chuckled until she noticed the agent’s discomfort.  “Um, if I was being out of line, I’m sorry…”

                “No, no you weren’t.”  Obviously nervous, Genny picked up her napkin and began to tear it into tiny pieces.  “We’ve just been…busy…you know…with me running Major Crimes while Aubrey was out…Hunter is busy running his division at the SEC… taking care of Danny is a full time job…not that I don’t love it…but it’s hard being a single mom and a cop, you know…I mean…who has time for…stuff…”

                Jessica took a bite of her oatmeal before making a realization.  “Genny, if what I’m about to ask is out of line, feel free to tell me.”

                Afraid that she revealed too much, the agent nodded.  “Okay.”

                The redhead silently debated with herself before spitting it out.  “Genny, you and Hunter…haven’t…yet…have you?”

                “No…and it’s…I don’t…”  Genny took a deep breath.  “I want to…I really…really want to, but…it’s complicated, you know?”

                “Would it help to talk about it?”                

                “Maybe…”  Genny paused as she sipped her coffee.  “Well…Danny and Hunter weren’t getting along…we’re both busy…but…of course, Hunter has dropped hints…”

                “Genny…is Hunter pressuring you?”

                “No!”, Genny exclaimed before realizing how loud she was.  “No…he’s always been been respectful towards me.  It’s just…”

                “Just what?”

                Genny exhaled before taking a bite of her breakfast.  “It’s just…I haven’t been with anyone….long term…since Josh was killed…”

                Suddenly Jessica realized what the other woman meant.  “Genny…are you saying you haven’t been with _anyone_ since Danny’s dad died?”

                “No…I’ve had…a few…but nothing…worth bragging about.  Obviously it must have been me, right?  And I don’t want to ruin what I have with Hunter…”

                A light bulb went off for the redhead.  “Are you nervous about making love with Hunter?”

                “It’s been a long time, Jessica…it’s not like with you and Aubrey…you guys were only apart a couple of months.  Josh and I were supposed to be together always…and I thought no one could take his place…I’ve never cared about anyone else like that, not until Hunter, and I don’t…want to…what if I…”

                Taking Genny’s hand, Jessica hoped she was saying the right thing.  “Genny, Hunter is crazy about you.  You can’t fail with him.  He could barely keep his hands off you at the Halloween Gala.”

                “Well, obviously, I’m not as young as I used to be.  I’m an almost 35 year old single mother with a child.  I’ve got a butt and boobs, sure, but let’s just say that gravity is starting to be their enemy, and besides that, I’m a cop. That doesn’t always inspire hot passion in guys.”

                “Well, it does in Hunter, Genny.  Also, unlike some idiots, I think he knows there’s more to cops than just the law.  I’m the last person anyone would expect to be with an FBI agent, but I’m in love with one.  I can personally testify that Special Agent in Charge James Aubrey has a whole different side when he’s not at work…a very…adventurous side…”,  Jessica said with a snicker before realizing what she said.  “Please don’t repeat that to him…he’s very private about that stuff…”

                “Yeah, the less I know about my boss in that aspect, the better it will be.”, Genny said with a chuckle.  “However, when I stopped at the Hoover earlier to get the charger for my tablet, Aubrey had a smile on his face that could have lit up 100 Christmas trees.  I take it you two had a good holiday as well, besides hosting all of us?”

                Remembering the multiple times, places, and creative ways they’d made love that weekend, Jessica smiled.  “Yes, we did.  How about you all?”

                “Well, we had a small family Christmas Saturday night with the three of us, my mother, and her new boyfriend.  Hunter got Danny a gift certificate for new video games for Christmas and for me he got tickets to see Maz Jobrani at the Kennedy Center and a $50.00 Amazon card.  I got Hunter the new briefcase he was eying.  What did the boss get you?”

                “Um…a book that I can’t wait to start, three gorgeous nightgowns, and this beautiful necklace.”, Jessica replied as she showed Genny, deciding to keep the keys and bag of panties to herself.

                “That necklace is so pretty, Jessica.”

                Jessica looked down and played with the small lock around her neck.  “Aubrey knows me well enough to know that I don’t need ostentatious, showy crap.  This present is the most…beautiful thing because it shows me how much Aubrey loves me…he doesn’t care that I’m going up against a rich bastard…or that I had fooled around with a lot of guys at the lab before I met him…he loves me just the way I am.”

                “It’s nice you have that special someone in your life.”, Genny said with a smile.

                “So do you, Genny.  No pressure, but…you’ll know when the time is right.  It can be after the Gala...”  Thinking about the first time she had been with her boyfriend, Jessica grinned.  “...or just be a day with friends when it hits you…but either way, no worries, okay?  Hunter adores you.  It’s obvious.”

                Genny looked up and saw Aubrey walk in and pointed.  “Speaking of men who adore us…”

                Jessica turned around to see her boyfriend walk in.  Seeing his girlfriend and ASAC, the lanky man came over to their table.  “Hello, ladies…fancy meeting you here.”

                Jessica looked at her phone.  “10:30…time for your mid-morning snack.”

                “Genny, she knows me too well.”, Aubrey said as he kissed Jessica.  “What are you ladies up to?”

                “Well, Jessica and I met up when we picked up our dresses for the banquet on Friday from Millie’s Tailor Shop...”

                “...And we decided to get a late breakfast and have some…girl talk.”, the redhead finished.

                Curious, Aubrey raised an eyebrow as he looked at the two women, who giggled as they attempted to appear innocent.  “You’re not going to tell me what you were talking about, are you?”

                “No, Aubrey.  Girl talk is like Vegas…”

                “Okay, I get it.”  The SAC held his hands up in mock surrender. 

                “By the way, Joanne said they have cherry pie, today.  I was going to get some and drop it off at your office.”

                “Shit, they have cherry pie today?”, Aubrey asked with childlike glee.  “I guess I need a couple pieces of that.”

                “So are you still going to try picking up your tux today during your lunch hour?”

                “I don’t know….it may have to wait until after I leave tonight.  I have some stuff to catch up on after the holidays, since my right hand agent is off work.” , Aubrey said, winking at Genny.

                “Boss, I can work tomorrow--”

                Aubrey laughed as he shook his head.  “Relax, Genny...I’m good.  You’ve earned some time off.  I’m a big boy and can handle our fourteen rambunctious agents until Wednesday.”

               “Alright, Aubrey.”, Genny said.  “If you change your mind, just give me a call…”

               The SAC looked up and saw Joanne with his order.  “Okay, need to get back to the old salt mine.  I’m planning to be home by 7:00 tonight, Jess.  I want to get some administrative crap done since we’re going to be gone Monday and Tuesday next week.  I’ll call you when I leave.”

                “Okay, I’ll see you tonight.”  Standing up to give her boyfriend a kiss, Jessica grinned as Joanne put two pieces of cherry pie in a box for Aubrey.  “Joanne hooked you up with some cherry pie.”

                “Cool!”, Aubrey replied.  “Bye, ladies.”

                The women watched the lanky man pick up his order and walk out the door.  When he waved as he walked by the window, they did the same.  When he crossed the street, they turned their attention back to each other.

                “Aubrey is so crazy about you, Jessica.”, Genny said.

                “I’m crazy about him, too.  But, Genny, Hunter is so crazy about you, too and it’s obvious that you feel the same.”, Jessica replied as she pulled out her phone and punched some keys.  “Just…trust your instincts, alright?  Now, if you want to send me your private email address, I have a website you should check out.”

                Genny sipped her coffee.  “It’s gsw@gmail.com.”

                Jessica looked up and smirked.  “Gunshot Wound?”

                The ASAC laughed.  “You’re one of the few who get it.  I didn’t want it to be my name but not cutesy either. Can I assume what you are sending is definitely not suitable for my work email?

                “Nope.  It’s a link to a site called the Bad Girls Bible.  Lots of interesting stuff.  Let’s just say Aubrey is appreciative of some of the things I’ve learned from it...Hunter may appreciate it as well.”

                The two women laughed as they got up to pay for their bills.  “I’ll keep it in mind, Jessica.”

**oooooooooo**

                Booth glanced at his watch as he strode down the hall, hoping to catch Aubrey before he left for lunch.  The senior agent had wanted to check in on his friend, wondering how his first full day back at work was going.  Seeing Aubrey’s door opened, he peeked inside and was glad to see his friend working at his desk.

                “Hey, Buddy.”  Standing in the doorway, Booth stood with his hands in his pockets.  “Listen, I have to go pick up my tux for Friday, and I was thinking about going to lunch at that Mexican place...you know, the one that’s a couple of doors down from the formal wear shop.  Want to come with?”

                Aubrey sighed softly as he thought things over.  He’d brought some excellent leftovers from the previous day’s Christmas feast, but it had also occurred to him that Booth might offer some valuable insights into what was bugging him.  Anyway, his lunch would keep nicely until tomorrow.

               “Yeah, that sounds good.”  After shutting down his computer, he grabbed his keys, coat, and phone.   “Hey, you got your tux at Al’s, too, right?  Cool.  That works out good for me.  It saves me a trip after work.”

                “Yeah, well, they give us that law enforcement discount, so why not?”   The men entered the elevator and rode down to the parking lot.  “I’ve gotten so many tuxedos from that place that normally I just have to call Al and tell him I want the usual.” 

                Grinning slightly, Booth shrugged as he patted his waistband.  “Bones made me go get measured this time, even though I said I knew it wasn’t necessary.  She says I’ve put on a bit of weight around my middle...part of getting older, right?”  He paused as they walked over to the SUV.  “But guess what?  I’m still a 38 waist, just like always.”

                “And I know you made sure to tell her you were right.”  Aubrey chuckled as he glanced at his friend.  For being in his late forties, Booth was in great shape.   “I had to get measured, too, and then they had to special order it for me, because I’m so slender and wiry.”

                “Not a bad problem to have.  Of course, once you reach middle age like me, your metabolism might slow down and you’ll have to cut back a bit, you know?  You might only be able to handle three sandwiches for lunch instead of five.”

                “I know...I work out at home, but Jessica says I might have to cut down on my snacks in a couple of years if I want to stay at my fighting weight.  I think she’s worrying over nothing.  I have a high metabolic rate…I’m like a hummingbird...plus I have low blood sugar...”

                “That’s bullshit, Aubrey.”  Booth chuckled as he smiled at his friend.  “You just like to eat.”

                “Yeah, you’re right.  Still...only three sandwiches?  That’s just a good snack…”

                The men laughed and talked as they drove to the shop, keeping the topics casual as they picked up their clothes for the upcoming event.  After locking the tuxedos in the truck, they strolled down the strip mall to Aguilar’s Mexican Cantina. 

                The lunch rush was in full swing as they were shown to their booth.  Taking a menu, Aubrey licked his lips in anticipation.  “I think I’m going to get the three enchilada dinner with two extra beef tacos, a side of guacamole, rice, and a double order of frijoles borracho.”

                “Are you sure that’s going to hold you until your afternoon snack?”  Booth shook his head as he made his choice.  “I think I’ll have the beef fajita platter.  It’s meatless Monday at home tonight, so I’ve got to make up for that, right?”

                After giving their server the order, Booth took a sip of his water.  “So...first full day back, huh?  How are you feeling?  Beat, right?  Man, after being off for a couple of weeks to recuperate, going back to work can really wear a guy out…”               

               “Actually, I haven’t felt too bad physically, but when I saw the stack of folders on my desk this morning, I almost had a heart attack.  I mean, Shaw did a great job filling in for me, but there’s some stuff that I have to do myself, like performance reviews and checking expense accounts.  I tried to keep up with that stuff from home when I worked my half days, but still…”

                “Yeah, I know.   It can seem overwhelming.  It also feels like you’ve got to get it all done today, but you don’t have enough time, and then people keep stopping by the office to say hi or to check on you…”  Booth dipped a tortilla chip into a small bowl of salsa.  “...or to drag you out to lunch…”

                “But a guy’s got to eat, right?”  Aubrey filled a chip with queso and added a spoonful of extra hot salsa.  “I guess I kind of needed the break, anyway.  Besides, I feel like I don’t get to talk to you much anymore…what with us both being so busy...”

                Even though they’d spent most of Christmas Day together, Booth understood what Aubrey was saying.  “Yeah, it’s hard to find the time, isn’t it, with both of us running divisions.”  Shrugging as he sprinkled some hot sauce on his fajitas, he continued quietly.  “That’s why I asked you to have lunch with me today.  You’ve had a rough time over the last month…”

                “But I feel good.  The surgeon says I’m good to go…”, Aubrey protested.  “Things are back to normal...all of it…well, almost everything.”  He stared at his plate, somewhat embarrassed.  He was hesitant to share his problems, but he also knew if anyone would understand what he was going through, it would be Booth.  Puffing out a sigh, he spoke quietly.  “I’m still having nightmares...about...you know…”

                Booth raised an eyebrow at his friend.  “Yeah...I know...about pulling the trigger, right?  I get that.  I’ve had them in the past.”  He sipped his water before he continued.  “Want to talk about it?”

                “I don’t know if there’s anything to talk about, really.  It’s just a slow motion version of what happened...I pull the trigger and there’s blood everywhere…”  Aubrey fidgeted with his napkin, unsure of what to say.  “...and things get dark, and I want to talk to Jessica.  It’s silly, really...I mean, I know how things are going to work out.  I don’t know why I keep getting the instant replay every night.”

                “Well, for one thing, you were scared shitless, right?  Your body was trying to figure out what the hell was going on, and there was a huge adrenaline rush.  That kind of trauma is hard to forget.”   Booth sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.  “The other reason is probably because you’d never killed anyone before.  I’m not saying it like that’s a bad thing, okay?  I hope you never have to do it again.  I’m just saying that your mind has to adjust to the idea that you did that.  Look, we both know you did the right thing in a bad situation.  You were defending yourself and your partner, but that doesn’t change the fact that you did something you would never want to do...something that goes against everything you’ve ever been taught.  It’s going to take your brain some time to get used to that.”

                “How much time?  Weeks?  Months?”, Aubrey asked.  “Are the nightmares ever going to stop?”

                “I don’t know if they’ll ever completely stop, but yeah...eventually they’ll become less frequent.  I can’t really give you a time table because everyone’s different.”  Cutting up some his fajita meat, Booth glanced at his friend.  “It’s only nightmares?  Nothing else has been bothering you?”

                “Not really.  I sleep pretty well most of the time, unless I have a nightmare, and then usually I can’t go back to sleep.”  Aubrey exhaled softly.  “It’s like in my conscious mind I’m okay, but in my subconscious mind, I’m still messed up.”               

               “Jessica knows about these nightmares you’ve been having, right?”  Booth asked as he put together a fajita. “Shutting her out has gotten you into trouble before.”

                Aubrey sipped his water and thought of how she comforted him this morning.  “Jessica knows everything, Booth.  I won’t hide things from her ever again...I promise.”

               “Good.”  Booth replied.  “So have you been to see the shrink yet?  Dr. Dalton? She’s really good.”

                “I called to make an appointment this morning but I had to leave a voicemail.  Stark says I can’t go back out in the field until I see her.”

                Booth nodded.  “That’s standard procedure.  I went to see her last week.”

                “Why did you go?”  Aubrey was thoroughly surprised.  “You didn’t pull the trigger…”

                “No, but I was scared shitless, too, okay?  Getting injured like that and then going back out in the field can make a guy jittery, you know?  I just needed to talk some things out, and she was fine with that.  That’s what she’s there for.”

                “Yeah.”  Wiping his mouth with his napkin, Aubrey smiled at his friend.  “Thanks, Booth.  It’s nice to know that I’m normal.”

                “I wouldn’t go that far…”, Booth laughed as he glanced at his watch.  “Hey, I guess we’d better get back to work…” 

                Getting up from the table, he slapped Aubrey on the back as he picked up the lunch check.  “You’re going to be fine.  If you need to talk some more, I’ll be here for you...but you have to buy lunch next time.”

                “No problem.”  Sighing softly, Aubrey smiled to himself. 

                Things were going to be okay.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Aubrey walked into his house at 7:40, brushing the snow off himself and taking his shoes off before locking the door.  “Hey, Jess?”

_“In the kitchen.”_

                Aubrey walked through the open living room and smelled a lovely aroma.  “Sorry I got home late.  Is that what I think it is, Jessica?”

                Closing the oven, the redhead turned to her boyfriend and put her arms around him.  “Yes, it’s broccoli mac and cheese and I threw some smoked sausage in there.  I’m also making a salad as well as roasting some carrots.”

                “Nice…”, Aubrey replied as he kissed his girlfriend.  “But...what about our leftovers?”

                “I had originally planned to use them, but then I realized that I need food for the next couple of days for lunch at the lab.  Plus...I had a vibe that comfort food would sound good to you today.”

_‘You don’t know how right you are, Jess.’_ the agent thought to himself.  “I’m going to go change and then I’ll feed Skinner...if you haven’t yet.”

                “Thank you.  He’s been giving me the food stare for the last twenty minutes.”

                “Okay, be right back.”, Aubrey replied but stopped when he saw his cat standing by his dish,  watching his man intently as his tail swished.  “I guess I’m feeding you first, Buddy.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

                Twenty minutes later, the couple sat down to dinner.  As Jessica sipped her rosé wine, she could feel Aubrey’s tension.  Deciding to ease him into talking, she started with some small talk.  “So, how was your first day back full time?”

                Thinking about his day, Aubrey shrugged as he chewed the cheese and pasta in his mouth.  “Busy as all get out.  Steve and Mitzi were making out in the conference room when I came to work, so I had to deal with that before doing payroll.  The case audits took longer than usual since we are still training that rookie, Agent Sanderson, from Quantico.  His cases have to be scrutinized carefully for errors.  Then, to top it off, Stark came in to check on me today.”

                “You really were busy.”  Jessica nodded as she took a bite of salad.  “So did you enjoy your Christmas leftovers today with your pie?”

                “Actually, Booth and I picked up our tuxes together and then decided to have lunch out.”, Aubrey replied, playing with his carrots before looking up at his girlfriend.  “We talked about...this morning...my nightmare, that is...not what happened afterwards...that’s between us.”

                “Did it help?  You were stressed when you left this morning.”

                “Well, yeah, Jess.  I was exhausted and felt like an asshole for wham bamming my girlfriend before 5 AM because of that damn dream.”  Realizing he was being snappy, he grimaced as he took a breath.  “Sorry.”

                “It’s okay, Aubrey.  Don’t feel bad.  You needed to forget that dream, and, besides, you made up for it in the shower.” Jessica said quietly before taking a bite of her salad.  “So, did it help you to talk to Booth about it?”

                “Yeah...yeah it did.”  Aubrey paused to sip his wine.  “Stark came by and said I need to talk to the FBI shrink.  I had called before lunch to make an appointment but all I got was her voice mail.  Booth pushed me to go ASAP, so when she returned my call after lunch, saying she had a 6:00 opening tonight, I took it.  That’s why I was late tonight...that and all the snow.  Dr. Dalton...helped put what happened with Sipoletti into perspective.”

                “That’s good, Superman.”, Jessica said as she took his hand.  “What’s going to happen now?  Can you go back to field work?”

                “Yeah, she cleared me, but...I’m going to talk to her next week, too.”, Aubrey replied quietly.  “It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you, Jess, but...I don’t know…”

                “Aubrey...you have nothing to be ashamed of.  She’s a psychologist and...you were traumatized.  I can hold your hand and listen, but it sounds like you may need a professional as well...at least for a couple more weeks.  It’s okay, all right?  Even Superman needs help once in a while.”  The redhead gave his hand a gentle squeeze.  “You’ve been helping me move forward with all this Gerald shit...let me help you move forward from your problems.  That way we can go forward together.”

                They came together and shared a kiss.  Parting, Aubrey melted into Jessica’s beautiful green eyes.  “How about after we finish dinner and I clean up--”

                “You’re volunteering to clean up?”, Jessica said with a chuckle.  “After the way you moaned and groaned about it yesterday?”

                “Yes, I’m going to clean up.  Anyway, I was going to propose that we spend some time in our jet tub after dinner...you know, some quality time for just the two of us.  I was thinking I could give you a shoulder massage...back massage...breast massage…”

                “Sounds very nice...but what I am going to do for you?”  Jessica licked her lips suggestively as she rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand.

                The agent finished the last bites of his meal.  “Spend time with me...maybe we can talk about our upcoming vacation…”

                “Sounds good, Superman.”  Jessica finished her dinner and rose from the table.  “Now, you take care of this, and I’ll get the tub started.  Don’t take too long...remember, it’s not nice to keep your girlfriend waiting...”

                Picking up the plates, Aubrey watched her go up the stairs, visibly relieved.  He couldn’t help but smile as he loaded the dishwasher.

_She loves me…’_  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Bad Girls Bible does exist. I found it when looking for something totally unrelated. https://badgirlsbible.com/


	57. The FBI Gala Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Welcome back! After the busy Christmas holidays, it's time to get ready for the FBI Gala honoring Booth, Aubrey, and Shaw. Will things go smoothly for our favorite couple? Read on to find out.

           The next three days were a mixed bag for the couple. 

           Tuesday started as a quiet day for Jessica at the lab as her morning was spent assisting her mentor with the remains of three World War I soldiers that were found recently in Ypres.  A couple times while she was working, the intern noticed that whenever Dr. Boyd would pass by the Bone Room, she’d give Brennan dirty looks.

          “Dr. B, why does Dr. Boyd look so pissed?”

          Brennan smirked but didn’t look up as she continued her exam of the remains.  “It seems Dr. Boyd did not get an invitation to the banquet on Friday, and she wanted an explanation as to why she was omitted from the guest list since Hodgins, Cam, and half the lab were invited.”

          “Aubrey said Curly and Dr. Saroyan were invited because they are the interim head and current heads of the lab.  Of course they’re bringing Angela and Arastoo.  I’m the only intern going and that’s because my boyfriend is one of the guests of honor.  Dr. Boyd is just covering for Dr. Saroyan, so why would she get invited?”

          “I sense that what she perceives as her role here and what it actually is differ considerably.  Of course, Hodgins reminded her that her job title of interim Pathologist is only valid until March 1, 2017.”

          “If Curly was the one who told her, why is she giving you the stink eye, Dr. B?”

         “Because she came to me and asked me to use my cordial relationship with Deputy Director Stark and the Director himself in order to garner an invitation.  Of course, I told her no.  She then accused me of having it out for her.  I replied that I didn’t care enough for her to worry about her life outside of the lab.  She said she had connections and would get an invitation anyway, which I welcomed her to do.”

          Two hours later, while Jessica was on her lunch break, she was devastated to read on Twitter that her idol Carrie Fisher had taken a turn for the worse and died earlier that morning.  After sending the tweet to Aubrey as a Direct Message, she retweeted the following.

**_ @MSUBoneGirl:_ ** _Princess Leia u were my hero.  Kick the Empire’s ass where u r now.  #RIPCarrieFisher.  #RIPStarWarsPrincess._

          It wasn’t ten minutes when her tweet got a response.

**_ @MilleniumFalconFed _ ** _This sucks.  Hopefully Leia is reunited with her Han Solo.  #RIPPrincessLeiaGeneralOrgana #FuckTheEmpire_

           Jessica chuckled as only her Superman could make her laugh now...but it didn’t last.  She held it together for the rest of the afternoon but was relieved when 4:00 came.  She was almost home when her phone rang.

           She sighed softly when she saw it was her boyfriend.  Aubrey had a meeting with Booth and Charlie to finalize their new agent orientation proposal at 5:30.  Knowing him, he was checking up on her, so she answered and chatted until Aubrey offered to leave work early, but she was firm in her refusal.

_“Are you sure, Jess?  I can Skype Booth and Charlie from home.”_

           Jessica wiped her eyes while talking on the Bluetooth.  “I’m fine, Superman.  I’m just heading home now.  I’m going to put on my flannel jammies and my robe before I read my new book tonight with Skinner.  You have your meeting, okay?”

          _“Okay, I’ll get home as soon as possible….I’m going to shoot for 7:00.”_

 “Please don’t rush home on my account tonight.  I know how important this proposal is for you, Booth, and Agent Burns.”

          _“But not as important as you, Jessica.  I’m serious...if you need me to leave early, call me, all right?”_

“I promise, Aubrey.”

          Unfortunately for Aubrey, his meeting ran late because Hacker dropped in on the three men and talked their ears off.  When he arrived home after 8:00, he found that his girlfriend asleep on the couch while holding her book.  As he got closer, his heart broke when he saw her puffy eyes and red nose.  Not wanting to disturb her, he covered her with the blanket on the back of the furniture.  Heating up the leftover lasagna from Saturday, he took his food and a beer to the den after shutting the living room light off.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Wednesday Aubrey spent his day assisted by Genny as they went through all the inventory in the division per Caroline’s suggestion.  What he thought would be done by lunch dragged on into the afternoon. 

         “Okay, look...I’ve been transferred to three different people now.  I just want to know whether flash drives are computer equipment or computer storage.”, Genny said tersely into Aubrey ‘s second line on the table.  “Really? How long does it take to figure that out?  No, don’t put me on hold again...asshole.”

          “So are the bulletproof vests considered equipment or just uniforms?”, Aubrey snarked into the receiver.  “Not sure...how about I put one on you and fire at you to see how it works?”

          Unbeknownst to the two agents, Booth was in the doorway listening, remembering how Caroline talked him into doing the same thing years earlier.  When his friend threatened the property clerk, he finally cracked. “Having fun, Aubrey?”

          The lanky man responded with his middle finger and a scowl before Booth walked away laughing loudly at his friend’s frustration.

          Jessica’s work day ran late as well due to being called out to a scene with Brennan in Reston, Virginia right after lunch.  It was her turn to get home late as she walked in the door after 7:00.  She gave a tired smile to her boyfriend as he presented her with Christmas leftovers for dinner.  After eating and watching _Forbidden Planet_ on Comet, the two had an early night and were asleep before 11:00.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Thursday morning, Daisy called Jessica and wanted to get together with her for lunch.  The redhead was surprised that her friend pushed for a visit to the lab, but chalked it up to wanting to see Brennan, Angela, and Arastoo, who was helping out for the day. 

           Daisy arrived two hours later with food from Founding Fathers and the two women ate upstairs in the break area. 

          “So have you had that talk with Beau, Daisy?”, Jessica asked before chewing on her club sandwich.

          “No, but I think I may have been hard on him, Jessica.”  Daisy responded, stabbing her salad.  “He’s not all that bad.”

          Surprised, Jessica took a drink of her pop.  “But I thought you said he didn’t understand you and it was hard to talk to him.”

          “I did, but you were right when you said that I can’t run to Oliver anymore.  Beau is my husband and I should try to be more understand…”, Daisy trailed off as her attention was focused below.

          Jessica looked to see Oliver and Rani walking in together hand in hand.  Before she could respond, Daisy made a comment.

          “What the hell is she doing here?  Doesn’t she have her own department to run?”

          Treading lightly, Jessica clasped her hands together.  “Well, Curly told me this morning they were going to start to work this afternoon on that prototype they were discussing.  I guess they’re going to set up shop down in Limbo.”

          “He has no shame…”,  Daisy whispered before harshly stabbing her salad.  “First he brings her to the NFL today and now here?”

          Jessica wisely decided to take a drink of her Coke before sipping her tomato soup.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Finally, Friday arrived and things eased for both of the couple.  Aubrey’s presentation with Booth and Charlie went very well and was approved to start with the newest graduating class the beginning of February 2017. 

Jessica wasn’t scheduled to go into work until 12:00 and her day concluded with her meeting with Brennan.

          “I know that I haven’t had as much time to research the last couple of weeks--”

          “Given your schedule over the holidays, that’s understandable.” Brennan sat back in her office chair.  “However, Ms. Warren, what you have presented to me is still high quality work.  Furthermore, this study you found on calcification does lend support to your thesis.  I am confident that next semester you will be as productive as you’ve always been.”

          “Thank you, Dr. B.”

          Brennan looked at her watch.  “It’s 4:00 now.  Dr. Hodgins is closing the lab soon due to the New Year’s weekend.  I was going to leave in about thirty minutes to get home so I can get ready for the banquet.  You can do the same, Ms. Warren, unless you want to stay until 5:00.”

          Jessica got up from her seat.  “I think I’ll take you up on that offer.  Thanks.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          An hour later, Aubrey rushed through his door and was greeted by his cat.  Looking around, he didn’t see his girlfriend anywhere.  “Glad to see you, boy, but Daddy and Aunt Jessica have to get ready to go out.  Where is she?”

          Walking up the stairs, he heard the shower and grinned.  Running up, he started to strip.  By the time he got to the bathroom, he only had his socks and pants on.  “Jess, make some room in there…”

          “No, Superman, you’re getting ready downstairs.  I put your shaving kit, tux, and your other stuff in the bathroom.”, the redhead yelled from the shower.

          He could see her nude silhouette through the glass door.  “Jessica...come on…”

          Jessica rinsed her hair under the spray.  “Aubrey...we don’t have time for shower sex.”

          “We don’t always have shower sex.  Please…I promise to behave in there.”  When he didn’t hear a response for a few seconds, he smirked while stripping off the rest of his clothes.

          “You’re getting ready downstairs because I want to make a grand entrance for you.”

          Aubrey opened the shower door and entered.  “That’s acceptable.”

          Jessica narrowed her eyes.  “You were taking your clothes off while I was talking, weren’t you?”

          “No…..”, the agent scoffed.

          “You’re a liar but I love you.  No groping, seriously.  We don’t have time to fool around.”,  Jessica admonished without heat.  “I promise we will have amazing shower sex at least once at the cabin while we’re on vacation.”

          “I’m holding you to that…”, he replied, laughing as he dipped his head under the water.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           Forty minutes later, Aubrey wore a towel around his waist as he finished his shave in the downstairs bathroom.  After a final inspection, he put on a pair of blue silk boxer shorts and entered the downstairs bedroom next door.  Opening a garment bag, he pulled out his tux and  sang _‘Sharp Dressed Man’_ to himself as he got dressed.           

          “My redhead’s crazy about a sharp dressed man…ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba bah.”, Aubrey sang as he put on the vest that went along with the outfit. _‘She’ll be so hot for me tonight…’_

          Observing his cat on the bed watching him, Aubrey shook his finger at his pet.  “Skinner, you will not get your fur all over this tux.  Daddy is getting an award from the FBI tonight and he’s hopefully getting more than that from your Aunt Jessica when we get home.  We’re still playing catch up for the last month.”

          Looking up at the ceiling, Aubrey was getting anxious as he thought about his girlfriend and what she was doing upstairs.  All she’d told him about her dress tonight was that it was dark blue, Dr. B, Angela, Cam, and Andie loved it, and that he would, too.  She also hinted that he would like what she wore underneath the dress.

          Aubrey smiled to himself.  He didn’t know how yet, but he would find a way to get a sneak peek before they got home tonight.

          Heading out to the open living room area, he saw the overnight bag he’d packed in preparation for their trip east to Luray the following morning.  Next to it were Jessica’s overnight and toiletries bags.  Beside that was his laptop bag along with extra chargers and anything else they might need, as well as his guitar, per Jessica’s request. 

          Aubrey smiled just thinking about their trip.  Three nights at a beautiful cabin in the mountains…just him and Jessica.  Three bedrooms, two fireplaces, a large deck, and of course...a state of the art kitchen.  He’d lucked out that there was a reservation available for this place over the New Year’s weekend.

          They planned on getting up first thing tomorrow so they could get groceries and arrive by noon.  They would enjoy their afternoon before going to a fancy dinner at a local inn, with plans for their own private celebration for the New Year.  The rest of their time would be spent in relaxation and enjoying each other without work or other people bothering them.  Thankfully, Wendell and Andie were available to housesit and take care of Skinner while they were gone.

          In the chair next to his suitcase was a handful of science fiction movies, his Star Wars board game, and her _Star Wars:  Secrets of the Galaxy_ box set.  Both were still upset about the loss of Carrie Fisher.  However, last night they’d decided to start a Star Wars movie marathon tomorrow afternoon with a conclusion on New Year’s Day.  They might go out into Luray afterwards...or maybe they’d stay in to enjoy the peace and quiet.

          Last night, Jessica had hinted that she was planning to bring her Christmas lingerie.  In turn, he’d packed the silk pajama pants she had gotten him.  Perhaps they could do some more dancing like they did last weekend.  Jessica had a way with science fiction movie scores...

          Hearing another meow, Aubrey saw his cat walking towards him and quickly backed away.  “Skinner, no.  You were already fed, Buddy…all right…all right…just a few treats, okay?”

          As he poured a small group of pellets into the cat’s dish, the agent heard footsteps and then Jessica’s voice.  “Superman, can you help me with my necklace?”

          “Sure, Jess.  Be right…..wow…”

          Aubrey could only stare at the vision in front of him.  The royal blue of her gown contrasted beautifully with her fair skin.  Her dark red hair was pinned in a side bun with a few tendrils of hair surrounding her face.  Her eyes seem to pop, thanks to the extra sparkle she’d added to her make up.  On her delicate earlobes were the two tone sapphire drop earrings that she’d borrowed from Dr. B.

          His Jessica was always pretty, but right now…she was gorgeous. 

          “Aubrey…” Jessica blushed under his ardent gaze,  secretly pleased that her boyfriend was dazzled.  “Aubrey…James!”

          Knocked out of his trance, he wore a huge grin as he shook his head at his girlfriend.  “Sorry, Jess…you look…beautiful.  You look like a Hollywood starlet….like Rita Hayworth...Hedy LaMarr...”

          Jessica blushed again at her boyfriend’s compliment.  “I highly doubt that, Superman.”

          _‘She still doesn’t know how beautiful she is.’,_ the agent thought. “Don’t...I know a beautiful woman when I see one...and you’re the most beautiful of all.” 

          Still slightly embarrassed, Jessica continued to blush as she held out her new necklace.  “Thank you, Aubrey.”

          The agent walked over and took the necklace Jessica held out for him.  Putting the chain around her neck he fastened it into place before his finger pulled the back of her dress towards him.  Looking inside, he got excited.  “Holy shit...you’re not wearing a bra...”

          “Yes I am.”  Jessica said as she waited for him to finish peeking.  “It’s one of those self-adhesive push up bras because I’m wearing a backless dress.”

          “That should be interesting to remove later.  Did you maybe…wear…anything else tonight?”,  Aubrey asked as his left hand slowly made its way down her backside.  _‘Hmmm...there’s something there, but her panties usually are lower...but she wouldn't go to an occasion like this without underwear.’_

The lightbulb went off and he caressed her posterior.  “Ms. Warren, are you wearing a garter belt tonight?” 

          “Maybe...and I may or may not be wearing a black pair of your Christmas panties...”

          Aubrey grinned as he went through his mental list of Jessica’s lingerie.  ‘ _Maybe she wore the black lace cheekies I got her...or the black crotchless ones...yeah, both of them make Jess look hot and totally fuckable…of course, when isn’t she, though?’_

          Feeling a little excited, Aubrey talked himself down.  ‘ _Whoa...calm down, Aubrey.  You can’t go to a work party with a boner.’_

          Jessica could feel Aubrey’s hot breath on her neck and she shuddered slightly.  “Well, Agent Aubrey, the sooner you let go of my butt, the sooner we get to the party, and the sooner you  can find out.”

          “Oh…sorry…”, Aubrey said, reluctantly taking his hand off her butt. 

          “Thank you.”, the redhead replied.  Turning around, she gently caressed Aubrey’s chest.  “I have to say, Superman...you look really hot now.  I especially like the vest...very sexy.  I can’t wait to take it off of you later…but I’m also wondering what you have on underneath this tux.”

          Aubrey felt his girlfriend’s hand go lower and reluctantly stopped her.  “Jess...you keep doing that and we’re not going to the party because I’ll toss you on my kitchen counter and pound you.”

          Jessica turned scarlet before grabbing her wrap, an antique piano shawl with a floral design in various blue and purple.   “Yeah, I guess you attending an FBI banquet with an erection wouldn’t be too professional, Agent Aubrey.”

          “No, it wouldn’t.”  Aubrey took his girlfriend’s wrap from her.   “You attending without any underwear wouldn’t be professional either, although I would love it.”

          Jessica snickered as he helped her with the final garment. “I’ll keep that last thought of yours in mind...”

          “Don’t tease me, woman.”, Aubrey said with a broad smile before putting his own coat on.  Making sure he had his wallet and phone as his girlfriend grabbed her evening bag, he opened the front door and let Jessica walk through before following her.

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

          Almost an hour and typical Friday Washington DC traffic later,  Aubrey and Jessica arrived at The Willard for the banquet.  Pulling up to the entrance, the agent slowed down.  “I’m going to use the valet parking this evening.  It’s cold out right now...”

          “I’ll be fine walking—“

          “Jessica…let me be chivalrous, please.  Besides, I don’t want to miss spending a minute with you tonight.”

          Aubrey spoke quietly to the valet before handing him the keys.  Coming around to the passenger side, the agent opened the door with a flourish, grinning as he offered his hand to assist his beautiful girlfriend.  Giggling softly as she accepted, the redhead smiled and got out.  As they watched Aubrey’s SUV move away to park, she contemplated the silence that reigned over the last fifteen minutes of their drive.  Something was bothering her Superman and they were going to talk about it one way or another.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          When they got inside, Aubrey took her hand to lead her to the party.  However, he was puzzled as she led him the other way to a couple of chairs inside the lobby. “Jess, the party is this way.”

          “I know where the party is, but I want to talk to you for a few minutes.”, the anthropologist replied, pointing to one of the chairs.  “Sit there.”

          Seeing his girlfriend was serious, he complied sullenly.  “What’s the matter?”

          Jessica took the seat next to him.  “I should be asking you that.  You were really quiet the last part of our ride here, James.  What’s wrong?”

          _‘Damn it, I can’t lie to her.’_   Aubrey mused before speaking.  “You know me too well.  How do you do that?”

          “Because I’m your best friend, silly, I love you, and I get to see you naked.  Now, talk to me so we can go to the party and your nice rental tux doesn’t go to waste.”

          “I feel like…I know that we’ve technically closed the Vacchio case, Jess, but…”, Aubrey started before looking at the redhead, who was patiently waiting for him to continue.  “…this party feels like a farce.  Genny, Booth, and I are being honored for a case that isn’t complete.  There’s more to this…my father is a part of this somehow…I can feel it.”

          “I agree, James, but…this party isn’t for the case.  This party is because Genny saved Hunter’s life and you and Booth saved each other’s lives.  You three were so brave and deserve to be recognized for that.  Will there be some bragging about this case tonight?  I’m sure, but you’re here because you three are an example of what makes the FBI so great for this country.”

          “Wow.  You can be our recruiter with that speech.”, Aubrey said with a smirk.  “But, you’re also right.”

          “I know I’m right.”, Jessica said, standing up and holding out her hand.  “Come on, Aubrey, let’s go to the party so you can enjoy the hors d’oeuvres, dance with me, get a nice award for your office, and then take me home so we can make love so passionate that we put the Halloween Gala to shame.”

          Aubrey chuckled before getting up and taking Jessica’s hand.  “Let’s go, Jess.”

          Arriving at the ballroom, they stood in line to be checked into the party.  As they got closer to the table, Aubrey sneaked another look at his girlfriend.

          “Jess, I can’t get over how gorgeous you look…I’ll have the most beautiful date here.”

          Blushing, the redhead turned to her boyfriend.  “Thank you, Aubrey.  I highly doubt that I’ll be the most beautiful…”

          “Uh, yeah you will be.”, Aubrey said.  “That dress is…stunning on you.”

          “Dr. B helped me a lot.”,  Jessica replied shyly before indicating her earrings.  “She loaned me these earrings, remember?”

          Aubrey fingered the one dangling from her left ear.  “They are very unique…just like you, Jessica.”

          Jessica shared a small kiss with her boyfriend.  “I love you, James.”

          “And I love you…”

          Five people back, Karen was standing with Agent John Thomas, a recent transfer to the BRIU unit from Cincinnati.  She wore an A-line sleeveless black dress with a plunging V neckline and a floral dot skirt of red, blue, and black.  As she watched Aubrey and Jessica kiss, she cringed, making a face at her date.

          “Ugh, can they get any more sickly sweet?  If I have to watch that bitch spew any more fake platitudes or adoration for that man, I’ll vomit.”

          “Isn’t that Agent Aubrey, one of the agents the Bureau is honoring tonight?”,  the junior agent asked innocently.  “His date is pretty cute.”

          “Yeah it is, John.”,  Karen said, irritated that her date was focused on Jessica.  “And that woman with him…she’s been known to share her favors with more than one agent here as well as at the Jeffersonian.  My ex-boyfriend Steve fucked around with her, even while Agent Aubrey was in the hospital last month...the louse.”

          “Ouch…sorry about that, Karen.”,  Thomas said.

          Karen leaned in as she was sharing a secret.  “Well, I found out just in time because recently, Jessica was treated for her third bout with gonorrhea after she gave it to my boyfriend.  Luckily, I tested negative, but Steve’s probably given it to that new wife of his….and that twat gave it to Aubrey, I’m assuming.  Poor guy.  His girlfriend is a diseased slut.”

          “Karen, shut up.”

          Turning she saw Genny with Hunter next to her, looking handsome in his tux.  Steeling her spine, Karen smirked.  “Be quiet, Genevieve.  You have no say over what I do.”

          “No, but Agent Booth is good friends with Agent Tanner…and I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy to hear you spewing lies about his friend’s girlfriend.  He will tell Dr. B, who is very protective of her interns and knows enough people to make things hurt for you.  Then, he’ll tell Aubrey, who will talk Jessica into filing a report of harassment, which means you would lose your security clearance.  Then you would have to deal with Deputy Director Stark, and you’re also on thin ice with him after your little temper tantrum in Major Crimes two weeks ago.”

          “Hey, that Mitzi started everything!  Why I had to pay for half of that damage and ride out a two day suspension, I don’t understand.  That Amazon bitch is the one who threw me across the room—“

          “After you jumped Agent Bower, Karen.  Now, behave tonight.”

          The profiler turned to Hunter.  “You may want to get a muzzle for your girlfriend, Hunter.  She’s going to get herself into trouble one of these days for getting too big for her britches.”

          “If you want to know who should be muzzled, perhaps you should look in the mirror, Dr. Delfs.”,  Hunter said, making Genny crack a laugh and Agent Thomas smirk before pointing forward.  “You’re up, you two.  Hurry, please.  My date and I would like enjoy drinks with our friends before dinner.”

          Karen wore a fake smile as she realized the two people at the table were waiting to check her in as several couples behind them were becoming impatient.  “Come on, John.”

          Genny watched her storm off with her date following him.  “Hunter, you’re amazing.”

          “Not as amazing as you.”,  the tall accountant said, kissing the ASAC and following the previous couple when it was their turn to check in.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Fifteen minutes later, Steve Bower walked into the banquet with Mitzi, who lit up when she saw the place.  “Oh Stevie Bear, it’s so beautiful.”

          Bower smiled as he looked at his wife in her gown.  “Not as beautiful as you, Mitzi Muffin.  I can’t wait to dive under your skirt and lick between your delicious thighs later in our suite upstairs…”

          “Oh Stevie…you’re so romantic…”,  Mitzi said before bending down to kiss her husband.  “Maybe we can even get one of our new toys out while you do that.”

          “Really?”,  the agent asked with glee.  “Can we use our new love beads and that bacon lube I found online?”

          “Whatever my Stevie Bear wants…”

          Less than two feet away, Booth and Brennan had accidentally overheard their conversation.  Hearing the last bit, the agent made a face.  “Oh…that is so…wrong…”

          Brennan, looking beautiful in a green sleeveless mermaid dress with appliques along the trunk and hemline, turned to her husband with a flirty smile.  “Booth, there’s nothing wrong with a monogamous couple using sexual enhancements to improve their lovemaking—“

          “Anal beads and...bacon lube...are not sexual enhancements, Bones.  Who the hell makes bacon lube anyway?  That’s just making crappy sex worse.  We….”,  Booth whispered while indicating with his finger himself and his wife, “…don’t need that shit.”

          Brennan rubbed her husband’s arm.  “I know that, Booth…but not everyone is as naturally gifted as you are at making love.”

          Booth smiled at his wife.  “I’m only as good as I am because I’m with you, Bones.”

          The couple went to their assigned table, which had Aubrey, Jessica, Genny, Hunter, Hodgins and Angela, who suddenly stood up.  “I don’t know what’s worse about pregnancy...peeing all the time or being fat.”

          “Babe, you look beautiful…”

          Angela rolled her eyes at her husband.  “Yeah like a five and half month pregnant water buffalo stuffed into a dress…”

          “Angela, your dress is beautiful and very flattering on you.”,  Jessica said, admiring the sleeveless white dress printed with a design of black and fuchsia flowers and leaves. 

          “Thank you, Jessica.”,  Angela replied.  “I love your dress…that color is gorgeous...”

          “Thanks, Angela.”, the redhead responded as Aubrey put his arm around her chair.

          “Wait, Jessica compliments you and you’re good.  However, I do it and you blow it off.  Why?”,  Hodgins questioned.

          “Oh Sweetie...have you not learned anything from eight years of marriage?  You’re my husband.  You have to tell me I’m beautiful, even when I’m carrying a watermelon with half of your DNA in my uterus.  Jessica, is on the other hand, is my friend.”

          Hodgins nodded good naturedly.  “Of course, my bad Angie.”

          Angela kissed her husband on the top of his head.  “Anyone want to go to the ladies room with me to gossip after I pee?”

          Everyone laughed before Jessica stood up.  “Actually, I’ll join you.”

          “I will as well…”,  Brennan said.  Seeing Booth’s face, the doctor explained.  “Women go to the bathroom together, Booth.”

          “Come on, Genny…”,  Angela said with a smile.

          “Okay.”  The agent replied, happy to be included.  She grabbed her purse just as Cam and Arastoo came up.  “Dr. Saroyan, want to join us?”

          Cam, looking beautiful in a dark pink spaghetti strap A line dress, sat down after Arastoo pulled out his wife’s chair.  “I’ll sit this one out, thanks.”

          Watching the women walk away, Cam turned and looked around.  “Where’s Dr. Boyd?”

          “The FBI Director didn’t invite our interim pathologist…and she’s really pissed about it.”,  Hodgins said with a smile.  “Oh well…”

          “Hodgins…do I need to come back early from my sabbatical?”,  Cam asked, pretending to be annoyed.

          “No, Cam.  She’s a pain in the ass, but I’ll take care of it.”,  Hodgins replied. 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          In the restroom, the women were checking their makeup and gossiping as Angela joined them in the powder room.  “Ladies, did you see Mitzi Bower’s dress?”, the artist asked.

          “I noticed it when she walked in.  Did you all see who else was wearing it?”, Jessica said before adding lip gloss. 

          “Booth and I noticed it while we were talking to Agent Burns and his date.”, Brennan said while checking her makeup.  “It was a very amusing coincidence.”       

          “Jessica, I still can’t believe you and Aubrey were witnesses to Steve Bower’s wedding.”,  Genny said while touching up her mascara.  “You are nicer than I would have been.”

          “No shit…”, Angela chuckled as she grabbed her belly.  “Son of a bitch!  I have to pee again.  Be right back.”

          As Angela entered the restroom section of the lounge, Jessica turned to Genny.  “I got to know Mitzi while the four of us had dinner last week after the ceremony.  She’s actually really nice.  Did I tell you that Bower designed her wedding bouquet himself?”

          “Wow.  Bower is Mr. Happy Newlywed now and it’s really weird to watch.”, Genny said.  “He’s got their wedding photo on his desk, he’s stopped flirting with women, and he’s acting more professional at work...when he’s not making out with his wife, that is.  Whatever Mitzi is doing is working to keep him in line.”

          “Their PDA is a bit...much...but he seems to be totally besotted with her.  It’s like...he had a brain and personality transplant when he got back together with her.”, Jessica replied before shrugging.  “It is sweet that they were high school sweethearts that found each other again.”

          Brennan finished blotting her lipstick.  “Booth told me about the altercation involving Agent Bower’s wife and Dr. Delfs a couple weeks ago.  I’m sure Aubrey didn’t appreciate that on his first day back at work.”

          “No, he didn’t.”, Jessica replied, remembering how irritated her boyfriend was as she drove him home that day.  “He was still recovering and that wasn’t something he needed to deal with.”

          “I’m sure he didn’t, but I bet it was pretty damn funny.”,  Angela said as she came back into the powder room, hearing her best friend’s comment.  “Karen deserved to get her ass kicked for being such a bitch.”

          “It was funny, but I feel bad in a way for Karen.”, Jessica chimed in.

          “Good lord, why?”  Genny was shocked.  “She’s essentially been a bitch to you by blaming you for anything that makes her look bad, and she’s always trying to one up you.”

          “Genny, I know she’s been a thorn at my side, but she did seem like she cared about Steve a lot.  It was like she was desperate to only see the good stuff, you know.  However, she did deserve the karma slap...although being humiliated by her boyfriend’s fiancee announcing their engagement before she got her tailbone busted, spraining her arm, and getting a black eye seemed a bit extreme.”

          “Should Karen and Mitzi meet face to face again tonight, the social dynamics will be a fascinating anthropological study of two alpha females.”, Brennan said, closing her purse and smoothing her dress.  “Hopefully, the confrontation that will follow won’t take anything away from Booth, Aubrey, and yourself, Agent Shaw.”

          “Anybody want to take bets on how long before shit hits the fan?”,  Jessica said.          

          Before anyone could answer, the door opened and Karen stepped through.  Seeing the women there, she nodded before going through the door leading to the toilets.  “Ladies.”

          “Dr. Delfs.”,  Brennan replied while everyone else stayed silent.   

          When the profiler exited the powder room, everyone laughed.  “The social dynamics will be funny as shit, Dr. B.”,  Genny said as the group gathered their things.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Cocktail hour was fairly uneventful as Bower continued to stun people there with his loving behavior towards his wife.  Hodgins found a group of FBI scientists he was friendly with and began talking shop with them.  While getting drinks for Jessica and Brennan, Aubrey and Booth caught up with Agent Grace Miller, who was taking over as Special Agent in Charge of DC’s Financial division starting January 2nd.

          As Arastoo chatted with Jessica and Brennan, Cam met up with some colleagues from the FBI Laboratory.  Chatting about various topics, the conversation circled around eventually to Dr. Boyd.  As the pathologist listened to the other doctors speak, she became troubled. 

          “So my request for someone who was a team player and up to the standards we’ve set at our facility wasn’t fulfilled?”

          “No, Dr. Saroyan.”,  Dr. Tagahashi reluctantly stated.  “We’re loving the respite from her obnoxious behavior, but Dr. Thompson, who also applied, would have been a better fit for your lab.  We figured she was a shoo in, and we were all surprised that Dr. Boyd was chosen instead.  It was disappointing for all of us…we would’ve missed Thompson terribly, but she deserves the job...”

          “Yeah.”, Dr. Watts joined in.  “Dr. Boyd is competent, but her people skills suck and she always brags about the rich and powerful people she knows.  I’ve seen her threaten a few people who stand up to her.  She’s applied for other positions outside of the FBI for the last several years, including as the pathologist at your lab.”

          “She’s applied for my job?”  Cam asked.  “Interesting.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          A short time later, the group began making their way back to their table, drinks in hand and Aubrey especially ready for dinner.

          Near the end of the cocktail hour, Karen tuned out her date’s conversation with colleagues to watch Bower, who seemed to be without Mitzi at the moment as he talked to fellow Major Crimes agents.  _‘Wonder where the missus went?  Probably to try out for another Wrestlemania.’_

Making a 180 turn, she observed the table reserved for the guests of honor.  Arastoo and Cam were conversing with Genny and Hunter.  Nearby, she saw Aubrey, Jessica, Booth, and Brennan talking to Deputy Director Stark.  To her shock, the Director himself joined them at the table.  After watching Aubrey introduce his girlfriend, the tall man shook her hand, laughing at something Jessica had said.

          _‘Stupid cunt...taking my place with the group…’_ Karen thought. _‘That should be me with Aubrey right now.  What the fuck do people see in her?’_

“Take a picture, it will last longer.”

          Startled, Karen turned around and saw Angela.  “What’s the matter, Angela?  Bored because your husband is kissing those FBI scientists’ asses over there?”

          “Hodgins doesn’t have to kiss up to anyone Karen.  In actuality, it’s other scientists who kiss my husband’s ass, because he’s so awesome.”, Angela smirked.  “Is someone a little cranky because Aubrey and Steve aren’t noticing her and so she’s getting jealous?”

          “Fuck off, Angela.  You’re lucky you’re pregnant or I would do more than that.”

          “Whatever, Karen.  As for Aubrey, you can wish all you want, but he never will give you a second look because he’s always been crazy about Jessica.  It started that first day in my office when he couldn’t take his eyes off her and that was two years ago.  She’s smart as hell, but also kind and generous.  You will never measure up to that and I know that pisses you off.”

          “Jessica is a desperate slut who hangs onto Aubrey because she’s bored.  She’s going to get sick of him and I know she’ll dump him again.  I gave Aubrey a chance to be with a real woman, but he’s desperate to make things work with that twat.  I tried to be a friend to all of you...I tried to make you see the real Jessica, but you refuse to see what’s right in front of you.  I still can’t believe that Dr. Wick-Pixler is friends with her after Jessica fucked her boyfriend.”

          _‘She is so pathetic and jealous.  Sad really.’_ Angela thought.  “Karen, if you didn’t mess with them the way you did, Aubrey and Jessica would both be friends with you right now.”

          “Why would I want to be friends with Jessica?  I can make my own friends.”

          “Yeah, I can see how well that is going for you.”, Angela shot back.  “You had us for a while with that ditzy and sweet exterior, but we all wised up as we saw all that packaging hid the fact that you’re shallow, full of shit, and with a healthy dose of entitlement.  Contrary to what you think, just because you want a guy, it doesn’t mean you automatically get him.”

          Fired up, Karen shot back.  “I put my time in with Aubrey.  We were getting closer and would have got together if your intern hadn’t changed her mind.”

          The artist chuckled, seeing that Karen’s ire attracted the attention of a few of the guests at the table.  “You keep mentioning Jessica and yourself.  What about Aubrey?    He has a say in the matter, you know...and his say to you is _‘not interested’._ ”

          Karen looked the artist in the eye, trying not to show her hurt at her direct words.  “Go away, Angela.  You’re annoying me, and I have more important people to talk to tonight.”

          The artist looked at the other people at the table.  Two rolled their eyes at the profiler and others, including the profiler’s date, were all talking amongst themselves and not noticing her.  “Of course.”

          Turning back around, Karen was all smiles at something her date said, keeping her seething to herself.  _‘Know it all bitch.’_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Ten minutes later, when they announced the buffet was open, Aubrey practically jumped out of his seat.

          “Want to come, Jess?”

          Jessica giggled as she stood up and took his hand.  “Yes I do.  I probably should be there so you don’t eat everything.”

          “Ha ha…”, the agent said sarcastically.  “You’re lucky I love you so much.”

          “I know, and I love you, too.”, Jessica said.  “Now feed me.”

          Angela got up and looked at her husband, who was still talking to a couple of scientists from the FBI.  “I better feed Hodgins.  Once he starts talking shop, he forgets everything.”

          “We’re right behind you.”, Arastoo said as he and Cam stood up.  “Booth, you coming?”

          “We’ll go in a few minutes.”, Booth replied.  When everyone was gone, the agent turned to his wife.  “What are you thinking about, Bones?”

          “Aubrey and Ms. Warren.”

          “Why?”, Booth asked.

          “Because…they look so happy.  They’ve been through a lot this year, Booth.”, the anthropologist replied as she saw the couple laughing together while they waited in line.  “Ms. Warren told me last week that their relationship is getting better each day.  It doesn’t make sense, but it seems that Aubrey almost dying put things into perspective for them.”

          Booth put his arm on his wife’s chair.  “No, it does make sense, Bones.  Aubrey said they’ve discussed a lot of things lately while he’s been recuperating, including confronting the issues that have held them back.  They both had baggage they needed to unload, Bones and they couldn’t move forward until they did.

          “I would think that the forced celibacy has helped with that somewhat.”, Brennan said.  “Sexual intercourse can...complicate things.”

          “Perhaps.  I won’t be surprised if you see wedding bells at this time next year.”

          “Married?”, Brennan asked.  “Are they really at that stage?  Both seem...almost reluctant to consider marriage.”

          “Not now.”, Booth said.  “However, my gut is telling me that they’re getting closer to taking the plunge…and it will be when we least expect it…and it’ll be just as weird as they are.”

          “I don’t believe in gastrointestinal instincts.”, Brennan said.  “However, I do think your reasoning is sound.”

          “I’m glad.”  Booth’s gentle smile suddenly changed to a frown.  “Shit….be right back, Bones.”

          “Booth, what’s wrong?”,  Brennan asked.  When she saw where her husband was pointing, she made a face.  “Ohhhhh...that’s not good.”

          “No it’s not.”, Booth replied.  Looking towards the buffet’s serving line, he didn’t see his friend or his redheaded companion.  “I need to find Aubrey before things get out of hand...”

          Brennan got up after her husband did.  “I’ll help you look.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: Another L & C Extra coming w/ this chapter. Follow mphs95 on Twitter or MIBonesFan on Tumbler to see.


	58. The FBI Gala Part 2

          Unaware of the chaos about to unfold around them, Aubrey and Jessica were planning a strategy to maximize their partaking in the buffet’s offerings over the next hour.

          “So Jess, I’m going to start at the Chef’s table with the prime rib and turkey before doubling back for the garlic mashed potatoes, saffron rice, asparagus, and salad.  I’ll try the ham in the next run, along with the California vegetables and those amazing looking Au Gratin potatoes.  For my trip after that I’ll go for the salmon...”

          Jessica patiently waited for Aubrey to finish his plan.  “Well, I’m going to try the vegetarian lasagna and Fettuccine Alfredo with some salad and green beans.”

          “No meat?”  The agent was astonished.  “Are you kidding?  That’s just crazy…look at that selection...” 

          “Aubrey, you know that I like to eat vegetarian one day a week.  Dr. B said The Willard has an amazing vegetarian selection.  Besides, I figured if I change my mind, I could steal some meat from you.”  Seeing Aubrey was mollified, she continued.  “It looks like the table on the right has crab cakes so I’ll grab some of those for you.”

          “Ohhhh!  I love crab cakes…”

          The redhead chuckled.  “I know...so I get a few of those for you since your two plates will already be full each time.  If my stomach hasn’t exploded after that, I would love to try the key lime pie for dessert.”

          “If?”, Aubrey asked incredulously.  “Jessica, there’s no such thing as _‘if we have room’_ in the art of enjoying a buffet…. you strategize your attack and sample everything...you know, a little bite of this, a spoonful of that...okay, maybe more than a spoonful, but you get the idea...”

          “Of course, Superman.”  Jessica smiled indulgently.  “Maybe we can share the key lime pie and some carrot cake.”

          “Sounds like a plan.”, Aubrey said before kissing her hand.  “Here we go…”

          When they got to the front of the lines, they separated to explore the several tables with various options.  Just as Jessica finished putting a few crab puffs on her plate, she heard a familiar nail on a chalkboard voice behind her.

          “Hello, Jessica.  Cute dress.  It seems that you must’ve scored a deal at the thrift store with the curtains you used to make it.  Very _‘Gone With The Wind’_...ish...”  Karen picked up a plate as she continued.  “I suppose you were attempting some sort of avant garde look.  It seems you were almost successful…”

          Rolling her eyes, Jessica turned to see the profiler standing there with a wide smile that did not extend to her eyes.  “Good evening, Karen.  Household linens everywhere appreciate your concern, but no curtains were harmed in the creation of what I’m wearing tonight.  Actually, I found this beautiful gown at that high end consignment shop near the Hoover.”

          “Consignment? Really?  What about that amazing trust fund that you bragged about at the Royal Diner?  Couldn’t Daddy spare you a few bucks so you could buy an appropriate dress for this occasion instead of getting some used one?  It’s pretty pathetic that you can’t even muster up enough class up to look respectable for Aubrey.  That poor man...trying to not be embarrassed by his date being cheap for a night in his honor.”, Karen said in a condescending tone as she played with her earring.  “He obviously needs a mature woman...someone who knows how to present herself in public.”

          “As I’ve told you before, my trust fund pays for my education and living expenses...not that it’s any of your business, Karen.  Of course, I’ve also saved a lot of money recently since I’ve been living with Aubrey for the last month or so.”  Amused at the surprised look on the FBI profiler’s face, Jessica turned back and put two ham rolls on her plate.  “Growing up, my father taught my brothers and me that class and respect come from being yourself, not by maxing out your credit card to show off for others.  In the end, it doesn’t make any difference how much you spend on a dress...if you’re a bitch, you’re a bitch.” 

          Ignoring the stab of jealousy to her gut, Karen worked to keep her demeanor calm.  “You’re lecturing me about class?  Let me get a good look at you, Jessica.  You’re wearing an old fashioned secondhand dress and…that tacky gypsy shawl?  Please...it looks like my grandmother’s bedspread.  Plus, look at those cheap earrings and that gaudy necklace.  Did you get them at the dollar store?  That’s not class...you’re playing dress up hoping to make it in the big leagues...and you’re failing, little girl.”

          _‘She’s really desperate...sad really.’_   Jessica ignored the insults and smiled as she turned back to the buffet.  “Actually, this dress is a designer original that was worn by the wife of the Prime Minister of Iceland to one of President Truman’s state dinners in 1949.  The pendant I’m wearing is from the estate of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, you know...President Theodore Roosevelt’s oldest daughter?”

          “Really?”, Karen asked in disbelief. 

          “Yes.  Dr. B was with me when I bought my dress and necklace, and she was impressed as well.  She also loaned me these beautiful earrings I’m wearing tonight.  They’re Alex Monroe originals that she got from his store in London about nine years ago when she was over there with Booth investigating a case.  My shawl is another designer original from the 1980s that several people have complimented me on, including Deputy Director Stark’s wife.”

          Seeing the profiler’s flustered face, Jessica pressed forward, unconcerned about keeping up any pretense of being polite.  “As for Aubrey, he loves this dress on me, as well as what’s underneath it...including the gorgeous panties he gave me for Christmas.  They’re definitely sexier than those hot pink ones you bought for him...you know, the pair he’ll never see.”

          Annoyed that Jessica easily slapped back her insults and at the veiled reference to Aubrey, Karen’s words became sharper.  “While you were shopping for second hand goods, I bought myself this one of kind dress at a boutique by the Capitol building.”

          Jessica nodded as she looked over the garment, trying not to laugh.  “It’s very lovely, Karen.”

          “It is, isn’t it?  The silk for this dress was hand cut before being sent to the US.  I paid $1200 for it, but it was money well spent for a designer original.”

          “$1200, huh? Sounds like a bargain.”, Jessica replied, biting her tongue as she recalled Genny commenting earlier this week about the woman’s bragging at the FBI.  “Well, Karen, I’m sure people are noticing you tonight.”

           “Yes, it’s only going to help my career at the FBI when I am eventually promoted to head my own BRIU unit.  Anyway, Jessica, no matter how much you try to cover it up with your used dress and borrowed earrings, everyone here tonight knows that you’re the slut of the Jeffersonian.”

           “Wow, bringing up the guys I used to date at the museum again?”, the anthropologist replied with amusement.  “That argument is getting stale, Karen.  That was ages ago.”

           “No, it’s not stale, because Aubrey is ambitious.  You know he won’t be content to be a field agent forever.  Unfortunately for him, he’ll never be able to reach his full potential as long as he clings to you.  He doesn’t see it, but you will bring him down.”

            Jessica rolled her eyes in disgust.  “I highly doubt that, Karen.   Aubrey is smart and good at what he does or he wouldn’t be a Special Agent in Charge right now, nor would he be honored at this event tonight. Don’t you worry, though.  No matter where our careers go, whether I find a job in DC after I graduate or if I’m offered an opportunity elsewhere and he transfers to a nearby field office, he will also continue to make his mark in the FBI.   He’ll be an assistant director before you know it.”

           “When Aubrey said he would follow you, I didn’t take it seriously because I figured even you wouldn’t put him in that position, but I was wrong.  Once again, you’ve proven yourself to be a selfish little bitch...how dare you make him leave his position as Special Agent in Charge in the DC office?”  Karen was furious at what she’d just heard and couldn’t hold back anymore.  “You say you love him, but for Aubrey to move up in the Bureau, he needs more than some flighty tramp who leads on a man like Gerald Maxwell and then gets pissed when he wants to collect.  You’re just a cheap tease.  No wonder you get yourself in so much trouble with men.”

           For the two women, the clanging of silverware, dinner music, and other noisy minutiae surrounding them faded away as the gravity of the profiler’s words hung in the air.  Karen immediately felt sick as she realized that she had gone too far with what she’d said.  However, in her pride and her anger, she refused to concede.

          As for Jessica, she felt white hot anger in her gut.  However, she refused to give the other woman the satisfaction of appearing to be upset.  Looking the profiler in the eyes, she spoke calmly and quietly. 

         “I never led Gerald on.  Not once did I promise him anything other than my time.  However, even if I had promised him sex and then changed my mind, I did not deserve to be sexually harassed...I should never have been stalked by a PI hired by him...and I did not deserve to have my personal security violated by him when I stood up for myself.  No woman, not even you, deserves that.  You and I don’t like each other, Karen, but as a woman, consider this...the fact that you’re using what happened to me and probably to the other women who’ve rejected him to score some cheap point against me…. I never thought that even you would go that low.”

          Jessica took a deep breath to keep herself from punching the other woman in the face.  “Now, my food is getting cold and you’re boring the crap out of me, so this pathetic conversation is done.  Excuse me.”

          The profiler was uncharacteristically quiet as the redhead picked up her plate.  Jessica only took two steps before turning back to Karen and pointing across the room.  “Oh, in regard to your designer original dress that you’ve been bragging about non-stop, you may want to look over there.” 

          Karen turned to where the intern indicated, becoming furious when she saw Mitzi, who was standing next to Steve near the entrance to a covered garden area, wearing the exact same dress as hers.  As she observed the agent holding the door open for his wife, her fists clenched so hard her knuckles turned white.

          “So, that Amazon slut heard about my dress and decided to one up me by wearing the same thing, huh?”, Karen snarked, not wanting to admit that she got it from a friend of a friend and had been duped into overpaying for it.  “It wasn’t enough for that bitch to steal my boyfriend...now she wants my dress?  No fucking way.  She’s not getting away with it this time.”

          The anthropologist watched the woman storm over towards the covered garden.  “Oh shit…I need to get Aubrey…”

           She looked around the banquet area but didn’t see him.  Turning back, Jessica saw her boyfriend and Booth heading outside as well, followed by Brennan.  “It’s really gauche to watch a potential girl fight, but…. oh to hell with it.  After what she just said to me, she’s got it coming.”

          Putting her plate down, Jessica walked briskly but calmly to avoid drawing attention to herself.  Stepping outside she saw Mitzi and Karen staring each other down, each being held back by Booth and Steve, with her Aubrey in the middle.  Making sure no one was looking, she dashed out to where her mentor was.

          “Holy shit, Dr. B, were they really going to get into another fight?”

          “Ms. Warren, you’re just in time.  In answer to your question, it seems that Booth and Aubrey barely got here in time to stop Dr. Delfs from possibly making a fool of herself...again.”

          “Karen making an ass out of herself?  What a shocker…”, Jessica snickered along with her mentor as they watched the commotion. 

          “Karen, cool down!”, Booth said, barely holding the profiler back.  “You really want to do this here?  Think about your career...”

          “That bitch stole my dress!”, Karen screeched before turning to her newest rival.  “It’s bad enough you stole my boyfriend…then you brag about it before marrying him…now you’re just trying to humiliate me.”

          “Get over yourself, you crazy bitch.  I didn’t steal Steve...he was only with you for a good time...not that he actually got it.”, Mitzi retorted as her spouse stood in front of her. 

          “You genetic freak bitch!”, Karen snarled as she continued to struggle with Booth.

          “As for me trying to humiliate you, you seem to be doing a good job on your own.  I didn’t know about your dress because I haven’t seen you since your little freak out at Steve’s work.  On the contrary, I got this dress last weekend because I liked it and it fit me.”

          “You liar!”, Karen shrieked, her voice drowned out by the music in the reception inside.

          Mitzi rolled her eyes as she put her hands on her hips.  “This may come as a surprise to you, Karen but I don’t have time to worry about what you’re doing because I’m too busy with my new husband, my amazing new job, and with making tons of new friends here in DC.  Now, get a life and leave us alone, or I’ll make you regret it.”

          “I’m not scared of you, you Amazon freak!  I’m going to kick your ass and your womanizing husband’s...as if he hasn’t cheated on you already!”

          Steve saw his wife stiffen up and exhale sharply.  “Mitzi Muffin, just ignore her...come on, Baby...be a good girl...it’s okay...”

          The tall woman turned to her husband.  “Stevie Bear, it’s not okay.  You’re married to me now and it’s my job to protect you.  I’m not going to put up with her saying shit about you whoring around just because she is jealous that she’s can’t have you.”

          Steve rubbed his wife’s arm gently as he looked at her with adoration.  “I’m not worried about what she says, because she can’t do anything to hurt me now that I have you.  I will always be faithful to you.  Remember that you’re my girl now, Mitzi Muffin…and you always will be.  I love you so much...”

          Karen thought she was going to vomit from listening to the newlyweds.  “Oh my God, you are so…. ugh.  You know, Steve, I was your girl at the Halloween Gala and all through November.  Remember?  I was your Sugar Booger and you were my Stevie Weevie.  Does Mitzi know about that?  Maybe I should give her some details...”

          Steve turned to Karen. “Mitzi already knows everything, Karen.  Yeah, we were together then, and it was fun.  However, you also trotted me out to show off to my boss, a younger man you have the hots for but who isn’t interested in what you’re peddling.  Face the facts.  You’re a bitter, pissed off, lonely woman who blames others for your own issues and screw ups, and that gets real old after a while.  Thankfully, I met up with my Mitzi Muffin again over Thanksgiving, and I realized that instead of wasting my life on crazy bitches like you, I should have married her years ago.  I’m finally happy with my life.”

          Mitzi turned to caress Steve’s cheek.  “Maybe if you would try to move on with your life, Karen, instead of being such a dried up, bitchy ass, you could find the same happiness Stevie Bear and I have.”

          Humiliated at the stinging words, the profiler snapped.  “You’re going down, you slut, and I’m taking your little bitch Steve along for the ride!”

          Karen broke past Booth and ran towards Mitzi, but Aubrey jumped in, holding her arms until the other agent came over and helped.  “Karen, this is not the time or place.  You need to chill out!” 

          “No, I need to beat the crap out of that mutant who stole my boyfriend and my designer dress!  She going to pay!”

          “Enough Dr. Delfs!”, Brennan said as she stomped up to the profiler.  “My husband, Aubrey, and Agent Shaw are here to be honored for their bravery tonight.  They do not deserve to be subjected to your petty jealousies or temper tantrums over a dress that’s more flattering on Agent Bower’s wife to take away from that honor.  Now...settle down and get yourself under control, or I will mention this incident to Deputy Director Stark or to the Director himself.”

          “What!  Really, Dr. Brennan...you’re going to tattle on me?” Karen was livid as she shook her head.

          “Yes, if you don’t stop your childish behavior, Dr. Delfs, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.  Now, you’re going to find the maturity a woman your age should have, and march back into that party.  You’re going to find your date and you’re going to sit at your table quietly for the rest of the night.  One more comment, shove, or if you step out of line in any way, and I’ll go to Deputy Director Stark.  You’re already in steaming water with him.  Do you want to be unemployed?”

          _‘Steaming water?’_ Karen thought, confused about the slang.  Turning to Booth, Aubrey, and Jessica, they didn’t seem fazed.  However, she saw the look on Brennan’s face and could tell she was serious.  Knowing that she had to be careful where her job was concerned, Karen acquiesced, deciding it wasn’t worth the risk. 

          Glaring at Mitzi, she huffed a sigh.  “Fine, I’ll behave tonight, but keep away from me, you mutant bitch!”

          “Stay away from my Stevie, and I’ll do the same.  You do anything else to my husband and I will beat the shit out of you.”

          “I’d listen, Karen.  You don’t want to mess with my wife…”, Steve said, wearing a pleased smirk.  “She loves me…and she won’t take shit from anyone trying to hurt me…”

          “Shut up, Bower!”, Booth, Brennan, Aubrey, and Jessica yelled at the other agent before the Major Crimes SAC spoke up.  “Steve, do we need another chat about your personal business interfering with work?”

          “No, Boss…all good, I promise.”  Bower turned to his wife.  “Come on, Mitzi Muffin.  I want to show you off some more before we get to the boring shit.  Let’s dance.”

          Karen went to follow the couple, but Booth held her back.  “No…wait a few seconds.”  When Mitzi and Steve were out of their sight, Booth let go.  “Now it’s your turn.”

          They watched Karen turn around and walk back in.  When she was gone, Aubrey turned to the others.  “Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?  I really hope she keeps her shit together tonight.”  He grinned at his friends.  “Maybe we deserve another commendation for bravery after stopping a fight between those two…”

          “Yeah, maybe we do.”  Booth grinned as he held his arm to his wife.  “Shall we go inside, Bones?  The boring shit will start soon.”

          “We shall, Booth.”, she responded.

          Aubrey watched the other couple walk back inside.  “Ready to go inside, Jess?”

          “Yeah, just picking up this penny for good luck.”, she said before bending over, mesmerizing her boyfriend.

          “Damn, you have an awesome ass, Jess.  I just wanna…..uuuuhhhhh.”  Aubrey exhaled loudly.  “Can we go home now?  I think I’ve done enough work for one night.”

          “No, because you’re the guest of honor and we haven’t eaten yet.”, Jessica said before remembering the buffet.  “Shit, I left a plate of food on a table before coming out here.”

          “What?  Good food like that can’t go to waste.  Come on, woman!”, Aubrey exclaimed before grabbing Jessica’s hand and pulling her back into the banquet.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Forty minutes later, as Aubrey was enjoying the feast upon his plate from his third turn around the buffet, Jessica wiped her hands on her napkin.  After ensuring her table mates were occupied, the redhead subtly pushed up her dress.  Taking Aubrey’s free hand, she moved it onto her knee and then slowly across the black nylon.

          Barely avoiding choking on his salmon, Aubrey kept his cool as he realized what was going on.  “Jessica…what are you up to?” 

          “Nothing much…just giving you a hint of what’s coming for my hero later tonight.”, she whispered back before moving his hand up until he felt lace.

          “You’re wearing those really hot black thigh high stockings with the lace edges that I like...”, Aubrey muttered, hoping he could keep his composure.  “Wow…”

          “Maybe…”, Jessica said quietly before moving his hand up to brush between her legs.

          “Oh Christ, Jess…”, Aubrey said, attempting to keep himself calm as his fingers brushed her core, feeling the heat from her crotchless panties.  When he moved his hand to go further, he was stymied.

          “Later, Superman.”

          “Tease.”, he said playfully just as Jessica’s phone buzzed from inside her handbag. 

          “Who the heck would be calling me tonight?  Everyone knows I’m here with you.”, Jessica said before pulling out her purse.  Seeing the caller ID, she groaned.  “It’s Daisy…”

          “She’s calling you tonight…while you’re here?”  Aubrey’s flirtatious mood turned to annoyance.  “That’s inconsiderate…”.

          “Sorry, Superman. I’ll make this quick.  She probably needs some advice for her family gathering tomorrow.  I’m sure she wasn’t thinking of the time.”  Jessica got up from the table and answered the phone while walking away.  “Dais?  What’s up?”

          “Daisy is calling Jessica now?”, Booth asked.  “She knows we’re here, right?”

          Concerned, Brennan glanced in Jessica’s direction.  “Ms. Wick knows where we are, Booth.  I would think if she’s calling tonight, knowing the circumstances, that this is an emergency.”

          Angela sighed audibly as she sipped her club soda.  “Bren, she probably just had another fight with Beau.  Her timing really sucks, though.”

          Aubrey looked over and saw his girlfriend start to pace as she held the phone.  _Not a_ _good sign._   “Her timing sucks a lot lately.”, he muttered.

          “Aubrey, if Daisy is being a pest, you need to put your foot down.”, Booth said, taking a drink of his beer.

          “Booth…they’re friends.  I’m not going to tell my girlfriend that she can’t help her friend.”

          “I know, Aubrey, but still…”, Cam said.  “Listen, I love Daisy, but sometimes she can…be an emotional bulldozer when she is upset.  We saw it at the lab enough times when she was with Sweets.  Judging by your face, I’m assuming she’s already...bulldozing?”

          “Yeah…she even came over the day I got home from the hospital.  She called Jess about three minutes before she showed up at my door...which was about an hour after I got home, and I was tired and felt like shit.”, Aubrey replied, keeping the events of afterwards to himself.

          “That’s not cool, Boss.”, Genny said.  “She really should know better.”

          “Well, Daisy was really upset when we all had to bail on her party tonight after we all said yes.”, Angela admitted.  “It made our girl party a couple weeks ago end on a real downer.”

          Aubrey irritably stabbed more of his salmon.  “Yeah, Jess told me that she was snippy the rest of the day.”

          “Snippy is being nice.”, Cam said.

          “Yes, she was…not as pleasant to be around, especially with the copious amounts of Merlot she consumed.  Her reaction seemed unreasonable after we explained our situation, even proffering the idea that we all leave the banquet early and come to her condo for some sort of after party.”, Brennan replied, sipping her water.  “However, I had informed her that Booth being honored was my top priority, and I wouldn’t make him leave early.  By this time, her inebriated behavior became too much, so I left early with the excuse of picking up Christine.”

          “Jess told me that night that when she was able to get Daisy home, she had to help her get into the condo.”, Aubrey replied.  “Daisy and red wine it seems do not mix…”

          Before anything else could be said, the dinner music died down and Deputy Director Stark walked up to the platform.  “Good evening, everyone.  I want to thank the hotel staff for the wonderful dinner, appetizers, and their service this evening.”

          As everyone was clapping, Aubrey could see Jessica looking a bit agitated as she looked at him and then focused back on the phone.  It was then Stark spoke again.

          “Tonight, we are here to honor the bravery of three outstanding agents…Agents Seeley Booth, James Aubrey, and Genevieve Shaw.”

          Aubrey’s attention was back to Jessica, who was looking up at the podium.  Finally, he saw her stop the call and walk over as briskly as she could without taking attention away from the Deputy Director.  As she sat down, everyone noticed the distress in her eyes.

          “Is Daisy all right, Jessica?”, Cam asked as the Deputy Director continued to speak.

          “She’ll be alright.  I told her I would call her tomorrow when Aubrey and I were on our way to the cabin.”

          The group listened as the man on stage began with a summary of each agent’s career in the FBI.  Aubrey looked over as Booth’s history began and saw that Jessica seemed upset.  Taking her hand, he squeezed, and she squeezed back with a nod and smile.

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

          Throughout the next two hours after receiving their commendations, the couple danced and enjoyed each other’s company as well as being with their friends.  Karen and Mitzi stayed on opposite sides of the banquet hall all evening and everything else went smoothly. 

          While dancing to _Moonlight Serenade_ , Jessica kissed her boyfriend.  Aubrey smiled in response.  “What was that for, Jessica?”

          “For my hero these last few weeks.”, Jessica said as they swayed to the music. 

          “I didn’t do much, Jess.  You’re the one who took care of me after I got out of the hospital…”

          “No, that’s not what I mean.  You’ve stood by me while I’ve had to deal with all the shit about Gerald...Daisy always calling me...I’m sorry she called during the banquet--”

          “Jessica, it’s alright--”

          “No, it’s not, Superman.”, Jessica replied before considering what she said.  “She called tonight because Beau came home pissed from practice today.”

          “What happened?”

          “Beau was told that if he was to remain on the team, it would be as backup on the Special Teams squad responsible for blocking field goal attempts.”

          “So what’s the problem?  That’s a step up from the practice squad…it’s probably more money, too.”

          “Yeah, but Beau is feeling unappreciated by the team again.  When he brought up the idea to Daisy again of asking the coaches for a trade, she got super pissed.  She told Beau that she wouldn’t uproot her career for… _’some stupid sport’_ and that they were staying in DC and he would have to suck it up.  That made him angry and he accused her of not being supportive of him.  She said it got pretty heated before he left to stay with his parents for the night.”

          “That’s probably for the best.  Tomorrow they can talk when they cool down and perhaps reach a compromise.”

          “I suggested that, but Daisy said there would be no compromising on the issue, because she refused to leave her job and Beau would either have to accept the Redskins’ offer or go work for his father.”

          “But didn’t she tell you at lunch yesterday that she was going to try to be understanding with Beau?”, Aubrey asked. 

          “Yeah, she did...before she got pissed when Oliver and Rani arrived to work on the prototype.  After lunch, she spoke to Hodgins but looked very irritated when she left...she didn’t even say bye to me or Angela.  Curly stayed in the Ookey Room after that.”

_‘If it was something ordinary, Hodgins would have brought it up.  The fact he hasn’t means whatever they discussed really pissed him off, but he’s trying to be a gentleman.’,_ Aubrey thought.  “Maybe the NFL realized that their research could be valuable and sent Daisy to the lab to try getting in on the action?  I can see how Hodgins would be irritated by that.”

           “Maybe, but the NFL’s R and D department pales in comparison to our lab.  Curly said on Tuesday he talked to Dr. Beesley, who runs the NFL’s physics department.  Now that she’s back full time, Oliver will only be there once a week unless asked and he will be working more hours at the lab next semester.”  The redhead snuggled closer to Aubrey. “Even if they changed their minds, Curly said Oliver and Rani signed a contract Wednesday to accept the grant money he set aside for them and it has a non-compete disclosure.  Plus, Rani seemed excited to work at the lab since Georgetown has had many cooperative projects with the Jeffersonian in the past.”

           “Well, if Daisy is serious about trying to work on her marriage, then she shouldn’t be so stubborn about Beau looking for another team.  I mean, while I know that forensic anthropology jobs don’t grow on trees, there’s no way she couldn’t find something for a few years if Beau is traded to another team.  It’s not like he’ll be playing for decades.”

           “I know.”

           The agent saw that his lover was troubled.  “Jess...there’s something you’re not telling me.”

           Between Karen’s uncalled for comment and Daisy’s call, Jessica was distracted.  However, she didn’t want her troubles to take over the evening.  “Aubrey, this is your night--”

           “Jessica...talk to me.”

           Not wanting Aubrey to confront Karen, Jessica decided to concede a bit.  “Daisy asked me to come over and and hang out with her.”

          “You mean later like when the banquet is done?”  Aubrey was frustrated that his plans would be messed up, but he wanted to be supportive. 

          “No, Aubrey...she wanted me to leave right then.  When I said I couldn’t because I wanted to see you get your award, she asked if I could come over right after you got your commendation.  When I told her no because this was your night, she was upset.  I heard _‘But Jessica…’_ before I said I would check on her tomorrow and hung up.”

          Aubrey took a deep breath.  “I love how supportive she is of us, Jess…wait...wasn’t she supposed to have her party tonight?”

          “Yes, but with everyone that she wanted to invite unavailable, she decided to cancel it last week.  She is also dreading going to her in laws for New Year’s because things have...been testy of late.”

          “Well, she’s married to Beau, so her in laws are part of the package.  I know Daisy well enough to know that she can hold her own.”  Aubrey quirked an eyebrow as a thought occurred to him.  “Can I safely assume they haven’t had their talk yet?”

          “They hadn’t as of yesterday, and it’s obvious that they didn’t today.  I’m sure she wants me to come over so she can vent about how Beau doesn’t understand her and how he’s not respecting her career and life.”

          _‘Same old song and dance.’_   Aubrey didn’t want to be an asshole.   “The banquet’s not ending for a while yet, but if you want to go see Daisy--”

          Smiling, Jessica gently touched Aubrey’s face.  “No, Superman, I’m staying right here with you, and I told her that.  I’ll talk to her tomorrow while we’re on the road.”

          Rubbing her shoulder, he could see how upset she really was.  “I know you want to be a good friend to her…”

          “I do...and I will.  However, tonight I want to be a good girlfriend.  You’re the most important person in my life, James Aubrey, and she needs to understand that.”

          They came together in a soft kiss before Aubrey dipped her dramatically.  Putting her up, he was awarded with a laugh from his girlfriend.  “You’re the most important person in my life, too, Jessica Warren.  Don’t ever forget that.”

          “I won't.”

          “Good.”  A smirk formed on Aubrey’s face as a thought came to mind.  “Since you’ve established that I’m your most important person...maybe you can lead me in another dance later this evening.” 

          Jessica pulled the agent closer.  “Find me the music and I’m there, Agent Aubrey.”

          From five feet away, Karen looked over her date’s shoulder and saw the couple laughing and kissing as they danced.  Anger shot through her as she turned away only to be greeted with the view of Steve and Mitzi dancing together.  When she saw the way her ex-boyfriend looked at his new wife, the anger turned into white hot rage as she thought about what Jessica, Mitzi, and Steve had said to her earlier.

          _‘I’m not bitter...I don’t blame everyone else for my own problems.  I’m getting tired of people getting pissed off because I’m finally fighting back and telling the truth.’_

          Taking a deep breath to keep from crying, Karen closed her eyes to focus on her date.  At least she would be getting some sex later.  She deserved it after dealing with all the selfish people who’ve clouded her night.

          _‘They will get what’s coming to them.  Karma is a bitch.’_

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

          Throughout the evening, Jessica kept putting Aubrey’s hand on her knee, thigh, or other areas when no one was looking.  Each time, she let him touch her for a few seconds at a time, ramping up the sexual tension.  Finally, as Cam was talking about Isaiah and his new school, Jessica’s hand once again pulled Aubrey’s under her gown again. 

          When the story concluded, Cam, Arastoo, Booth, Brennan, Genny, and Hunter got up to dance while Angela and Hodgins went over to talk to some people at another table.  Aubrey decided to turn the tables on his girlfriend and when his hand got close, he dodged her attempt to pull his hand away and instead pressed his fingers inside of her core as he sat beside her.  He saw her stiffen up slightly and smiled to himself.  _Bingo...score one for me..._

          Bending down to her ear, Aubrey whispered, “It’s my turn to make this evening interesting, Jessica…”

          “You’re evil.”  Jessica shuddered quietly as her boyfriend’s nimble fingers pulled in and out of her while each were trying to not give away what they were doing.  “Oh yes…” she moaned softly.

          “I’m evil?  You’re the one who teased me with your crotchless panties, your garter belt, and sexy as hell lace stocking all night, Jessica.”, Aubrey murmured, smiling as he rose from the table.  “Come with me.”

          The agent took his girlfriend by the hand and led her outside into the covered garden.  Finding a secluded area behind some hedges, Aubrey took her in his arms and kissed her as his hand cupped her breast. 

          “Oh my, you’re horny…”, Jessica whispered as she pulled her lover close to her.

          “I’m horny?”, Aubrey muttered as he pressed her into the wall.  “You’re the one who keeps putting my hand down there, woman.  You know how much I like when you’re warm and wet for me…and you like how I feel inside you...”

          “Are we going to get caught?”, she whispered between kisses.

          “I don’t think so.  Everyone’s inside at the party.”

          Jessica smiled as the two slipped her dress up as high as they dared in public.  She shivered as Aubrey’s hand slowly traced up her exposed thigh, first playing with the lace on her stockings before using his nails to lightly trace the tender skin on her inner thigh. 

          “Aubrey...what the hell are you waiting for…”

          “You’re not the only one who can tease, Jessica.”, the agent whispered onto her lips.  He grew harder as she practically panted when his long, talented fingers played with the edge of her panties. “Thank you for wearing these tonight...”

          “You’re...welcome…”, Jessica moaned onto her boyfriend’s lips as his fingers found her.  “Oh fuck, Aubrey…oh yes…”

          The agent whipped her left leg up to give him more access but groaned when she pulled down his zipper and touched him.  “You really want it here...right now?”, he muttered as he moved into her touch.

          “Yes…please...”

          Hard and ready, Aubrey pulled his pants and boxers down.  Just as he was about to enter paradise, they were interrupted with rustling past the bushes.

          _“Oh Hunter...oh, I’m ready.”_

_“So am I, Genny...you are so hot...wait, what about our room here?”_

_“It’ll take too long…”_

          Aubrey lifted his head up to look over Jessica’s shoulder.  “What the fuck…”

          Jessica smiled, thinking of the conversation she had with the woman on Monday.  “You go Genny…”, she whispered. 

          “You mean Genny and Hunter are…”, Aubrey whispered.

          _“Oh Hunter...oh yeah…”_

          Jessica saw her boyfriend’s face begin to look traumatized, so she pulled her leg and dress down.  “Come on, Aubrey...let’s give them their privacy.”

          His plan for a quick tryst stymied, he reluctantly pulled his pants up and zipped them.  “Okay, but I don’t want to go back to the party.  Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

          “Where are we going?”

          Getting an idea, Aubrey took her hand and smirked.  “Somewhere close by where everyone else is not...and I know just the place.”

          Seeing his pupils dilated, Jessica knew what was up.  “Well then, let’s make our goodbyes and go.”

          _“Hunter...don’t stop…”_

          “The sooner the better, Jess.”, Aubrey whispered with a chuckle as he led his girlfriend away in the opposite direction.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Fifteen minutes later, the elevator on the Hoover’s fourth floor dinged and Aubrey dragged Jessica out of it.  They raced to the Major Crimes area and through the bullpen to his office.  Grabbing his keys, the agent unlocked the door and led his girlfriend inside.  Shutting and locking the door, he pushed his girlfriend against it before kissing her hard.

          “Jessica…you drive me crazy…some days, I can’t keep my hands off you...”, Aubrey breathed before his lips greedily kissed her neck.

          Feeling Aubrey grind against her while he cupped her breasts on top of her dress was making her wet again.  Grabbing his jacket, she got him to let him go long enough to take it off and toss it on the floor before he went back to what he was doing.  “Are you sure…ohhhhh…that you’re not going to get into trouble...what if someone shows...ooohhhhh...up here...”

          “Nobody’s here, Jessica...everyone is at the party or away for New Years weekend.  This is my office and I can do whatever...and whoever I want in here...and you can be as loud as you want...”, Aubrey replied in a gruff tone as he pulled her dress up, grabbed her thigh and put it up on his waist before he began playing with her a second time.

          “Oh God…Aubrey…”, Jessica moaned as her hips undulated freely against his fingers.  “...son of a bitch…”

          The SAC was relentless as he used his talented fingers to work his girlfriend until she screamed her orgasm into his shoulder.  Before he could react, Jessica’s shaky hands unzipped his pants and caressed his member inside of his boxers, making him moan very loudly.

          “Holy shit, woman…”, the agent groaned before his hands moved to the back of her dress.  “Help me get this off so I can fuck the hell out of you…”

          Quickly, the two got Jessica’s dress and Aubrey’s vest, tux shirt and tie off.  The agent pulled off her backless bra and she flinched.

          Jessica rubbed her side where the adhesive was.  “Ow, Aubrey...that’s tape you know…”

          Aubrey’s face was apologetic.  “Sorry, Jess…”

          “Just be careful next time, please.”

          After removing the other side more carefully, Aubrey threw the bra on the floor.  Seeing his lover in only her panties, lace garter belt, lace stockings, and high heels, the agent felt himself become even harder.  “You are so gorgeous…”

          Aubrey pulled Jessica towards his desk and in dramatic fashion, he pushed the items in the middle of the desk forward and onto the ground.  Before the redhead could say anything, her boyfriend turned her around and leaned her forward onto the desk. 

          “Someone is ready for dancing, I see.”, Jessica breathed.  “We don’t have any music…”

          “Hearing you scream my name is all the music I need, Jessica.”, Aubrey replied in a low timbre.  In rapid succession, he pushed his pants down his legs, pulled his girlfriend close, and entered her.

          “Yes…Aubrey…oh…yes…”, she moaned as her boyfriend pumped her from behind.

          Turning her head, she kissed him as he caressed her while thrusting inside at a satisfying rate.  As the lights from the nation’s capital lit onto Aubrey’s desk, the couple worked harder towards their goal in between passionate moaning from both until they both crested.  When their tryst ended, both stood where they were as they recovered.

          “Sorry about...your desk, Aubrey.” 

          “No, you’re not, Jess.”  Aubrey held her body next to him as he continued to lean them over the desk.  Kissing her shoulder, he continued.  “You like getting me hot and bothered.”

          “Yes, I do…because I get to reap the benefits.”, the redhead said, turning her head to kiss her boyfriend again.  “Come on, let’s clean up your office so we can get home and continue what we started.”

          Where they stood were both bathed in moonlight.  When Jessica turned around, Aubrey doubled over in laughter.  “Aubrey, what’s so funny?”

          The agent stood with his pants around his knees as he continued to laugh while gesturing over his head.  “Your…. your…”

          Jessica crossed her arms while standing there half naked, a puzzled look on her face.  “My...my...what...Aubrey…and pull your pants up.”

          Aubrey did as requested as he continued to laugh.  “Your...hair…”

          Jessica walked to her evening bag and pulled out a compact.  Turning on her boyfriend’s desk lamp, she looked, and her eyes got large as she saw half of her side bun hanging on her left shoulder.  A group of strands hug at her neck and the bun itself was askew.  Looking up she saw her boyfriend holding back laughter.  She tried to be stern but then laughed herself.

          “Holy shit...this is a new level of sex hair, that’s for sure.”

          Finally calmed down, Aubrey walked over to his half naked girlfriend, and put his arms around her.  “I like how you look with sex hair...”

          Jessica melted when he kissed her on the sweet spot on her neck and his hand played with her breast.  “Aubrey...we should clean your office and go home…”

          Aubrey answered by lifting her onto his desk.  Starting from her collarbone, his lips traveled down her navel before getting on his knees.  He took a few seconds to admire her laid out on his desk and knew he would never look at it the same ever again.  “It’s forty-five minutes to my house with traffic.  I need something for the road first, Jessica.”

          The redhead moaned as Aubrey’s tongue trailed down both inner thighs before finding her core.  “Oh wow…” 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          An hour later, Aubrey peeked outside his office and into the darkened bullpen.  Seeing the coast was clear, he took his girlfriend’s hand and led her out.  This time, Aubrey’s hair was spiked up and his tux shirt was buttoned but hanging outside his pants.  In his other hand, he held his tie and her backless bra.  Jessica’s hair was down but still a little wild as she was wearing his tuxedo jacket over her dress, with Aubrey’s vest hanging on her arm.

          “Are we going to be getting any sleep tonight?”, Jessica whispered as the disheveled couple walked to the elevator.

          “Eventually, Jess.”, Aubrey replied with a smirk.

          Jessica grabbed his arm as they got close to the cars.  “That’s good because we need to be up early--Dr B!”

          The younger couple stopped as they were greeted by Booth and Brennan, both with their hair out of place.  Booth’s tux jacket was opened to reveal buttons that were in the wrong slots and a hunter green lace bra band was peeking out of his pocket.

          “Aubrey...Jessica...fancy meeting me you here.”, Booth said, embarrassed while quickly smoothing his hair down.  “What’s up?”

          Brennan eyeballed her husband with a _‘Duh’_ look.  “Booth, it’s obvious based on their disheveled hair and what looks to be Ms. Warren’s bra in Aubrey’s hand that they came here for sexual intercourse like we did--”

          “Bones!”, Booth whispered furiously.

          Aubrey was red as a beet as he gazed at the floor while Booth looked everywhere except his friend and Jessica.  In contrast, the women looked at each other before chuckling in amusement.  The agents’ attention then returned to their significant others, each perplexed at their reactions.

          “Jess, what are you laughing about?”

          “Bones, what’s so funny?”

          “You two.”, Jessica said while snickering.

          “The fact that you two are so flustered that we know the other couple had sex here is very amusing.  As I recall Booth, you barely got me into your office before--”

          Booth moved to cut his wife off.  “Da da da...not now Bones!” 

          “Dr. B, Aubrey practically tried to rip my dress off--”

          Mortified, Aubrey jumped in.  “Jessica!  There are some things Booth and Dr. B don’t need to know.”

          “I don’t see why you two are so afraid to talk about sex, but fine.”  Brennan turned to her intern.  “Ms Warren, I’ll see you next week when the lab opens.”

          Smiling, Jessica waved to the other couple.  “See you then, Dr. B.  Good night and happy New Year.  You too, Booth.”

          Shaking his head, Booth nodded.  “Good night, Jessica...Aubrey.  Happy New Year.”

          “Same to you, Booth…”

          Booth and Brennan entered the opened elevator door.  Going in, the older man gave an awkward wave before the doors closed.  When they were alone again, Aubrey rolled his eyes.

          “That was so...weird...and humiliating.”

          Bewildered, Jessica shook her head.  “But it wasn’t weird or humiliating when you and Booth went lingerie and panty shopping together for Christmas?”

          “That’s different, Jess.”, Aubrey responded as the elevator doors opened again.  “We were men on a difficult mission then…. a mission of great importance...”

          “Sure it was, Superman.”  Jessica replied as they entered the car.  “Although I’d say you both accomplished a mission tonight as well….

          Aubrey pushed the button for the parking garage.  “It is different, Jessica.”

          “Whatever…”  Jessica turned to her boyfriend.  “I love you Aubrey.”

          Aubrey kissed his girlfriend as the elevator doors closed.  “I love you, Jessica.”    


	59. Greetings 2017!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Aubrey and Jessica to enjoy their long awaited New Year's getaway to their beautiful cabin in the woods. What sort of fun awaits? Read on to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: there are some spicy bits in this chapter, and it's probably not suitable for at work reading.

          Aubrey’s bedroom was quiet as the morning twilight began to shine into the room.  On the bed, two people were huddled close together and sleeping peacefully, joined by an orange cat dozing at the end.  Along the bedroom floor a pair of black stockings, a black lace garter belt, a tuxedo shirt, a pair of black socks, and two pair of shoes were strewn at random intervals. 

         When the clock on Aubrey’s phone moved to 7:00, his alarm went off, leading him to groan his displeasure.  Opening one eye, he groaned again.  “It’s still dark in here…”

          Opening the other eye, he felt a familiar sensation.  Turning his head, he wasn’t surprised to see that he was once again precariously close to the edge of his bed.  Looking back, he saw the reason for his current predicament stretched out in front of him across the mattress.

          “How does a girl barely 5’6” take up so much room in a king sized bed?”, Aubrey mumbled with amazement, chuckling when Jessica snorted in her sleep. 

          Stretching, he had a contented smile on his face as he recalled how his Jessica was still up for fun and games when they got home after midnight, and play they did.  First there was sex on the stairs, something neither of them had ever done before.  Then, there was the 3 AM munchies attack that turned into a grand finale in their bedroom a few hours ago, which included them knocking his bedside lamp off his nightstand.

          As the first rays of the sunrise peeked in through his curtains, he saw the lamp lying on the floor next to the bed, still intact. _‘It lives to see another day.’_

          Observing the clothes scattered around the room, he noted that his pants and Jessica’s dress were missing.

_‘Her dress and my pants are probably still on the stairs where we left them...it was a lot of fun but perhaps carpet would be better for next time...and without Skinner watching us from upstairs...although it wouldn’t be the first time he’s watched us having sex.’_

          His pleasant thoughts were interrupted by a loud meow before an orange creature less than nine pounds pounced on him, missing his junk by a couple of inches.

          “Skinner…be careful where you jump on Daddy.”, the agent whispered.  “That’s precious cargo there…I don’t think your Aunt Jessica would like it being out of commission again so soon.”

          Seeing his cat give him the stink eye, Aubrey shook his head before rubbing his girlfriend’s arm to rouse her.  “Jess…wake up…”

          “Curly, I’m almost done removing the particulates…”, Jessica muttered in her sleep.

          Aubrey snickered before gently shaking her.  “Jessica, it’s time to get up.  You’re pushing me off the bed again...and you wanted to be on the road by 8:30, remember?”

          “Auuuhhhhhhh.”, the redhead moaned before sleepily pulling the pillow over her head.  “Too early, Superman…”

          “Hey, you were the one who got all crazy with lust for me when we came home last night...oops...this morning.”,  Aubrey said.

          Jessica pulled the pillow off her head before turning to face her boyfriend, with her hair tousled from sleep and sex.  “You were the one who barely had the front door shut before you pulled my dress and panties off me so we could have sex on the stairs.  Did you forget that they were crotchless after our fun times in your office?”

          “No, I didn’t, but I had a great view of your butt, and I couldn’t resist.”, Aubrey said, gently running his hand along his girlfriend’s hip.  “How are your knees, Jess?” 

          “A little sore.  It was really hot, but if we do that again, it’s your skinny ass on the stairs next time, Aubrey.”, Jessica said as she sat up.  “Now how about you get Skinner fed and I’ll get in the shower.”

          “Sure.  I’ll be back quick, Jess, so I can get in with you.”, Aubrey said.  Walking around the room naked, he searched through the clothes on the floor.  “Where the hell are my boxers?”

          “Probably in the hallway, Superman.”, Jessica retorted before yawning.  “I think I pulled them off you before we got to the bedroom.”

          Aubrey looked in the hall and saw the blue silk boxers in a heap from last night.  Picking them up, he put them on so he didn’t run around naked downstairs.  _Don’t want to risk giving the neighbors a show..._.

          “You may want to hang up your tux or Skinner will sleep on it this weekend.  I doubt the rental place wants it returned with orange kitty fur all over it _.”_ , Jessica yelled from the bedroom.

          Heading to the stairs, he grabbed his tux pants, Jessica’s dress, and her panties from where they’d left them earlier.  Coming back into the bedroom, Aubrey watched his girlfriend pick up her garter belt and other items from the floor.  He enjoyed the view of her backside until he was disturbed by a loud noise. 

          “Somebody wants to be fed, Aubrey.”,  Jessica giggled as she stepped into the bathroom.

          Looking down, he stared down at the cause of the disturbance rubbing against his leg.  “You couldn’t give me five seconds to enjoy Aunt Jess’s sweet ass, could you, Skinner?”  Getting a wide eyed stare in turn, he shook his head.  “Of course you don’t care.  Come on, cat.  Let’s get you some breakfast.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          By around 8:15, Aubrey and Jessica had his SUV loaded.  After making a final check of the house, the couple locked up and headed to the garage.  As the agent added the cabin’s address into his SUV’s Navigator, Jessica sent a text on her phone.

          “I just let Andie know we’re on our way with the house key.  I told her we’re stopping at the bakery on the way.”

          “Do they want anything?”

          “I’ll ask.”, Jessica stated, chuckling at the quick response.  “Andie just replied back that they request bear claws, plain and glazed donuts, and a couple of Squealers for Wendell.  She told me last week that you’d gotten him hooked on those things.”

          “Those Squealers are amazing, Jess!  Long john with maple frosting and bacon...oh yeah…”, Aubrey said with a sigh.  “Pure heaven…”

          “That sounds soooo disgusting, Aubrey.  When I brought those back from Michigan over a year ago, I didn’t think you guys would fall in love so quickly.”

           “Hey, Booth loves them too, although he has to hide them from Dr. B at his office.  Now my favorite shop has them, and it’s great. Hee hee!”, Aubrey replied as he put on his seat belt.  Turning to his girlfriend, he smiled.  “Ready to start our vacation?”

          “I’ve been ready, Aubrey since you surprised me with it.  Onward and upward.  To Luray and the East...”

          “Paraphrasing from _The Chronicles of Narnia_...you’re awesome.”

          “Thank you, Superman.”

          Aubrey backed out of the driveway and pulled onto Janus Street.  “We’re not that far off our time table, Jess.  After we can drop off the donuts and key to Andie and Wendell, we’ll still have plenty of time to make it to the winery and hang with your brother and Greg for a bit.  What time do they open today?”

          “12:00.  They’re usually pretty busy on New Years Eve, but if we get early enough, we can have lunch with them before they open.”

          “Cool.”,  Aubrey replied.  “By the way, I read yesterday that _The Last Jedi_ will be out next December 15th.”

          “So like with _The Force Awakens_ , unless you or I are called out on a case, we’re going to the midnight showing, right?”, Jessica replied as she plugged her phone into Aubrey’s other power port.

          “Damn straight we are.”, Aubrey exclaimed as he found a parking spot a block from his favorite doughnut shop.  Pulling up to the parallel spot, he slid out of the seat. “I’ll be right back, Jess.”

          “I’ll come with you.  I’m in the mood for a croissant.” 

          The two held hands, laughing together as they walked down the sidewalk.  Arriving at the entrance, they spied a familiar vehicle stopping ahead at the intersection when the light turned red.  “Jess, isn’t that Daisy’s car?”

          Jessica looked at what she could see of the vanity plate and saw an S and DR.  “Yes, it is...that’s her Virginia vanity plate, BONES DR.  That’s weird.  She’s supposed to be taking Lance over to Dr. B and Booth’s about 10:30, but driving into DC only to turn back towards McLean a short time later?  I guess she could be running to the NFL...”

          They watched as Daisy’s car moved straight as the light turned green.  “Maybe if she turned left to get on 395.  Maybe she’s going to see Beau for a few minutes?”, Aubrey postulated.

          The couple got in line at the shop, waiting to make their purchase.  “No, because 495 is east of us and she’s going west...I don’t know...she was heading towards Georgetown, so maybe she got called to a scene. It’s no big deal, I suppose...”,  Jessica said with a shrug of her shoulders.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Twenty minutes later, Aubrey came out of the bakery holding two boxes while finishing off a chocolate glazed donut.  Holding the door open with his body, Jessica came through holding a carrier with four coffees and a paper bag.  When they got to the government issued SUV, she held the back door open for Aubrey so he could put the two bakers’ dozen inside. 

          Getting in, Jessica put Aubrey’s coffee and hers in the console between them with the other two on her lap.  As her boyfriend climbed in, Jessica pulled a glazed donut out of her bag, taking a bite before handing it to him.  “Wow...that place was busy, Superman.” 

          “I guess everyone wants their munchies for tomorrow since they’ll probably all be hungover.”,  Aubrey said with a snicker before taking a bite.  “Oh yeah...tasty….but not as tasty as you, my dear Jessica.”

          Both laughed as Aubrey started his vehicle and eased back onto Massachusetts Ave.  Fifteen minutes later, they almost to Wendell and Andie’s apartment when Jessica’s phone buzzed.  Reading it, her eyes got large.  “What the heck...”

          Aubrey finished chewing his donut as he turned onto 15th St NW.  “What’s wrong?”

          “Daisy just texted me.”, Jessica said, reading the message out loud.  “I need some girl time before you go on vacay with Aubrey, so I’m at that Dog Tag Bakery in Georgetown that Booth turned us all onto picking us up some scones, croissants, and chai tea lattes.  I will be at your house in a while.”

          “I guess I was just supposed to twiddle my thumbs and wait until she was ready for us to go on our vacation, right?”  Annoyed, Aubrey took a deep breath.  “Do you want me to take you back to the house?”

          Jessica could tell her boyfriend was irritated.  “No, Aubrey.  If it was a true emergency, that’s one thing, but it’s not.  I’ve looked forward to our weekend away for two weeks now, and I’m not delaying our trip just because she’s bored and probably still pissed at Beau.  Now let’s get this stuff over to Andie and Wendell’s so we can be on our way.  I’ll call her later.”

          “Okay, Jess.”,  Aubrey said as he stopped at a red light.  When the redhead pulled a croissant out of the bag and held it out in front of him, he took a bite.  “Thanks.”

          “You’re welcome.”,  Jessica said before tasting it.  “Yummy…”

        ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

          Over an hour later, Aubrey and Jessica were traveling west through Virginia on I-66 W and debating on one of their favorite topics.

          “ _Attack of the Clones_ , Superman.  Definitely _Attack of the Clones_.”

          Aubrey snickered before drinking his coffee.  “Nope, _Phantom Menace_.”

          “Aubrey, _Attack of the Clones_ is the crappiest prequel, hands down.  Come on, it had Hayden Christensen in it--”

          “So did _Revenge of the Sith_.  If his acting was any more wooden, Jess, he would be a tree.  However, _Phantom Menace_ brought us Jar Jar Binks and totally wasted Qui-Gon.”

          “But _Attack_ had him and Padme fall in love.”, Jessica replied with quotation marks.  “This is supposed to be the love story that started this whole saga and to screw it up was not an option.  However, Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman had absolutely no chemistry.  Padme was five years older than him, Aubrey...”

          “Um...I’ve almost five years older than you, Jess.”,  Aubrey said.  “What’s the difference?  They were adults by the time they got together in _Clones_.”

          “But you’re cute and you have substance, plus we met when I was 26 and you were 31.  We were old enough to know what we wanted.”

           “Actually, it was a week before my 31st birthday.  Besides, I may have wanted to get to know more about the cute squintern who was working on the Hayes Robertson case.”, the agent replied with a chuckle.  “I had to check things out carefully, you know?  Gather some info…”

           Jessica looked at her boyfriend and narrowed her eyes.  “Fine, you were 30 and 51 weeks and I was 26, five months, and eight days when we met...and I may have wanted to talk more with the cute agent in Angela’s office.  My point, smartass, is that while Anakin was 19 in _Attack of the Clones_ , he was totally immature and still way under Padme’s league...and that stupid crap took up most of the film.”

          “Jar Jar Binks annoyed the crap out of me, but I could live with that.  What Lucas totally screwed up was giving us badass Qui-Gon, and then killing him off.  You don’t kill off Liam Neeson.  Jess, we have debated this for a year and a half.  It’s never going to change...and I’ll always be right.”

          “You’re deluding yourself, Superman, but I still love you.  Now, moving on, I thought it was nice of you to ask Wendell and Andie to join us Monday night.”

          “Well, they’re housesitting for us and we haven’t been able to hang out for almost four weeks between me recuperating, Andie’s work schedule and all three of you working on your end of semester stuff.  Besides, the cabin has three bedrooms.  That was okay, right?”

          “Of course it was.  Andie said they weren’t leaving our house this weekend at all unless forced to.  I hope you don’t mind...”, Jessica snickered.

          “I’m sure they have some catching up to do as well.  Wendell told me the same thing when I was showing him his box of donuts.  I let him know that as long as they leave our bed alone and change the sheets wherever they were, they’re fine.”,  Aubrey replied with a chuckle before sobering up.  “Did you want to ask Daisy and Beau to join us?”

          “Daisy told me when we had lunch a couple days ago that she was working all day Monday and heading straight there.  Angela and Curly are going to take Lance overnight since Monday Night Football usually runs late.”

          Aubrey watched the road as he drove.  “Do you think she’ll still go to Beau’s game if she’s still pissed at him?”

          The redhead shifted in her seat.  “I’m assuming things will calm down by then.  If she’s decides that she’s not going, then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

          As Jessica finished speaking, her phone played _‘Be Our Guest’_.  “Shit...I forgot to call her.”

          “Hey, what Daisy doesn't know won’t hurt her.”, Aubrey said before the redhead turned down the radio.

          “Shhhhh.”,  Jessica gently admonished before answering.  “Hey Dais, what’s up?”

          _“What’s up is I’m at Aubrey’s house with a box of scones and croissants with two chai tea lattes and no one is home.  Skinner is staring at me through the curtain with a mean face.  Where are you?  Didn’t you get my message?”_

           “I’m sorry I missed you, but Aubrey and I were already on the road early this morning and we were in a dead zone.  Right now, we’re almost to my family’s winery for some booze and visit my brother and his partner before heading to the cabin.”

          _“But I’m bored, Jessica.  Lance is with Dr. B and Booth and my husband, who hasn’t apologized for being an ass last night is at work.  I called Andie but she and Wendell were going over to her mother’s house today before they veg at Aubrey’s house tonight for New Years.”_

          “Why don’t you see what Angela is up to?”,  Jessica replied.  “Dr. B said that Booth and Hodgins were taking the kids to see _‘A Christmas Carol’_ at the Kennedy Center later today with Arastoo, Jordan, and Isaiah before everyone hangs out at their house for the ball drop tonight.”

          _“I tried calling her but had to leave a voicemail.  When I called Hodgins, he said she was sleeping in because they got in late from that fancy banquet you all went to last night.”_

“Angela is almost six months pregnant, Daisy...she’s probably exhausted.  Aubrey and I had a hard time waking up this morning because we got in after midnight.” , Jessica said, trying to ignore Daisy’s frustrated tone. 

_“What the heck kept you there so late last night?  They were just handing out some award to Booth, Aubrey, and that Agent Shaw lady, right?”_

           “Yes, but there was also cocktails and dinner...I met Aubrey’s bosses and other higher ups at the FBI.  He and I also danced for while in between everyone hanging out together having a good time.”,  Jessica said, leaving out the later part with her boyfriend in his office.  “There was a lot going on besides just the awards…”

_“I still don’t see how an FBI party can be that much fun, Jessica.  I’m sure Dr. B and especially Hodgins and Dr. Saroyan were bored to tears.  Angela and Arastoo, too.  They’re not even part of the FBI.  Why they had to go, I don’t know.”_

           Deciding to not get into a debate, Jessica moved on.  “Did you maybe see what Dr. B’s plans were today?”

           There was a huffing noise in the phone.  _“She said she was getting together with Dr. Saroyan this afternoon so they can brainstorm on how to save Andy from what happened in the last book so his survival is realistic.”_

          “Well, Dr. Saroyan is an MD and you know how Dr. B doesn’t want inaccuracy in her books.”, Jessica said diplomatically.  “You know, if you have the condo to yourself, why don’t you kick back and enjoy the peace and quiet today?  You know...read...take a bubble bath...”

_“Jessica…I had to stand in line for over 30 minutes to get this stuff.  I’ve got different scones and other treats for Aubrey as well.”_

          Jessica closed her eyes and counted to five.  “Daisy, I do appreciate that but it wouldn’t be fair to ask Aubrey to turn around and drive almost two hours back.  He went to a lot of trouble to get us this cabin for New Year’s and we’ve only got three nights to enjoy it because of his busy work schedule.” 

          It was quiet on the other end for a few seconds.  _“Fine.  I’ll just go to work and get some paperwork done.  Enjoy your vacation, Jessica.  Say hi to Aubrey for me and Happy New Year.”_

          “I’ll tell him.  Happy—“  Jessica stopped as she heard a dial tone.  Ending the call, she rolled her eyes at her phone.  “New Year, Daisy.”

Aubrey turned to his girlfriend as he got on the exit for US 29 towards Washington, Virginia.  “Jessica, did she hang up on you?”

          “Yeah, she’s a little frustrated that I’m not there and that everyone else has plans today.”  The anthropologist exhaled softly.  “She’s going to work at the NFL until Beau comes home.  Hopefully they don’t fight again before they go over to his parents’ house tonight.”

          “I would think she would enjoy having some time to herself, but oh well.”, Aubrey said before continuing his thoughts.  “Jess, I love Daisy…I really do, but it seems she’s…well…almost taking advantage of you lately.  She’s been really needy lately...”

          “Aubrey!  She’s one of my best friends, okay?  She’s going through a hard time right now.  She also has a lot of issues to work out.”

          “I know, but instead of working on them like you’ve suggested the last few weeks, including on Christmas, she comes running to you, Andie, or even Oliver, of all people.  Wendell has been friends with her longer than any of us, and he told me this morning that Daisy has  crashed their plans a couple of times in the last few weeks.”

          “Daisy needs us, Superman.”, Jessica said.  “She feels awkward bothering Dr. B, Angela, or Dr. Saroyan with her troubles because she feels that they have lives of their own.”

          “And you don’t?  Andie doesn’t?”, Aubrey said, trying to keep his aggravation to a minimum  “You’ve had a full load with finishing your semester, dealing with all the Gerald Maxwell shit, and taking care of me when I got out of the hospital.  Andie works a full time job at the hospital, is also going back to school for her Masters and Doctorate to be a nurse practitioner, and trying to find time with Wendell, who’s writing his thesis for Dr. B and starting work on his medical anthropology PhD.”

          Jessica’s frustration reached a boiling point.  “So are you saying I shouldn’t be there for my friend, Aubrey?”

          “No.”, Aubrey said, keeping his eyes on the road.  “That’s not what I meant at all.  I want you to be supportive and compassionate with your friends.  It’s one of the reasons I love you so much, but I don’t want you to run yourself ragged in the process.”  Seeing Jessica’s glare, he clenched his jaw.   “I’m going to shut up now.”

          The SUV was quiet as the two went to neutral corners for the next few minutes, with the only sound coming from the radio.  The agent saw his girlfriend looking pensive as she stared out the window at the Virginia countryside.  “I’ve just fucked up our vacation, haven’t I?  I don’t want to fight, Jess.  I’m sorry.”

          Realizing her boyfriend misunderstood her silence, Jessica took his hand.  “I’m sorry, too.  I don’t want to fight this weekend, either…and you’re right.  She promised me she was going to work on things with Beau and I’m going to push her to do that.”

          “Good…”,  Aubrey said, relieved they’d gotten past that hump.  Seeing a highway sign, he gestured.  “Now it’s 211 we take to get to the winery, right?”

          “Yep…then onto Luray.”,  Jessica replied before picking up her phone again.  “I’m letting my brother know that we’ll be there in about 30 minutes.  I can give you a quick tour if you want.”

          “Sounds fun.”, Aubrey said before turning to his girlfriend.  “Sorry it won’t be 70 degrees like it was earlier in the week.”

          “That’s okay, Superman.  70 degree weather in January is just weird.”, Jessica said with a smirk.  “Besides, colder nights gives us more reason to stay in and use the fireplace…”

          The couple smirked at each other before Aubrey turned his attention back to the road.

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

          After an early lunch with Jack and Greg and Jessica giving Aubrey a tour of her family’s winery,  the couple drove on until they got to the RIVER WOODS sign at the end of a sloping driveway just shy of noon.

          “Here we are, Jess.”, Aubrey said before turning left onto the winding driveway.

          Jessica looked around at the trees surrounding the gravel road.  “Secluded...very nice.”

          Pulling up to the cabin, both got out and admired the large log cabin.  Jessica looked in awe at the place where they would be staying for the next three nights.  Standing on the lawn, she grinned happily.  “Superman, this place looks gorgeous.  It’s even more beautiful than the pictures on the website you showed me.”

          Pleased that she was so excited, Aubrey nodded towards the door.  “I know...let’s check out the inside.”

          The couple found the key under the mat and unlocked the cabin.  Going inside, both were amazing at how nice it was. 

          The living room was spacious with hardwood floors, log walls, and several windows set off by a large stone wood burning fireplace.  There were two comfy chairs with a large leather brown couch. Going upstairs, the two passed the full guest bathroom lined with marble tiles and admired the space in the two guest bedrooms.

          “Wendell and Andie will love it here Monday night, Superman.”,  Jessica exclaimed.

          “I guess this place is 1900 square feet.”,  Aubrey replied as he peeked back into the guest bathroom.  “Very impressive.”

           Heading back downstairs, they found the master bedroom, or _‘master retreat’_ as it was called on the website.  The floors throughout were hardwood, but there was a lovely gas fireplace with a stone hearth.  The room was also very spacious with plenty of room for the King sized bed.

           “Lots of room for us to move around.  Awesome.”, Aubrey replied with a chuckle.

           “Aubrey, check out the bathroom!”

            The agent stepped into the master bathroom and was in awe of the marble floors.  The sinks were his and hers with a granite counter top. Robes and fluffy towels were on a shelf and the room was completed with the Jacuzzi.

            “Aubrey….this hot tub is almost as nice as yours.”

            “Woo hoo!”  Aubrey got giddy as he imagined the two of them in there.  Coming up behind Jessica, he put his arms around her and kissed her cheek.  “Open a bottle of wine...play some Dylan...relax together…”

            “Just relax?  Who are you trying to bullshit, Aubrey?”, Jessica chuckled.  “We will enjoy this very much. Now, we should get our stuff, especially our groceries.”

            Getting their provisions out of the back end, they walked back in and admired the open dining room and kitchen on the other side of the living area.  Aubrey almost drooled at the center island with the stove and granite counter tops.

          “Jess!  This kitchen is even more amazing up close!!  Look at all the space.”

          The redhead chuckled at her boyfriend’s glee as she put their bottles of _Saoirse Finn_ in the fridge.  “I guess I know where I can find you this weekend.”

          Aubrey turned to his girlfriend without missing a beat.  “Nah, I’ll be too busy being inside you for the next three days.”

          Jessica’s mouth dropped in shock as her boyfriend headed back out to their vehicle while whistling _The Imperial March_. 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

            After getting settled in, they snuggled on the couch and began their Star Wars marathon.  They had fun quoting the dialogue from memory from their favorite movie series.  When _Attack of the Clones_ ended, Aubrey and Jessica celebrated before the agent shut off the movie.

            “Yay!  The shitty sequels are done!”, Jessica said with applause.

            “Yes, they are!  Tomorrow...the classics.  Now, it’s time to get ready for our evening.”, he said, cajoling his girlfriend from his arms.  “I’m treating you to a fancy dinner tonight at this restaurant Jack recommended, _Circa 31._   It’s right in town inside the Mimslyn Inn.”

             “A fancy dinner, huh?”  Jessica smiled as she stood up and stretched.  “I thought we could maybe do a naked dinner tonight?  We don’t have to worry about neighbors peeping in through the windows.  You could even pee outside if you wanted, Aubrey.”

             “Very tempting, but the dinner reservations are already made and I prefer to piss inside...but I’ll keep that in mind.”  The agent smirked.  “However, I could go for a naked breakfast tomorrow morning.  I can’t think of a better way to celebrate our first meal of 2017.”

              Jessica gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek.  “Sounds wonderful. So what’s the plan after our meal, sir?”

              Aubrey put his arm around her as he led her to the bedroom.  “Well, after our fancy dinner, we’ll come back here, pop that champagne we snagged from the winery...and have our own private New Year’s Eve celebration.”

              “I can’t wait”,  Jessica said, removing a garment bag out of the closet and pulling out her dress.  “Does this dress work for dinner?”

              “Very nice.”  Aubrey admired the simple hunter green flare dress and noted one very important thing.  “It buttons up in the front?”

               Jessica laid the dress on the bed and gave Aubrey a sultry grin.  “Yes, it does.  I got it at the consignment shop where I got my dress for the Gala.”

_‘Well...it will be easy to get off her later.’,_ the agent thought happily.  “That’s a good color for  you.  I like it.”

_‘He likes that it will be easy for him to get off me later.’_  Jessica chuckled to herself as she noticed his sly grin.  “I’m glad.  Now let’s hit the shower.”

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

           Two hours later, the couple were at a secluded table at Circa 31.  Jessica ordered the four course wine pairing special to share with Aubrey, while he also ordered the restaurant’s Surf and Turf.  The redhead watched with amusement as her boyfriend sampled her third course on a side plate while alternating with the filet mignon on his.

          “Jess…this food is amazing…your chicken is awesome…but the steak…damn…”

          Jessica sipped her wine.  “I like that they used our chardonnay with this course.”

          Aubrey chewed his crab cake.  “Are you going to tell them that it’s your family’s wine?”

          The anthropologist shook her head.  “No.  My mother has done that a couple of times and it makes things awkward.  They did a good job with all the wine pairings tonight.  Thank you for sharing this with me, Superman.”

          “Well, I’m driving tonight and it seems they are generous with the wine they give you.  This way, I can try the wine and the food while letting you enjoy most of it.  Anyway, this surf and turf looked too damn good to pass up.”

          “This has been an amazing New Year’s Eve so far, Superman.”, Jessica said, putting her glass down on the table.  “Any special New Year’s resolutions?”

          _‘Yeah…get the balls to ask you to move in with me…then ask you to marry me without wanting to vomit in fear…’_   Aubrey thought.  “Just…to honestly be the best SAC that I can be and to be the best boyfriend I can be to you, including supporting you when that asshole’s trial starts on the 23rd.”

          Jessica’s countenance fell.  “Genny said that she’s having trouble finding other women to testify about what they know about Gerald…”

          “Jess, I refuse to believe that the right thing won’t happen here.  Yes, in a few weeks things will suck, but…I need to have faith that Caroline will get that perverted piece of shit in jail where he belongs.  He’s dangerous.”

          “It’s going to get ugly, you know.”, Jessica said quietly as she sipped her wine.  “I don’t want this to affect your job, Aubrey—“

          “It won’t, Jess.  Only Genny has access to the case file, because Stark himself locked it down on a need to know basis.  He has to approve which FBI personnel have access to it, and I’m not on the approved list, to avoid any appearance of favoritism.  Hodgins said that the lab protocol that he set up for Zack’s case is being used for your case, too.”

          “Two people must examine all evidence at all times, and if he’s working on my case, I have to go to Limbo or work with Clark.”  Jessica nodded before looking up from the table.  “That’s not what I was talking about, James and you know it.”

           “My job is secure, okay? The Maxwells can try to screw things up but they aren’t going to ruin my career because I’m supporting you.  Look at me, Jessica.”,  Aubrey said bluntly.  When she did, he took her hand and smiled.  “Even if by some stretch of the imagination they did hurt my career, it doesn’t matter to me.  You’re more important than that.  I can live somehow without a job...but I can’t live without you, do you understand?  You’re my life.”

          Her heart skipped a beat he saw the sincerity in his eyes.  Holding back her emotions, she smiled.  “Okay.”

          “Good.”, Aubrey replied.  “Now, we’re going to get that prick.  He can’t weasel his way out of these charges.  This way he can’t hurt anyone else like he hurt you.”    

          Karen’s comments from the night before surfaced in Jessica’s mind.  She knew it was a cheap shot, but it still hurt.  Biting her lip for a moment, she pressed forward.  “Do you think Karen was involved with Gerald on this thing?  Be straight with me, Superman.”

          Aubrey exhaled.  “I don’t think Karen told him to slash your tires or break into your apartment.  I do think that she played on his anger so that perhaps he would try to get you fired from the lab.”

          The redhead nodded.  “So that I would be kicked out of my program...causing me to find another university...probably away from DC...and be away from you…and Steve.”

          The agent nodded in agreement.  “I also suspect that there’s more to her _‘meeting’_ with Gerald, but nothing criminal.”

          “Like what?”

          “She claims she slept with Gerald after they met by chance and got drunk together.  With the time frame she gave, it doesn’t make sense.  All last month, she paraded Bower around as the love of her life and bragged about how amazing he was.  She’s many things, but I don’t see her cheating on someone...no matter how much she detested you.”

          “Yeah, but she knew about the artifacts from Thrace…and that wasn’t public knowledge, Superman.”

          “I’m not saying they didn’t meet up before or after the Gala.”,  Aubrey replied before sipping his beer.  “I just think that Gerald’s actions after he came back from suspension, like confronting you after work, nit picking your wardrobe, and messing with the lab, wasn’t just because he was mad that he wasn’t getting a slap and a tickle from you.”

          Jessica realized what her boyfriend was telling her.  “So are you saying that you think they met up more than once?”

          Aubrey nodded.  “Yeah, I am.  The first was after my birthday and the Gala.”

          “And the second?”

          Aubrey finished the last bite of his filet mignon.  “Thanksgiving weekend.”

          Surprised at the certainty, she inquired further.  “You’re that certain?”

        The agent sipped his beer. "I am. All through November, she was wrapped up in Steve, but it's common knowledge that he's a flirt.  Plus, Karen seemed alright before that weekend, but on Thanksgiving Angela, Booth, Clark, and everyone else said she kept talking about me and asking about when I was supposed to arrive. Daisy said she seemed to be frustrated about being there almost three hours when we came over."

          “Her panties were in a wad when she realized that you spent part of the day with my family.”  Jessica sipped her wine.  “Didn’t you say that Booth gave her the wrong time  because he wanted to teach her a lesson?”

          “Yes, he did.  Of course, once we got there, she wouldn’t fucking leave me alone.  Usually, people have been polite and ignored her.  That day, I got snarky with her, as did a few of the others, but it didn’t faze her.  However, you got in her face and embarrassed her more than once.”

          “Because I called her out on her shit?”, Jessica replied.  “She was being a bitch.  She  made nasty comments about me hanging out with the guys at Founding Fathers, kept Christine from sitting with you which is pathetic, plus obviously flirted with you although she had a boyfriend that I was trying to steal.  I’m telling you, Superman, she was wearing those hot pink panties on Thanksgiving hoping you would take her home so she could show them off and let you know what she was grateful for on her holiday.”

          “Ugh….don’t remind me…”,  Aubrey replied with a face of disgust.  “Dealing with her...it’s like high school and she’s trying to...fit into our clique.  She acts like you’re this mean girl that’s plotting against her and forcing us not to let her join.  It’s just weird.

          The redhead considered what her boyfriend was saying.  “So, you’re saying I pushed her buttons on Thanksgiving and she was so pissed that she met up with Gerald again and told him more lies?”

          “Yeah, I am, Jess.  According to Karen, Steve was supposedly getting hang up calls from you or you were flirting with him because you were bored with me.  Of course, he really was flirting and bothering you.  Knowing that dumbass, he was screwing around and played you up to get her off the trail with whomever he was nailing on the side.”

          “It was probably Candi...you know, that CSI lady I heard about from Genny...and Mitzi, too, I guess.”

          “Exactly.  Steve was probably fooling around on her all through last month.  Maybe she heard about it, and knowing that idiot, he encouraged her thinking you were after him to get himself off the hook.  I mean, I’m sure he thought it was fun to pretend that a pretty girl was after him, even though she kicked him in the shin, almost broke his fingers, and told him to fuck off on multiple occasions.”

          “The worst was when he called you a dick and was talking shit about you.  If I thought I could have gotten away with it, I would have kneed him, too.”

          Aubrey chuckled.  “Thanks...as I was saying, then, you humiliated her on Thanksgiving and she was super pissed.  Deciding that the solution was to get you out of the picture, she used her vocation to play on Gerald’s fragile ego with more lies about you…like saying he was gay...that he couldn’t get it up, or whatever other crap she told him.  However, she didn’t know about his history besides what was in the society columns.”

          “Essentially, she wanted you first and Steve as a backup.”. Jessica said.  “How lovely.”

          “Well, Genny said she gave Karen a stern warning about staying away from Gerald, so we don’t have to worry about her in that aspect.  I just hope she takes the warning I gave her last week about leaving you alone seriously.”

          Aubrey saw her stiffen before going back to her food.  He knew her tells too well.  “Jessica, did Karen do something that I don’t know about?”

          Not wanting to make it into a thing, Jessica sipped her wine.  “It’s not a big deal, Aubrey.”

          Aubrey noted she looked everywhere but at him.  “Look me in the eyes and tell me that, Jessica.”

          “Let it go, Aubrey.”, Jessica said in an irritated tone, wanting to move on.

          Suspicions confirmed, the agent pressed his girlfriend.  “Okay, now you’re getting pissy and not looking me in the eye, so something did happen.  Tell me right now, Jessica.  I mean it.”

          “Fine, since you’re not going to leave it alone.”, Jessica said, defeated.  “Last night, after we split up at the buffet, Karen and I...had a discussion…”

          “About what?”,  Aubrey asked, his concern growing.

          “You know, the usual...she made shitty comments on my appearance...needled me about my trust fund...and my previous reputation at the Jeffersonian…”

          “Jess, she’s just blowing smoke.  Usually, you shrug that petty crap off.  Now, what else happened, because I know there’s more.”

           Jessica played with her fork, avoiding her boyfriend’s intense gaze.  “We talked about you...Karen commented on how you needed _‘the right woman’_ on your arm if you’re going to move up in the FBI.  I said if you weren’t going to move up further, you wouldn’t be a SAC right now, and whether I stay after graduation...or if I take a job in another city and you come with me, that you will make your mark in the FBI.”

           “What else, Jess?”  When she hesitated, he took her hand.  “Jessica...whatever she said next has you upset.  Now, please...tell me.”

           The redhead took a deep breath.  “She said that I was selfish to make you move for my job.  You also need more than a woman who’s a cheap tease, leading men like Gerald Maxwell on.  It’s those two things which always get me into trouble with men, according to her.”

           Aubrey took a deep breath as well to calm his temper.  _‘That...bitch!  She’s gone way too far this time.’_

          Jessica saw his eyes harden and knew the look all too well.  “Aubrey...please don’t get upset.  I’m over it, all right?”

          “Jess...when we get back home, you’re going to file a report for harassment.  We’re done pussy footing around her.”

          “No, Aubrey…it’s between me and her…”

          “Not anymore it’s not.  I told her to leave you alone and she picked at you anyway.  I’ve had it.  You need to file that report.”

          “No, Aubrey, because that will just add fuel to the fire, okay?”

          Aubrey saw his girlfriend wasn’t going to budge.  “Fine, but Agent Tanner is back from paternity leave on Monday.  I’m going to call him and we’re going to have a little chat.  She’s not working in my division anymore unless I personally approve it.”

          “Aubrey...”,  Jessica replied firmly.  “...you can talk to him when you return on Wednesday.”

          “I’m not going to wait on this.  I’m done coddling her, Jess.  I’m calling him Monday.”

          “Aubrey, don’t...please..”, Jessica said, shaking her head at him.  “I don’t want my troubles with Gerald or Karen to take control of this weekend.  This is our vacation, and I want to spend it concentrating on each other.”

          “But Jess—“

          “Do you know what my New Year's Resolution is?”, the redhead said before squeezing her boyfriend’s hand.  “It’s to continue doing what we’re doing so we can have a life together without always being afraid.  I love being in love with you…I love that you want to slay my dragon for me, James, just because that’s the person you are.  I want us to get to the point where there aren’t any more dragons...where we don’t have to worry about fathers, mothers, or our pasts…that we can just our lives together.  I think we’re going to get there eventually, don’t you?”

          Aubrey’s heart turned into a puddle of goo as he worked to keep his composure.  Suddenly, he realized that there was only one thing he wanted to do at that moment…and it had nothing to do with food.  At the same time, the waiter brought her dessert and final glass of wine.

          “We need a box and the check, please.”

          When the waiter walked away, a surprised Jessica looked at her boyfriend.  “Aubrey, what about my dessert?”

          “You’re taking it to go, Jessica.”,  Aubrey said in a deeper voice.  “You’re going to finish your wine that comes with it and then we’re going back to the cabin.”

          Jessica heard the desperation in her boyfriend’s voice and it started to make her damp.  “I guess since it’s after 10:00 that it wouldn’t hurt to get a head start home.  Crazy drivers will be all over after midnight…”

          “Yes, they will.”

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

          Forty five minutes later, the couple walked into their cabin.  The agent locked it before pushing Jessica up against the wall with his hands all over her.  The anthropologist groaned as she felt her boyfriend’s lips nibble her ear and neck in the way that drove her crazy.

          “Oh God, James…”, she moaned as she held his head close to her.

          “I love you, Jessica.”, he whispered, unbuttoning the front of her dress as his lips found whatever soft skin he could find, intoxicated by the faint cherry vanilla scent of her body wash and spray.

          The redhead felt herself get wet as Aubrey’s very talented hands opened her dress and explored her body.  With haste, she threw his sports jacket on the floor before hastily unbuttoning his button up shirt.  When she had her lover naked to the waist, he quickly removed her dress and threw it on the floor with the rest of his clothes.  Feeling his hands kneading her rear, Jessica grabbed around Aubrey’s neck before he picked her up and held her against the wall.

          Aubrey’s thought processes dwindled as he kissed and nibbled every inch of Jessica’s collarbone and chest before his lips moved down to her breasts, encased in green lace.  Suckling the hard nipple of her left breast, his tongue moved around the lace like an ice cream cone.  He could feel her excitement as she pulled herself closer to him.

          “James…”

          Aubrey hoisted Jessica up and carried her through the cabin to the master bedroom.  Laying her down on the bed, he followed and pressed up against her as they kissed and caressed each other sensually before flipping her around on top of him.  Setting her up, he continued their affection as his hands roamed onto Jessica’s back and his lips on her abdomen.

          The redhead pressed herself into Aubrey’s hardness as his hands moved up and unclip her bra.  Moving her arms so he could yank it off her, Jessica moaned even louder when his lips and tongue alternated with his hands on her breasts.  Just when she thought she couldn’t handle any more, her boyfriend flipped her onto her back and trailed down her abdomen with his lips. 

          Aubrey’s primal instinct was to rip her panties off and pound the hell out of the beautiful woman underneath him.  However, craving the emotional connection with Jessica, he instead pulled her underwear off slowly, following the trail down her legs with his lips.  Making his way back up, he took the invitation of her open thighs and made his way to her core.  He teased her, her shudders pushing him closer to the brink before he finally tasted.  Knowing her pleasure points, the agent found them in rapid succession as his hands roamed up and caressed her in response to her loud moans.  Thankfully, as he was about to the point of pain, he heard it.

          “Now, James….oh God now…”

          Whipping off his pants and boxer shorts, Aubrey entered his girlfriend and they froze as the shock of pleasure enveloped them both. 

          Wrapping her legs around him, Jessica held on tight as he deliciously thrusted into her.  Holding him close, the pleasure came through in waves with each jolt.  Opening her eyes, she saw her lover’s eyes become pure black as he crested the same waves as she did.  Feeling herself come close to her end, she held on tighter as her nails dug into his lower back.

          “Aubrey…ohhhhhh…I love...you...”

          The agent responded by pushing further as his pleasure escalated.  As her legs became tighter against him and her nails began to dig, he bucked as hard as he could so he could bring her climax on before his own. 

          “I love you, Jessica…”

          Right after he spoke his emotional declaration, he felt her shake and heard her scream his name before he filled her.  They held onto each other as Aubrey rode his own orgasm out until he collapsed on Jessica.  For the next several minutes, they kissed and held each other as they recouped from the mind blowing experience they’d just shared.

          “You feel so good next to me, Jess…”, Aubrey whispered as he caressed his lover’s skin.

          “So do you, Superman.”, Jessica breathlessly replied as her hands roamed over his muscular posterior.

          “I’m sorry I dragged you out of Circa 31.”,  Aubrey replied as his hand lightly touched her breast, loving the slight shiver at his touch.  “When you said what you said…about your New Year’s resolution…it…affected me...so much...”

          “You didn’t think it was corny?”, Jessica said while looking up into his eyes.

          “No…”, he said quietly.  “It was…probably one of the most beautiful things anyone has said to me.  I’m not there yet, Jessica.  Mentally I know you’re not going to leave me behind…I know you’re not always checking to see if the grass is greener on the other side.  Emotionally, though, I’m still a mess, but…I’m getting better.”

          “I’m getting there, too, Superman.  Maybe…once the trial is over and we have some breathing room…maybe we can talk about…furthering our relationship….if we’re ready…”

          “I’d like that, Jess.”,  Aubrey said softly. 

          They held each other tight as they kissed, ready to make love again.  However, their amorous moment was interrupted by what sounded like firecrackers.  “Aubrey, what the hell…”, Jessica exclaimed as she pushed her boyfriend up.

          Moving up to his elbows, Aubrey jumped out of bed naked and ran to the window.  At first, he didn’t see anything, but then he saw fireworks in the sky.  “What the…wait…Jess…”

          “Turn around and look Aubrey.”

          The agent turned around to see Jessica through the moonlight pointing to a digital clock showing 12:07.  “It seems that it’s now officially 2017.”, she said through giggles.  “You know what this means.”

          Aubrey walked back to their bed and crawled under the covers.  “It means we came with the New Year…”

          The couple laughed like crazy as they realized what happened.  Jessica calmed down first.  “So, Aubrey, do you want to continue our celebration of the New Year?”

          “I think we can do that.”  Aubrey said before pulling the blanket over them.  _“2017, here we come…”,_ he said to Jessica’s laughs.

        _“Wait, what about the champagne we brought from the winery?”_

_“It can wait an hour...or two.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watch for Love & Carbonite Extras later this week!


	60. The Beauty Is Definitely A Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey and Jessica are still at their cabin, enjoying an extended New Year's weekend in the peace and quiet of the mountains. What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be careful reading at work....

     Outside of a log cabin in western Virginia, a robin fed on insects from a nearby lawn as the beginning light of dawn appeared in the distance.  Dew was present on the grass outside in the mountainous area. On the deck ledge near the master bedroom window, a pair of evening grosbecks stood as they observed the quiet morning.  

Inside the cabin, it was dark, partially obscuring a pile of discarded clothing laying by the front door.  The living area was neat except for the pile of Star Wars Blu Rays and DVDs next to the television and the kitchen/dining area was as well, having been unused by the cabin’s occupants since their arrival.

The master bedroom was also bereft of light, the curtains being closed against the sun’s early morning intrusion.  The only exception was the glow from the gas fireplace that Aubrey had turned on when Jessica had gotten cold shortly before they finally had gone to sleep less than six hours before.  On the bed, the agent was asleep in the nude along with his girlfriend, who was entwined around him with her head on his chest. Both were covered with a thick comforter that had been crumpled at the end during the night.  

The peaceful quiet of the first hours of 2017 was broken by a buzzing sound in the room.  

Startled, Aubrey opened his eyes and saw his phone vibrating.  Not bothering to look at the caller ID, he quickly grabbed it so it didn’t wake up his girlfriend.  “Hello?”, he asked, still partially asleep.

       “Happy New Year, Aubrey.  It’s Daisy. Listen, I just tried calling Jessica’s phone but she didn’t answer.  Can I talk to her?”

Checking the clock on the nightstand, he saw it was almost 7:00 AM.  Holding back his irritation at being awakened so early, Aubrey forced himself to be polite.  “Daisy, we had a late night and she’s sound asleep right now. I’ll let Jess know to call you when she wakes up.”

“Do you know when that will be?”

Aubrey took a deep breath.  “Well, since it’s ten to seven, it probably won’t be a for a couple of hours, but I’ll let her know...I promise.”

       “Aubrey, I really need to talk to her now.”

       “Is it a medical emergency or something that we need to return home immediately for?”,  Aubrey asked grumpily, unhappy he had been awakened for what seemed to be no good reason.

          “No…it’s just...it’s personal...”

      Aubrey’s frustration increased.  “Is something wrong with Beau, Lance, or anyone else?”

       “No…but my in laws annoyed me so much last night...I just need to know if she thinks I’m being unreasonable...”

       ‘I’m not waking Jess up with that stupid shit.’  Aubrey rolled his eyes in irritation.  “Look, it’s still early, and I’m going back to sleep with Jessica.  I’ll have her call you later.”

“But Aubrey--”

“Bye.”  

As Aubrey ended the call and threw his phone aside, Jessica mumbled softly.  “Who was on the phone?”

“Daisy.”,  the agent said sleepily, caressing her hair.  “Shhh....”

“Was it important?”, Jessica said, continuing to lay her head on Aubrey’s chest.

“Nah...it can wait.  Something about her in laws.  Go back to sleep.”, he muttered, kissing the top of her head before holding her closer.

“Okay.”

Jessica fell back asleep, but Aubrey opened his eyes, frustrated with the interruption.  Once again, Daisy and her crises had messed with his plans, this time sleeping in with Jessica.  Looking up at the ceiling, his thoughts came in a rush.

‘It’s obvious that Daisy doesn’t want to solve her own problems.  She just wants people to hold her hand, tell her she’s right, and help her hang onto some unrealistic fantasy.  It’s like she doesn’t want to see the truth...that she’s not living that fairy tale existence she’s always dreamed about. It’s not because of what she perceives as Beau’s lack of cooperation, but because that fairy tale dream doesn’t exist in the real world.’  

He wasn’t around for much of Daisy and Sweets’ earlier relationships, but he knew enough to realize that the psychologist had coddled her, especially early on.  From what his friends had said, after Sweets broke up with her, Daisy seemed to flourish and mature with time. Sweets, after living with Booth and Brennan for a while, had also found his way.  

He once again remembered the night he’d gotten together with Sweets at Founding Fathers a few weeks after his arrival in DC.  Before they got into Jessica, Sweets had talked about his renewed relationship with Daisy, especially emphasizing how he’d credited the ending of their relationship a couple years earlier as what they needed to force them to grow up before getting back together.  When Aubrey replied with skepticism, Sweets explained that while Daisy’s pregnancy had sped along the process of reuniting, this time around was different because their goals for the future were more in line, their communication was better, and both had gained the maturity to handle any complications that came along in life.  

“Aubrey, as insane as it sounds to others, we needed that break up to grow the hell up.  We will still have our bad days, but we know now how to handle those times and it will make us stronger.   I’m telling you, man, my future with her is looking brighter with each day. Daisy carrying our baby is the best evidence of that.  We’re even talking about getting married after our son is born. We’re going to face the world together.”

Of course, no one, including Daisy, had expected that future to end two months later with his death in a parking garage at a suspect’s hand.  As time went on, Daisy seemed to have her focus on her son and her career at the lab, not worrying about anything else, including dating.

‘Jess said that Daisy was asked out multiple times, even by their yoga instructor, but she wasn’t ready...that it was too soon after Sweets had died.  She held it together with everyone’s help to raise her son, but then life sent her another complication, this time a tall, egotistical, annoying as all get out one.’

Aubrey smirked as his thoughts continued.  ‘Hodgins said no one liked that dillhole when he started at the lab several months before Dr. B and Booth were married.  From the start, Oliver copped a superior attitude with everyone at the lab, including Daisy. What a surprise…’

Angela mentioned that when they worked their first case together the two scientists had bickered non-stop, but then Oliver had surprised everyone when he uncharacteristically tried to cover for Daisy when she’d made an error on the case.  After that, he’d always been what Angela called ’less douchy’ with the petite intern than with the others. However, Angela had also said that when Daisy got back together with Sweets, Oliver returned to his usual unpleasant self towards her, mellowing slightly again after the profiler had died.  

Jessica had told him that everyone at the lab had suspected that Oliver’s attitude was hiding a crush on Daisy...maybe a crush he was unprepared to deal with.  Occasionally he would do and say small things that seemed to belie his purported feelings of disdain for Daisy. However, his douchy alter ego had returned full force while they were investigating Frank Kwiakowski’s murder and he had been particularly testy with the other intern.

‘It’s possible that something happened between them that had turned everything sideways, but neither has told anyone what that might be.’

In the end, it seemed that between Oliver’s obviously fragile ego and Daisy’s frustrations, the two of them couldn’t find a way to get it together long enough to figure out what they may have been heading towards...whatever that was.

Then, suddenly, Daisy’s fairy tale prince and happily ever after fantasy appeared out of the blue and she threw herself into that relationship, ignoring the fact that her Prince Charmington was also a flesh and blood man with his own flaws and feelings.

Aubrey took a breath and finished his thoughts.  ‘It’s obvious to me that when she lost Sweets, Daisy lost a piece of herself.  Beau represents the ideal of what she lost, but it’s not real. She’s not going to be able to move forward or even to grow as a person until she fully acknowledges that loss and embrace what’s meant to be for her, whether that means coming to an understanding with her husband or moving on to a life with her son and someone else while forging ahead with her career.  It’s a human thing to be scared of the unknown, but ignoring reality will only makes things worse.’

He turned to his lover, who continued to lay her head on his chest, deep in slumber.  Their own break up four months earlier still hurt, and he supposed that a part of him always would always ache as he thought of what he’d missed while they were apart.  However, much like Sweets’ comment that it was the best thing for his relationship with Daisy, it seemed to be what was needed for Jessica and him at the time. Every day, he was grateful they’d figured things out so they could move forward together.  They still had a way to go before they could give each other that final commitment, and sometimes things would still get rough, but their friendship would get them through the worst of times.

Smiling, he kissed the top of Jessica’s head and closed his eyes, this time falling asleep.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

At 9:30, a naked Jessica with tousled hair sauntered out into the living room as Aubrey continued to sleep.  As she stopped to stretch, she smirked when she spotted her dress and Aubrey’s sport jacket and shirt on the floor in a heap.

‘A very memorable New Year’s…honestly, the best one I’ve ever had.’

Picking up the three items, she laid his jacket and her dress on the back of the leather couch before putting his shirt on.  Looking around, she found her purse by the front door where she’d dropped it when they’d returned from Circa 31. Getting her phone out, she saw the alert for a new message on her voicemail.  Opening it, her eyes got large.

“6:41 in the morning?  No way, Daisy…”, Jessica muttered before reading her Voice to Text message.  “Got into a shouting match with my father in law...New Year’s sucked...need to talk to you to see if I was being unreasonable…”

Deciding to call back later, she walked into the kitchen to start coffee for herself and Aubrey.  After yawning, she wore another grin, recalling that they didn’t get to sleep until after 1:00 this morning.  “Our vacation...and 2017...is starting off literally with a bang...that’s for sure.”

Opening the fridge and cupboard, she pulled out the ingredients she needed to make Aubrey’s beloved cinnamon pancakes.  Humming to herself, she mixed the batter as she mused about her boyfriend.

Once again, Aubrey had put in a stellar performance last night, making her scream as he gave her two excellent orgasms.  He was a man who put 110% in everything he did, from his job to her sexual satisfaction. She was thankful for his impressive and potent sex drive, incredible stamina, and his creative imagination, along with a willingness to try new things that could still surprise her in bed.

So, making his favorite pancakes was the least she could do.

           As she added the cinnamon, she continued to muse about their sex life.  ‘Will Superman and I still make love like that twenty years from now?  God, I hope so.’

She was lost in her thoughts until she felt lips on her neck and a pair of hands cupping her breasts.  Enjoying the attention, she leaned back slightly against his chest. “Good morning, Superman.”

“Good morning, Jess.  Happy New Year.”, Aubrey replied before realizing what she was doing.  “Cinnamon pancakes...the breakfast of champions.”

“Well, it’s the least I could do to show my appreciation for last night.  You were very impressive, sir.”

“Well, thank you.  If you’re going to do a job, do it right.”  Aubrey smirked before slowly unbuttoning the shirt his girlfriend was wearing, starting at the top button.  “I thought we were having a naked breakfast this morning to celebrate the New Year?”

“Well,  that was the plan, but when I woke up, someone was still sleep...oh wow…”, Jessica groaned as Aubrey gently caressed her naked breasts.  When he moved to play with her nipples, she moaned louder. “Oh...that feels so good. Someone is very horny this morning.”

The agent slid his right hand under the shirt down to Jessica’s abdomen.  “Of course. My gorgeous girlfriend is wearing one of my shirts and looks better in it than I ever will, plus it’s Sunday...you know how much I enjoy Sunday mornings with you…”

“I know you...do...oh God…”,  the anthropologist moaned as she felt her boyfriend’s hand go between her legs.  

Aubrey’s long fingers worked their magic, encouraged when Jessica’s arm reached back around his neck.  His lips began gently nibbling on her earlobe. “God, I love it when you wear my shirts with no panties on underneath…it makes me so hot...”

Jessica moaned loudly as she ground against his hips, feeling how hard he was as he drove deeper inside her.  “Oh God...oh shit...get inside me now, Aubrey.”

The agent pushed her up against the kitchen counter before pulling down his pajama pants.  Pulling her body against him, Aubrey got ready to enter her from behind.

Be our guest!  Be our guest! Put our service to the test!

“Shit, that’s Daisy.”, Jessica said, panting while moving from Aubrey to reach her phone.

“Ignore it, okay?  Call her back…please…”,  Aubrey whined before pulling her up against him again.  However, as he leaned in to kiss her neck, Jessica pushed him away.

“Aubrey, stop.  It could be serious.”, Jessica admonished before answering.  “Hey Dais...no...you’re not interrupting me.”

“Like Hell she’s not.”  Seeing that his romantic morning plans were interrupted, an annoyed Aubrey pulled up his pants and backed away to where Jessica was mixing the ingredients.  “I’ll start the pancakes.”

“Thank you, Superman.”, the redhead said with her hand over the receiver before turning her attention back to the call.  “What’s going on?”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

A couple hours later, Aubrey and Jessica were watching Star Wars when the Imperial March played for the first time.  Suddenly, Aubrey giggled as his thoughts returned to Christmas Eve.  Oh yeah...we definitely need a replay of that scene…

“Jessica, my love…”

“Yes, James…”,  the redhead replied with a grin, knowing the sultry tone of his voice.

“I have an idea…”

Snickering, she lifted her head from his chest.  “Does somebody want to do some dancing?”

“Oh yeah…hey, can you wear the purple thing again?”,  Aubrey asked. “I really like that...just like you did on Christmas Eve, okay?  That was hot.”

Jessica smiled as she grabbed her phone and unlocked it before giving it to Aubrey.  “Yeah...my panties would get in the way. Okay, I’ll get changed and you cue the music.”

“Yes!”, Aubrey exclaimed with a fist bump.  

Dancing a jig in his seat, the agent searched his girlfriend’s phone as the anthropologist got up.  She was only halfway across the room when they heard another tune.

‘Be our guest!  Be our guest! Put our service to the test!’

“Again?”, Aubrey groaned before reluctantly handing the phone to Jessica.  “Surely she didn’t get into another fight with her in laws this time?”

“I’m sorry.  I’ll make it quick, I promise.”,  the redhead responded before pushing the button to answer.  “Daisy, what’s up?”

Watching his girlfriend leave the room to talk to her friend, Aubrey’s head laid back against the couch in frustration.  First their naked breakfast was interrupted with Daisy complaining about her in laws during their party last night. Now, their naughty dancing was being interrupted for probably something just as stupid.

Looking down at his genital area, he sighed.  “I know...I know...you’re frustrated, too.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

With the sun out, the couple spent the early afternoon walking around the cabin and nearby area, enjoying the view of the Massanutten Mountain and the Appalachians.  When they got home, they enjoyed each other’s company before Aubrey prepared them a romantic dinner after 4:00. Jessica was finishing the salad and Aubrey had just lit the candles when a familiar tune played.

‘Be our guest!  Be our guest! Put our service to the test!’

Jessica answered the phone, not seeing Aubrey’s annoyed face.  “Daisy, what’s up?...why was he upset about that?”

“The steaks will be ready in ten minutes, Jess.”, Aubrey said.  When he only got a nod in response before she left the room, the agent shook his head.

“Daisy needs to work on her damn timing…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

An hour later,  they sat on the couch in front of the fireplace enjoying a bottle of Chardonnay and the quiet with Jessica’s legs draped across Aubrey’s lap.

“I’ve enjoyed our vacation so far, Superman.”, Jessica said before snuggling closer.

“Me too...mostly.”,  Aubrey said diplomatically.  “Except for the constant phone calls.”

Jessica sighed.  “I’m sorry, Superman.  Daisy isn’t having a good day.”

“You could say that again, Jess.”,  Aubrey said quietly as he sipped his wine.  “First she calls us before 7:00 this morning because she got into a shouting match with her father in law the night before...then she calls to tell you that she fought with Beau again over the offer from the Redskins...then, she calls right before we sit down to dinner because Beau was annoyed she had to run to the NFL for a couple of hours.”

“I know...it’s a little frustrating.  I’m sorry you had to wait for dinner.”

Nodding his head, Aubrey decided to be diplomatic.  “It’s fine, Jess. It was only thirty minutes and the steaks kept warm as I ate some salad.”

Jessica sighed.  “Daisy said she tried calling Andie, but she and Wendell must be busy or  ignoring their phones today, unless it’s an emergency.”

‘I wish you would do the same, Jess…I thought that was why we came here for the weekend.’  Aubrey thought.  However, he didn’t want to be a dick.  “Well, do you think things with Daisy and Beau will calm down somewhat?”

“I hope so, Superman.  If she’s serious about working things out with Beau, they have to meet in the middle somewhere.”

“That’s what we try to do...and it’s working pretty well for us, if I do say so myself.”,  Aubrey replied with a smile. “I mean, when we have a problem, we just put our heads together and come up with a solution, right?”

The anthropologist smirked before she opened Aubrey’s shirt by his abdomen and rubbed gently, appreciating the definition she found in his abs.  “It does work well...but I think I like your middle better…” She ran her fingers down the line of fine hair below his navel. “And I like what’s down here, too…”

“Oooohhh…I know you definitely do like that, Ms. Warren...oh Christ…”,  the agent gasped softly as her hand went down past his waistline.

“You’ve been very patient today, Special Agent Aubrey…” , Jessica replied before getting up and kneeling down in front of him.  “...and you deserve a special reward.”

“Really?” Aubrey could feel himself getting hard as she slowly undid his belt buckle and unzipped his pants.  “W-w-what do you have in mind?”

“Well, I think someone could use some extra attention...lift up, please...thank you.” Jessica pulled her boyfriend’s jeans and boxers down to his ankles and noted his straining erection.  Touching it softly, she enjoyed Aubrey’s shiver. “Oh my, someone is very happy to see me…”

“Yes, he is…”, Aubrey watched his girlfriend as she admired his equipment.  ‘God, Jessica...please put your mouth on me…please…’

Jessica looked straight into Aubrey’s eyes before using her tongue to gently caress his length, causing him to moan softly.  When she graduated to taking him into her mouth, he moaned loudly as he enjoyed the wonderful sensation. Unconsciously, he began bucking against her as his hand tangled in her dark red hair.

“Oh, sweet Jesus….yes...yessss…”, Aubrey groaned loudly, almost losing it when her teeth barely touched him.  “Oh God...oh wow…so good...”

‘Be our guest!  Be our guest! Put our service to the test!’

“Damn it!  Not now, Daisy!”,  Aubrey yelled before grabbing Jessica’s phone and tossing it across the couch.  

Jessica lifted her head and grabbed the phone as the ringing stopped.  “Aubrey, what if it’s an emergency?”

“Has she had any other emergencies today?  No...none of her calls have been important.”  Fed up, Aubrey pulled his pants up and stood. “That’s it.  Jessica, she has now called us four times today...four times!  I’m sorry she is having a shitty day, but I would like to enjoy my weekend off with my girlfriend.  I would like to get some damn sleep without worrying about a phone call from her at an ungodly hour crying about some stupid fight with her father in law.  I would like to be able to fuck the woman I love with abandon in the kitchen instead of Daisy calling about a fight with her husband about his damn job. I would like to a enjoy a romantic dinner with her without Daisy calling to bitch about Beau again.  Hell, I would be happy with just being able to enjoy a damn blow job without getting interrupted by Daisy taking over our vacation!”

Jessica was taken aback at her boyfriend’s sharp words.  “Aubrey, she hasn’t--”

“Yes, Jess, she has!”,  Aubrey retorted angrily.  “And it’s not just today. For the last several weeks, it seems like Daisy and her problems are taking over our lives.  Shit, she comes over the day I get home from the hospital after having major surgery, she almost ruined our plans to see Rogue One the night it premiered until Beau bought her forgiveness with a new car.  Two nights ago, she called you during a work banquet for me, Booth, and Genny to whine about Beau before hounding you to leave early because she’s irritated that everyone got invited except her.”

Her boyfriend’s words struck a nerve.  “Aubrey, she had a fight with Beau--”

“Yeah, she did, Jess, but it wasn’t an emergency...she didn’t need to interrupt us for that.  The Gala was not some bullshit party. As ambivalent as Booth, Genny, and I were about it, we were there because our employer, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was presenting us with awards...awards that could help us in our careers.  I’m sorry if she felt slighted because no one could come to her planned party, but shit happens. I know that Booth was pretty pissed that she called and everyone else, including Dr. B, commented on her inconsiderate behavior of late.”

Jessica closed her eyes.  “Aubrey…”

“Then there’s yesterday morning.  She was bored and pissed off at Beau again.  Even though she knew you were leaving on vacation, one we’ve been planning for the last two weeks, she expected you to delay your plans to leave town so she could vent about everything that upsets her.  Of course, she didn’t expect to hear you say no and and instead of understanding your very reasonable explanation, she was irritated enough to hang up on you. That’s really fucking rude, Jess. You don’t hang up on your friends because you don’t get your own way.”

The redhead couldn’t say anything as Aubrey continued to vent.

“Today, she’s interrupting our vacation to bitch about her husband and in laws...again.  I bet you dollars to donuts that she’s tried calling Andie, too, but she and Wendell are taking time for themselves...something I wish we could do today.”

The agent became animated as he paced around the room.  “I know Daisy is your friend, Jess, and I know she’s been a good friend to you.  She’s been there when you needed her...I get that, okay? In fact, I really like Daisy, and I think she’s a good person who has had some hard knocks.  However, she’s so wrapped up in her problems right now that she’s being selfish, and you’re enabling her. She knows you’ll drop everything to listen to her bitch about how her marriage and her life sucks.  She doesn’t care about what she’s interrupting. She never thinks about you anymore, Jess...she only thinks about herself!”

His harsh words were a shock to Jessica.  “Aubrey, she’s going through a lot right now.  I’ll talk to her later...”

“No...look, just call her back, Jess because she apparently needs you more than I do.  God forbid she goes a day without being able to whine about her messes to someone.” Aubrey’s phone rang and he growled when he saw who was calling.  “Hey, Daisy. Yeah, here she is.”

Jessica barely caught the phone before watching her boyfriend grab his coat and storm outside in frustration.  She spent the next twenty minutes listening to her friend complain about something trivial Beau had done to annoy her.  After excusing herself off the phone, she hung up and tossed the phone aside. Continuing to sit on the floor, she stared at the fireplace as she contemplated what was going on with her boyfriend.  She knew Aubrey well enough to know that he wasn’t upset about not getting sex. Something else was bothering him.

Then it hit her.  

‘This vacation is supposed to be for us to spend time together away from all of our responsibilities.  No complications...no upcoming trial...no work or school responsibilities. Just being with each other.’

Jessica considered what Aubrey said about her friend’s neediness of late and it struck a chord in her.  Daisy was one of her best friends and had been there for her when she needed someone after her break up with Aubrey.  However, lately it seemed like more of their time together had been spent talking about her problems...hashing things out over and over.  The woman would ask for her advice, but then she always did the opposite.

‘Maybe he’s right...maybe I need to stop making myself so available to listen to Daisy.  Maybe she needs to learn to solve some of her problems on her own. Her calling me during the banquet was really rude since it wasn’t an emergency.  It was a big night for Aubrey...’

Absentmindedly sipping her wine, she also remembered last night, when Aubrey’s anger about Karen threatened to derail their evening.  She’d made the case for him to push those feelings aside until they got home so they could enjoy their time in Virginia together. He’d done exactly that, while she was letting her friend’s marital issues take over.  

“He was romantic, sweet, and adorably horny this morning...he set up a beautiful romantic dinner for us...he put his anger with Karen aside because I asked him to.  Some girlfriend I am...rejecting my boyfriend to take repeated calls from a friend about trivial stuff. No wonder Aubrey feels slighted...and I can’t blame him.” Sighing, she made a decision.

‘Time to take my own advice.’

Ready to face the music, Jessica put her wine down, picked herself up off the floor, grabbed her coat, and went outside.  Walking around to the back, she found Aubrey sitting in a chair on the garden patio staring at the mountains lit up by a large light above.  Seeing his stiff posture, she knew he was still quite pissed. Taking a deep breath, the redhead sat down in the opposite chair.

“Credit for your thoughts?”, she asked quietly.

Aubrey exhaled slowly while continuing to look out at the landscape.  “It’s not about the sex, Jessica...it’s more about us spending some time together, I guess...you know, just you and me, without work or anything else to think about...that’s why I wanted to get away from DC...so we could forget about our responsibilities for awhile.”

“I know...I realized that after you left.”  The redhead took a breath as well. “This weekend is supposed to be about us relaxing and concentrating on each other.  I gave you shit last night about Karen taking over our vacation, but now I’m letting Daisy do the same thing. I’m sorry.”

Aubrey shrugged as he turned to his girlfriend.  “I’m sorry about being an such an ass. I didn’t have to come down on you so hard earlier.  I was just getting fed up with the interruptions.”

Jessica leaned in closer.  “I’m the one who should apologize to you.  You had a right to be annoyed, Superman. We made plans for today and I needed to make them my top priority, instead of letting Daisy vent to me multiple times about fighting with Beau and her in laws.”  

“I don’t know how Daisy always manages to call at the wrong time...”  Aubrey shook his head. “That was such an amazing blow job…”

“Well, we’re not going to worry about Daisy anymore because starting now, unless it’s a major emergency, I’m going to focus on you tonight and tomorrow until our company arrives.”  Jessica said, gently squeezing her boyfriend’s hand. “Now, come on inside. It’s dark now and it’s getting cold out.”

“Yeah, we have only one more night here.  Might as well enjoy it.” Aubrey said.

Jessica gave her boyfriend a sneaky grin.  “Not only that, Superman, but we still have half a open bottle of Chardonnay and a couch with our name on it.”

Smiling, he took Jessica’s hand and they went inside together.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Almost an hour later, the living room was only lit by the fireplace and the air was punctuated with moans.  On the couch, a naked Aubrey tasted Jessica’s breasts while her arms were around his neck as she rode him, both only covered by an afghan.  Surrounding them were their clothes, either scattered on the couch or nearby on the floor. By the agent’s sock covered feet were a torn pair of violet lace panties.

Feeling Jessica’s nails curl into his shoulder blades, he held her hips in place as he began bucking up hard into her so she could crest before he did.

“Aubrey!”, the redhead moaned loudly.

When her walls tightened around him, the agent joined her as his seed filled her.  “Jessica…”

As their bodies slowly recuperated, Jessica and Aubrey held each other as their lips met for numerous kisses.  “That was some amazing makeup sex, Jess.”, Aubrey replied breathless as he hugged Jessica closer.

“Yes it was....but it wasn’t without casualties.”  Jessica reached down, grabbed her torn underwear, and held him up as she continued to straddle him.   “Someday I’m not going to have any left, James Aubrey because you’ll rip them all.”

“Well, sometimes...one must make a sacrifice.  Besides, I learned early on how important it was to never to keep a lady waiting, especially since you were begged for me to make love to you.”  Aubrey smirked as his hand traveled down her back, appreciating her pert breasts as they were eye level. “As always, your wish is always my command, Jess…”

“Your socks are still on, though.”  Jessica responded with a chuckle before kissing him again.  “I’m sorry that Daisy kept calling me today, Superman.”

Aubrey continued to gently caress Jessica.  “I know you are. However, I still think I was a little bit of a baby about it…”

“No you weren’t.  You were frustrated, Aubrey...and with good reason.  We took this vacation because we’ve both been so stressed with everything that had happened the last month.  Instead of appreciating our time together, I’m fielding calls from my friend to talk about things that could have waited until we got home.  Maybe we could turn our phones off…”

Aubrey shook his head in the negative.  “I can’t, Jess. I wish I could, but I need to leave it on in case some major emergency comes up at work.  Part of the fun being the SAC, you know...”

“Well then, we’ll just have make our time here a priority...by staying at the cabin for the rest of our vacation.”, Jessica said as she combed the silvery hairs at Aubrey’s temple.  “I’m going to turn off my phone, and you’re not going to answer if Daisy’s number comes up, okay? Anyway, we’re going to be too busy to talk on the phone, because there are a few more rooms we haven’t placed our stamp on yet.”

Aubrey kissed his girlfriend.  “You know...we still haven’t tried the Jacuzzi yet…”

Jessica grinned while putting her arms around her boyfriend’s neck.  “Well, then. What are we waiting for, Superman?”

“Nothing.  I’ll even give you a lift to the tub.  Hold on tight.”

After making sure Jessica’s legs were secure, he threw the afghan on the floor.  Standing up with her in his arms, they headed towards the master suite.

“Don’t forget to take off your Darth Vader socks, Superman.  Although...they are very hot.”

Aubrey and Jessica laughed together as they continued their journey.  When they were only a few steps outside of their bedroom, a familiar sound played.

‘Be our guest!  Be our guest! Put our service to the test!’

Aubrey groaned, but perked up when Jessica responded with, “Ignore it, Superman.  The hot tub waits for no one.”

The agent carried his lover through the doorway and the song played three more times before ending.  Thirty seconds later, Aubrey’s phone on the end table buzzed with Daisy’s Facebook picture on the screen until it stopped.

“Make some room, Jess.  I’ll be right back.”

Aubrey ran out naked into the living room, grabbing the two wine glasses and the Chardonnay before trotting back to his girlfriend.  When he disappeared, a message popped up on Jessica’s screen while laughter could be heard from the master bathroom.

Where r u?

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

Fourteen hours later, Jessica, once again wearing only Aubrey’s shirt from last night, sipped her morning coffee at the center island as she watched her boyfriend, clad in only boxer shorts, cooking at the stove.

“Superman, have I told you how sexy it is to watch a man cook me breakfast wearing only his boxers?”, the redhead said, resting her head on her hand with a smile.  “Especially when that man looks as good as you?”

Aubrey, who was stirring eggs, vegetables, and cheese in a skillet, looked up and winked at her.  “Well, thank you. Chef Aubrey appreciates the compliment. Of course, he only cooks gourmet delights with such flair for certain people.”

“Like who?”

“Like a certain ginger haired squintern...about 5’6”...beautiful green eyes...impressive legs...nice perfect handful boobs...amazing ass...and an impressive flexibility...”, the agent replied as he flipped some bacon.  “However, she’s also kind, considerate to others, loves science fiction, Star Wars, and other cool shit, smart as a whip, and my best friend.”

Jessica took a breath as they looked at each other for a moment.  “James Aubrey...you’re my best friend...and a romantic fool...but I love you.”

“I love you, too, Jessica Warren.”, Aubrey replied before turning off the burners.  “Breakfast is ready, my dear.”

Jessica saw the mouth watering delight on the plate Aubrey presented her.  “Ooohhh, scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms, and habanero cheese, marble rye toast, bacon…”

Aubrey put a small bowl to her left.  “Also, a side of melons and strawberries...and mimosas...courtesy of your family’s winery…”,  Aubrey finished before popping the cork on a bottle of champagne.

Jessica watched as her boyfriend poured the sparkling wine into the flutes before adding the orange juice.  “Very nice…”

Joining her at the center island, Aubrey slid the box of donuts over and picked out his last two glazed ones.  Putting them on a nearby napkin, he dug into his breakfast. “Mmmmm…adding the doughnuts to this meal is like having breakfast dessert, right?”

“Very true.” Jessica tasted the eggs and grinned.  “Very good, Superman.”

“Thank you.”, he said.  “So, today is our last day here...the complications aside, I’ve enjoyed our time here.”

The anthropologist sipped her Mimosa.  “As have I, Superman. This cabin is beautiful and the area is lovely.  It’s so relaxing, peaceful, and private. We should really come here again.”

“Most definitely.  I’m glad I found this place.  I guess we were lucky it was available.  It’s a very popular place to stay.”, Aubrey replied before chewing on his eggs.  “When I made the reservations, the owner said a lot of couples have used his place for their honeymoon...you know, so they could get away from everyone...”

Jessica’s fork full of eggs stopped halfway and Aubrey dropped his bacon as his last words permeated the air.

‘Marriage...honeymoon...uh….’, the redhead thought.  ‘We’re still not ready to live together…are we?’

‘I’m so not ready for us to get married…am I?’  Aubrey thought.  ‘I can’t even ask her to move in with me...why the hell did I say something crazy like that…’

The deafening silence suffocating him, the agent stuttered as he tried to cover his mistake.  “I mean...for people that get married...you know...or it doesn’t even have to be a honeymoon....because being married isn’t the end all to being happy...at least not for me...because marriage is a big step...shit…”

Jessica knew what he was trying to do and put her hand on his.  “Marriage is a big step, Aubrey, and you’re right... it isn’t a requirement to be happy.  However, I think we may get there someday...when we’re ready. In the meantime, I’m enjoying what we have...and that includes our time here.  What do you think?”

Nodding in agreement, Aubrey relaxed somewhat.  “I think...that you’re right. The ride is no fun if you don’t enjoy the journey.  People are always in a rush anymore...you know?”

“They are...but we’re not.”, Jessica replied before finishing her drink. “We don’t have to hurry, okay?  I’d rather be sure…”

“Me, too.”  Aubrey took a big bite out of a donut to avoid saying anything else awkward before changing the subject.  “When are Andie and Wendell coming again?”

“She said they’d be here about 5:00.  Wendell needed to help Curly with putting the baby’s new crib together.  It’s some state of the art deal that can lower so Hodgins can help Angela with the baby.”  Jessica felt a surge of relief at the change in conversation. “Does pasta still sound good for dinner tonight?”

“Yeah, sounds great.  That new red wine your family is going to start selling in April was good when I sampled it a couple of days ago.  Should be great with the food.”

“Andie said she’s going to make her homemade garlic bread for tonight.  I’m going to start the sauce this afternoon. Dr. B gave me her puttanesca sauce recipe…”

“Yes!”, Aubrey said with a fist pump.

“...but there will be no whore sauce jokes from you and Wendell tonight, you hear me?”, Jessica warned.

“Come on...you know it’s going to happen...it’s not a lie…”, Aubrey snickered.

The redhead rolled her eyes.  “Come on, Superman. Do you and Wendell really still think it’s that funny?”

“Yeah…”  Aubrey chuckled again before finishing the food on his plate.

“You two are a couple of adolescents and Dr. B is still pissed Booth told you all about that.”, Jessica shot back before shaking her head, stabbing the rest of her eggs and chewing thoughtfully.  Her plate cleared, she indicated to her boyfriend. “Are you still eating?”

“Nope, all good.”, Aubrey responded.  He watched her take the plates away and put them in the dishwasher.  “Do we need to clean up right now or can it wait a couple of hours?”

Turning around, Jessica looked at her boyfriend with a sexy grin.  “I guess they could wait. We just should have the place straightened up by this afternoon.  It doesn’t need to look like we screwed all over the cabin last night.”

“Uh, but that’s what we did, Jessica.  On the couch...in the Jacuzzi...in front of the fireplace after playing Star Wars Monopoly...on the dining room table when I had the 11:00 munchies...and finally when we went to bed.”

“When you did more than play your guitar, Aubrey…”,  Jessica said with a dreamy smile. “That was my favorite.”

Blushing, Aubrey smiled, getting up from his stool.  “But you are right in that it would be wise and considerate to have the place cleaned up for our guests.”

Jessica saw her boyfriend saunter towards her with a smile on his face until he stood in front of her.  “Any particular plans this morning, Agent Aubrey?”

“Yes...many plans for the rest of the morning and afternoon.”, the lanky man replied, nothing that the top button of his shirt that his girlfriend was wearing was now unbuttoned and a peek of her breast was showing.  “Starting with finishing what we started in here yesterday when we were interrupted.”

“We should…”, Jessica replied, squealing with laughter as Aubrey picked her up.

Wrapping her legs around her boyfriend, he turned and put her on the center island.  As Jessica pulled Aubrey closer with her legs, he quickly worked on her apparel. Finally getting his shirt unbuttoned, he sighed as he saw the naked beauty of his girlfriend.  Pulling her close, he began nibbling on her neck.

The redhead’s eyes rolled in the back of her head as he made his way down towards her breasts. “You do enjoy making love in the kitchen, don’t you?”

Aubrey lifted his head with a serious face.  “It makes things easier...you know that I always get hungry afterwards…”

Jessica pushed his boxer shorts down before looking to her left.  “You need to be careful of the stove, James…”

“Don’t worry,”, he replied breathlessly as he pulled the shirt off his girlfriend.  “You have no underwear to burn this time.”

‘Be our guest!  Be our guest! Put our service to the test!’

Aubrey looked over to her phone, but Jessica turned his head back to her.  “Ignore it, Aubrey. We’re busy right now.”

Laughter cut through the air before being replaced by moans from both lovers as they enjoyed the rest of their morning.


	61. New Year, New Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, out with the old year, and in with the new, right? Will our favorite couple have smooth sailing as the calendar page turns? Read on to find out.

Feeling refreshed after her long weekend trip with Aubrey, Jessica buttoned up her lab coat while making her way up the steps of the lab platform Wednesday morning.  Signing onto the nearby computer, she caught up on her work email.  Because Dr. B was going to be tied up in court all morning, she’d sent a list of tasks for Jessica to complete while Hodgins went with Angela to her prenatal appointment.  Due to the last of the new equipment being installed throughout the week, several staff members had decided to enjoy an extended holiday.  

“It’s so quiet in here...it feels like a Saturday…”,  Jessica said to herself as she skimmed through her messages.  “Oh well...that’ll make it easier to concentrate.” 

Since the lab had been closed for the holidays, there hadn’t been any new cases, so barring something drastic, she’d be working on the ongoing project of identifying unknown WWI casualties that had been brought up from Limbo.  Opening her work tablet, Jessica busied herself with her current task and smiled to herself, proud of the fact that both Dr. B and Curly had trusted her enough to let her work unsupervised on this project.  With the influx of new interns this semester, she, Oliver, and Wendell were now the senior interns, and they’d been chosen by Dr B. to assist her in this endeavor, one that meant a great deal to the forensic anthropologist and to Agent Booth as well, since he was a veteran.  

She would also be working more hours independently this semester as Brennan focused on guiding the new junior interns.  Considering how far along she was on the way to receiving her doctorate, that was to be expected.  However, knowing what a perfectionist Dr. B was, it was still a point of pride to her. 

_‘She knows I’ll do a good job…she knows that I know what I’m doing…’_  

She’d been looking forward to the start of this semester as she worked toward finishing her doctorate degree.  The research for her dissertation was over half way done, and Dr. Brennan had been most encouraging as to her progress.  In addition, her mentor had chosen her as her teaching assistant for her two upcoming summer classes.  The tuition reduction would be very helpful, as was the valuable time learning from her advisor as she worked with a large group of students.

 The only downside was the time it took away from her research.  However, she knew that practical application was essential, and the skills she acquired would ensure that she’d be ready when it was time to take her orals and go out into the workforce.  A PhD didn’t mean much without the hands on experience that she would gain while working with Dr. Temperance Brennan.

_‘I might be ready to graduate by the end of the fall semester next year...just think...I’ll be Dr. Warren, just like my dad…’_

After putting in her headphones, she accessed her Amazon Prime app and selected her _‘Work Mix’_ playlist.  Pulling on some gloves and scanning the label’s barcode into the program, she opened the first large plastic box and began to lay out the skeleton in the correct anatomical position, noting whether any bones were missing before she began to take pictures of the remains.  Then she noted any large anomalies or injuries before she began the process of taking measurements and recording them in the computer file.  

Having worked on this project for many weeks, it had almost become routine as most human skeletal remains fell into distinct parameters.  The femur of the average adult male was approximately 48 centimeters long, and all of the skeletons they’d been examining were male, so she’d expect the femurs of the skeletons to show variations in size within a set range on either side of 48 centimeters.  Still, even though she had already worked with several sets of remains, she didn’t want to become complacent in her measurements.  Subtle differences within the skeletal structure might be enough clues to provide an identification.  Somebody might still be wondering what had happened to these men, and Jessica wanted to be sure to supply all the information needed so their families might finally experience some closure. 

She’d worked efficiently, finishing the measurements on four sets of remains as she hummed along to her music.  Suddenly she stopped, breaking into a smile as she heard a familiar guitar melody accompanying the words of the next song. 

_Lay, lady, lay…_

_Lay across my big brass bed…_

Aubrey had sung that very song to her late Monday evening, after a blissful day spent together hiding away in their mountain cabin, followed by a fun evening with Andie and Wendell, who had arrived to hang out earlier that day.  After an update on Skinner’s weekend antics, they sat down to appreciate a wonderful dinner together, with the two women humoring Wendell and Aubrey’s _‘whore sauce’_ jokes. 

Throughout the evening, Daisy called both Aubrey and Andie twice, but seeing the messages didn’t include an emergency, all four had decided to let them go to voicemail and tried not to feel guilty. 

After the four friends enjoyed a few hours of catching up, Andie and Wendell had decided to “go to bed early”, around 11:00.  When Aubrey and Jessica heard soft music through the upstairs bedroom door, they chuckled.

 “It seems Wendell and Andie are still playing _‘catch up’_ from the end of the semester…”, Aubrey had snickered. 

Jessica had giggled as she’d winked at him.  “Maybe we should do the same…” 

She could still picture him sitting in that chair in the bedroom, wearing his boxers and an unbuttoned shirt as he serenaded her while accompanying himself on his guitar.  It was the same song that had been playing on Aubrey’s turntable after his birthday party, when they’d made love the first time after getting back together...and it was magical.  Her Superman was truly a very romantic man.  She closed her eyes, sighing softly as she continued to listen to Dylan’s version. 

.... _why wait any longer for the one you love_

_When he’s standing in front of you?_  

That was the real question, wasn’t it?  Why did she want to wait any longer to be with him permanently?  When Superman had mentioned that people often spent their honeymoons at that resort, why did he think she’d be upset?  Was she upset? 

_No...I wasn’t, I guess...I’ve been thinking about how it would be to spend the rest of my life with him...how I wanted to make love with him over the next 20 or 30 years or more...but getting married?  Really? Could I do that?  I don’t know how to be a wife...that is a big...big...step...a lifetime together...we’re not even living together yet..._

Hitting pause on the music, she sat down on a stool next to the table, mulling over that breakfast conversation.  As she considered everything that had happened over the last several months, she began to realize that she couldn’t imagine her future life being happy without having James Aubrey in it.  They might not ever get married, but she was fully committed to him anyway. 

_So we’re not married...but would it hurt any less if we were to break up now_?  _NO! So what am I waiting for?_

The answer was simple.  She was waiting for Aubrey to make up his mind about what he wanted from their relationship.  Considering the way he verbally fell over himself, trying to backtrack after he’d accidentally brought up honeymoons at breakfast that morning, it appeared that he might not be on the same page as she was when it came to getting married, and she understood that.  It was a huge decision, and every time it came up in conversation between them, they both backed away from it immediately. 

_So are we any better than Daisy and Beau?  We’ve worked out a lot of our problems...I think we’ve handled our problems better than our parents ever did...and I think we’re totally committed to each other...but we can’t quite seem to get around to talking about marriage…Maybe I’ll just have to be patient...or then again...maybe not…_  

She giggled to herself as she checked the calendar on her phone. _I’ll give him two months, and then, if nothing has happened...well, I might just have to be the one to pop the question…_

Surprised and a little scared as that thought crossed her mind, Jessica jumped up from her stool and hit play.  She had a lot of work to do, and sitting around daydreaming about getting married to Aubrey wasn’t going to accomplish anything.  

Shrugging her shoulders, she laughed out loud.   “But come March 1, Superman...you’d better watch out…” 

**Oooooooooo**  

Yawning as he got out of his SUV on Wednesday morning, Aubrey stretched a bit before walking over to the elevator that would take him up to his office.  He grinned to himself as he remembered the reason he was still somewhat sleepy. 

_A long weekend making love with my girlfriend, and a nice long shower together this morning...I’m a lucky man…a very lucky man..._

Striding onto the elevator with his Star Wars mug and laptop bag, he tapped his foot nervously as he sang a little tune.  “Lay, lady, lay…”  He paused as the elevator stopped at the second floor and new passengers entered.  _I really don’t want to be known as the Singing Agent, right?_  

Still, the song kept rambling around in his brain as he thought about singing it to Jessica Monday night while they were getting ready for bed.  _She loves that song…and I love singing it to her…_  

He’d played his guitar in her presence in the past, but that night he’d done it to help drown out the schmaltzy 80s love songs that they’d heard coming through the ceiling from the guest room directly above them.  It had been a bold move on his part, singing such a sensuous love song for her like that.  He’d never felt confident enough in his musical abilities to do something like that for any of his previous girlfriends.  However, he knew Jessica didn’t care what he sounded like as much as she appreciated the romantic gesture.  

_‘I do a lot of things with her I wouldn’t do with anyone else.  I guess just being with her makes me want to act that way…’_

Greeting the agents in the bullpen as he walked to his office, he listened patiently as they told him about their holiday adventures.  Agent Haggarty had spent the holiday with Agent Shawn Wilson of Homicide, and they’d enjoyed a New Year’s party at Agent Thompson’s house. Several other agents had similar stories to tell.  Then Steve Bower winked broadly at his coworkers as he shared details about his recent weekend trip to Milwaukee. 

 “Our honeymoon was amazing.  Me and Mitzi got it on all over that town…just like it was back in high school…” 

Having heard enough, Aubrey quickly excused himself, as did several other agents. “Um...okay.  Gotta go see if any new cases have come in…talk to you later, Steve.  Tell Mitzi I said hi.”  

“Will do, Boss.”, Bower chuckled before getting back to his story. 

He hurriedly entered his office and closed the door.  “Wow…”, he muttered to himself.  “I did not need to hear any of that shit…” 

After hanging up his coat, he sat down at his desk and started his computer.  Glancing through the folders laying on his desk, he chuckled softly.  It looked like things had been quiet while he was gone...there wasn’t very much work to catch up on. 

_‘Good...maybe I can take a day or two to catch up with all the other stuff I have to do…payroll...schedules...evidence reviews…’_

Of course, he couldn’t help but remember that things hadn’t been _completely_ quiet in his office last Friday evening.  In fact, Jessica had been downright noisy as she expressed her approval of his lovemaking techniques.  Just remembering how her beautiful body looked splayed out on his desk as she waited for him to fill her with his erection and tease her with his tongue...it was almost enough to send him over the edge. 

_She was so hot in that blue dress...and that lacy garter belt and her crotchless panties...hell, all of her lingerie...and then without her clothes…God, I gotta get my mind back on work...I can’t think of that night for the rest of the day...can I?_

Feeling his temperature rise sharply, he made a valiant effort to concentrate as he scrolled through the seemingly endless string of emails waiting for him in his inbox.  Before long, he finally gave up, deciding that maybe another cup of coffee was in order.  Grabbing his cup, he strolled over to the break room and started a fresh pot of his favorite smoky Colombian brew. 

_Yeah...that should do the trick...I’m probably just feeling a little groggy…_  

However, as he sprinkled some cinnamon onto the coffee, he began to realize that maybe something else was going on.  Returning to his office, he gazed pensively out the window as he thought about the New Year’s weekend he’d spent with his girlfriend. 

Even with all the obnoxious interruptions from Daisy, it had been wonderful.  He and Jessica had thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company in every way imaginable.  They’d talked…they’d laughed...they’d appreciated some really great food and wine...they’d made love… _ooh, boy...did we make love..._  

So what was the problem?  They were both happy, right?  They’d spent a long weekend in a cabin together, and even after dealing with a little tiff over Daisy’s incessant phone calls, they were still talking to each other...they were still in love.  Things were perfect… 

Except for that stupid New Year’s resolution he’d made to himself...the one about asking Jess to move in with him...and then, of course, that stupid faux pas he’d made mentioning that a lot of people spent their honeymoons at that resort. 

Why did it bother him so much that he’d said actually that out loud?  After all, he was just stating a fact...repeating what the manager had told him...but then he’d seen the look of surprise on Jessica’s face.  “Why did she look so shocked?“, he mumbled to himself.  “Did she think I was proposing?” 

But then it occurred to him...she was surprised, but she wasn’t really upset.  She didn’t look panicked...she didn’t drop her plate on the floor...she didn’t run out of the room.   Could it be possible?  Was she also thinking about them being together...for the long haul? 

It was hard to sort out.  Aubrey knew himself well enough to know that he’d never love another woman the way he loved Jessica and he couldn’t imagine his life without her.  The fact remained, however, that he had fallen in love with a free spirit.  Jessica Warren was not a woman to be bound by societal conventions, and he realized he’d have to accept that part of her personality if he wanted to be with her.  

However, he wanted...no, he needed...a commitment from her...something that would insure that they would be together for years to come.  He wanted to establish some sort of permanent relationship with her.  

That didn’t automatically mean getting married, right?  It didn’t have to be marriage, per se, although legally that would make things easier if and when they had children.   They could live together at his house for many years.  Booth and Dr. B had moved in the Mighty Hut together when she was pregnant with Christine, and things had been worked out well for them.  Angela and Hodgins lived together before getting married...Wendell and Andie were living together now, and everything seemed alright with them so far. 

Unfortunately, there was one small detail to consider.  To get to that point, he would have to man up and ask her to move in with him...and he was scared to death. 

Still...it wouldn’t hurt to ask what she thought about being in a committed relationship with him.  Glancing at his calendar, he made a decision.  “I’m going to wait and see how things play out with her, but if nothing happens by March 1, I’m going to ask her if we can make things permanent somehow.”, he said to himself.  “That should be plenty of time to figure things out…I hope...” 

Hearing a knock on the door, he looked up and smiled at Shaw.  Pushing his thoughts aside, he waved her in.  “Hey, Genny...it looks like things went well while I was gone…” 

She smiled as she came in and sat down.  “Yeah, there’s not much new stuff going on right now, so I’ve spent some time trying to find some more women to testify against Gerald Maxwell.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had much luck...not that I’ve given up, of course.  It’s just frustrating, you know?  I mean, although he’s parading that intern Ashley around all over town as his true love, with his history, there’s no way that the little prick can keep it in his pants.  Everywhere I go, everyone seems to say the same thing...that he’s a smug bastard, but not any sort of sexual predator.” 

“I wonder…”  Aubrey sat back in his chair and scratched his chin.  “Have we got enough probable cause to get a warrant to look into his bank statements?  Maybe he’s paid people off…” 

“I’ve already checked on that.”  Genny grimaced in irritation.  “His statements don’t show anything out of the ordinary.  If people are getting paid off, it’s probably through one of his dad’s accounts, and right now, we can’t even get close to looking at them. We don’t have anything against his dad, except that the guy is a louse.  I don’t know what to tell you, Aubrey…” 

“I know.  Well, I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”  Wanting to change the subject, he gave her a lopsided grin.  “So what did Hunter think of the Gala?  I guess the FBI can put on a good party if it wants to…” 

“We had a good time.”  The color rose in Genny’s cheeks as she mentioned her boyfriend.  “He thought it was a lot of fun.  I think Hunter liked the food and the music, and of course, he was proud of being there when I received my award.  Overall, he was pretty impressed with the venue…”. 

_‘I bet that’s not all he was impressed with… ‘_ Aubrey thought, remembering what he and Jessica had overheard last Friday night.  “I see.  Yeah, Jess and I had fun, too, especially when we walked around the covered garden area next to the hotel.  Those gardens are very beautiful, don’t you think?” 

“Um...yeah...considering what little I saw of them, I’d say they were very nice.”  Giggling softly, Genny gave Aubrey a sly grin.  “Hunter and me...I think it’s gonna work out, Boss.” 

“I’m glad to hear it.  I’m happy for you.”  Aubrey jumped slightly when his phone rang.  “Oh, shit...It’s Stark.  I gotta take this…” 

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”  She flashed a happy smile as she left the office. 

Glad to see his friend so happy, Aubrey quickly answered the phone.  “Director Stark...what can I do for you?” 

**Oooooooooo**  

Jessica and Aubrey met at the diner for lunch later that day, each feeling pleased with themselves as they thought about their secret plans for the first day of March.  Smiling sweetly, the redhead reached out to take her boyfriend’s hand. 

“Were there a lot of new cases waiting for you this morning?” 

“Nah...I guess whatever happened over the holidays was within the locals’ jurisdiction, so I didn’t miss much.  I did catch up some on my paperwork, so that was good.”  He picked up a couple of french fries and dipped them in his garlic mayo.  “About the most interesting thing that happened was hearing Bower talking about his trip with Mitzi…Milwaukee will never be the same...” 

“Yuck...I’m glad I missed that.”  Jessica ate a bite of her club sandwich.  “I’ve spent the morning taking skeletal measurements of unknowns from World War I.  I finished 7 sets, so I was pleased with my progress.  It’s not the most exciting work, but it does help with my dissertation...you know, taking the measurements of skeletal structures over a wide section of the population from that era, and then comparing them to skeletal measurements from this era…” 

“So it sounds like neither one of us had as much fun at work as we did in the shower this morning…”  Licking his lips, Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at his girlfriend.  “You sure are good with that soap…” 

A grin spread across Jessica’s face as she remembered how she’d applied the bubbly lather to various parts of Aubrey earlier that day.  “Thanks.  You’re pretty handy with a sprayer, aren’t you?”  

“Well, I aim to please…”  He chuckled at her wide-eyed smile.  “I guess I aimed correctly, too, didn’t I?” 

Blushing, Jessica giggled softly.  “Behave, Aubrey!  How am I going to be able to concentrate on my measurements when I go back to the lab if all I can think about is your talent for making me squeal in the shower?” 

“Oh, you have talents of your own, Jess, and believe me, they make it hard for me to concentrate, too.  I think maybe turnabout is fair play in this case.”  He gave her an ornery grin.  “Anyway, I talked to Shaw today, and based on her reactions to my questions, I’d say she and Hunter are _very_ happy.  I guess the time they spent together at the Gala has led to bigger and better things, if you know what I mean...at least I think so, by the way she blushed whenever she said his name…” 

“Well, I think that’s wonderful.  If anybody deserves a good man...besides me, that is...it’s Genny Shaw.”  Sipping her tea, Jessica shrugged at Aubrey.  “Who knows?  They might even end up getting married.  Maybe I’ll be the last one of us girls to be single…” 

“Oh, I don’t know about that, Jess.  Are Andie and Wendell in the wedding planning frame of mind?”  Aubrey popped some more french fries into his mouth. 

“Andie said she and Wendell are at least two years off from actually tying the knot, even though they’re living together to cut down on expenses.” 

“Well, there you go...it’ll probably be Andie.  Besides, it’s not like a race…”  He laughed to himself as she glared at him.  “You don’t want to get married just to avoid being last, do you?” 

“True...although it may turn out that way unless I can find a good candidate for the job of being my husband.”  Seeing Aubrey’s annoyed expression, she smiled at him.  “ And you’re right...I’m not in a hurry to get married just because almost all of my friends are married...or about to be.  I’m going to wait until the time is right.  Marriage is not to be entered into lightly, you know…” 

_Son of a bitch…_ Jessica’s candid observations were not what Aubrey wanted to hear after making plans to fulfill his New Year’s resolution.  “Yeah, I know.”  

Jessica, for her part, was surprised to see her boyfriend’s slight pout.  Why was he taking her playful banter so seriously?   “Hey, I’m just teasing you.  You’re definitely the leading candidate for the job, okay?” 

“Okay, I think that’s acceptable.”  He nodded as he pulled out his wallet, offering a shy grin.  “Hey, I need to get back to work.  I have to meet with Stark about some new protocols we have to put in place this year.  I’ll pick you up later, okay?  About five?” 

“That’s fine...if I’m finished with my measurements early, I’ll just work on my dissertation.”  She reached up to grab his hand.  “I really do love you, James...don’t forget that…” 

“I know.”  He bent down to give her a kiss.  “I love you, too.  See you soon.”   He stopped at the register and paid for their lunch before stepping out into the bright sunshine.  Turning back toward the diner’s window, he smiled as he saw his girlfriend getting ready to leave. 

_‘Holy shit...I’m really thinking about getting married…’_  

Jessica watched Aubrey pay Hilda for their order, leave the diner, and cross the street, wondering how she was going to be able to wait until March 1 for her plans to come to fruition..

Leaving the tip, she grabbed her stuff, and after waving to Joanne and Hilda, walked outside with a smile as she headed back to the lab. 

“I’m going to marry James Aubrey…” 

**oooooooooo**  

After a pleasant walk back to work, Jessica turned her attention to the next box of remains in the queue.  After opening the program on her tablet and inserting her earbuds, she began taking measurements on _Unknown 11024 WWI Cantigny May 1918_.  She noted the extensive damage to the skull’s frontal bone and the zygomatic arch.  _Probably the result of a rifle butt to the face...his facial bones are horribly fractured.  No wonder they couldn’t identify him…_

Noting her observations on her tablet, she continued her examination.  Because she was concentrating on taking the measurements, she didn’t notice that someone had joined her on the lab platform until he reached over and tapped her shoulder.  “Good afternoon, Ms. Warren.”

 Thoroughly startled, Jessica gasped out loud and dropped her scanner.  Turning around, her stomach lurched as she saw Harold Maxwell standing there. 

 “M-Mr. Maxwell...I didn’t see you there.” 

“I know.  I was watching you work.  You are very thorough, it seems.  You will do well in your future endeavors...perhaps even surpassing Dr. Brennan someday.” 

As her bad vibes began working overtime, she struggled to keep her cool. Puzzled at how he’d accessed the area, she looked past the man’s shoulder.  “I’m sorry...but for security reasons, unauthorized personnel are not allowed on the platform, Mr. Maxwell.  Did someone use their ID card to let you up here?” 

“I have my own card, my dear.”   Holding up his access card, the middle aged man wore a feral smile as he eyed the young woman.  “I’m on the Jeffersonian’s Governing Board.  We all have cards...we can go anywhere we want in this building.  Dr. Boyd offered to let me use hers, but I told her it wasn’t necessary.” 

“Dr. Boyd?  I don’t understand.  Why would you have contact with her?”  Looking at the tablet, Jessica turned back to the exam table, hoping to end the conversation.  “Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Maxwell, Dr. Brennan expects her interns to use their time efficiently and I have a lot of work to do today…” 

“You can take a break, Ms. Warren.  I’m here to speak to you about a very important matter...” 

His tone of voice set Jessica on edge, since his presence there didn’t feel right.  However, she fought to remain calm.  _‘Where are you, Curly?  Where is the security guard that is usually in here during the day?’_

Harold Marshall smiled once again.  “I’m sorry, that sounded harsh.  Anyway, Dr. Boyd told me that I’d find you here today.” 

“Um, we’re not supposed to be giving out other employee’s schedules, Mr. Maxwell, per the lab’s new security policy…she could get in trouble for that.” 

“Well, I’m on the Governing Board, not some horndog boyfriend sneaking around the premises.”,  Maxwell said patiently.  “Now, I’m reading the tag on this box, and that says this person is from World War I, correct?  As Dr. Brennan’s intern, I’d think you’d be making yourself more useful by solving some sort of messy murder…” 

Closing her eyes, Jessica willed herself to be polite.  “While it’s true that I occasionally help Dr. B as she attempts to solve murders, the identification of unknown individuals also falls under the umbrella of forensic anthropology.  These remains are part of a joint project she started several years ago with the Sorbonne.  Only senior interns are allowed to work this assignment with her.” 

“I see.”  He bent over the table to inspect the bones before turning back to her.  “Don’t you get tired of working so hard?  I know this must be really monotonous work for an intelligent young woman such as yourself.  Surely you’d rather be working on your dissertation…” 

Unsure of Maxwell’s point, Jessica moved away from him and began entering some data into her tablet.  “As an intern, I’m assigned certain tasks to complete.  Those tasks cover a wide range of responsibilities, but Dr. Brennan makes sure they are all relevant to my degree…” 

Maxwell stepped closer to her.  “That may be true, but I’m sure you’d rather be doing your research so you could finish your degree sooner instead of later, and I’m in a position to assist you with that, if you’ll let me.” 

Suddenly feeling suspicious, Jessica clutched the tablet to her chest and moved to where the exam table was between them.  “If it’s anything to do with my program, you should discuss it with Dr. B.  Now, I really do need to finish my work, Mr. Maxwell…” 

“I’m not suggesting anything illegal or unethical, my dear.  I just want to present you with a gift, that’s all.”  His voice took on a smarmy quality as he pulled a folded slip of paper out of his breast pocket.  “I’m prepared to offer you a significant financial benefit...a check for 500,000 dollars...to assist you with furthering your education.   You could use it however you see fit.  That should be more than enough to pay your tuition and your living expenses, and leave you a nice nest egg to begin your new life after you receive your degree.”  

“Um...actually…”, Jessica began.  “My trust fund pays for my expenses…” 

“Excellent!  If that’s true, you’ll be able to use the gift to buy a nice little house for yourself when you get your first job...or for your father’s future medical expenses.  The nursing home he resides at in Towson as well as his future medical costs must be quite costly.”  Seeing the young woman’s surprise, Maxwell smiled as he smoothed out the crease in the check before laying it on the table.  “I signed it this morning and it’s certified, so the funds will be available to you as early as tomorrow.” 

Jessica realized where the conversation was going.  “I’m fine where I live, Mr. Maxwell and my father’s medical expenses are fully covered.  Thank you for your offer, but I’m set financially in regards to my education.” 

“Nonsense, Ms. Warren.  Everyone needs help at some point.”, Maxwell stated in a slightly frustrated tone before pulling out a thick folded set of papers from his breast pocket.  “Now, all you need to do for my financial gift to further your education is to sign his affidavit stating that this unfortunate situation with Gerald was merely a misunderstanding and that you’re willing to drop all charges.  My attorneys will take this to that nasty Agent Shaw and we can forget this little situation ever happened.” 

“I can’t do that, Mr. Maxwell...I shouldn’t even be discussing this with you right now...”  Jessica nervously edged toward the platform stairs.  “I need to go…” 

“I’m not done with you yet, young lady.”  He quickly reached across the table and grabbed her arm.  “After all, you must realize that the case against him is mostly circumstantial.  Even if he were convicted, he’d most likely get a suspended sentence, but your name and reputation will have been dragged through the mud as his lawyer presents all that unfortunate information about your rather dubious past.  I’m trying to save you a lot of time and trouble, because this sort of unsavory affair could affect your future employment opportunities. It would behoove you to accept my offer, Ms. Warren...do you hear me?” 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Maxwell, but nothing you say will change my mind.  I won’t be accepting your gift.  Now, if you’ll excuse me...”  Jessica backed further away until she was almost to the edge of the platform. 

“You know, your family has a wonderful winery that I was blessed to visit this summer.  However, the problem with family businesses is that success can easily be ruined with one negative experience...a bad online review from an important man like me can be devastating.  I can promise you no one would purchase that awful wine when people hear what I have to say...or perhaps I could arrange for their vending license to be rescinded.  That shouldn’t be too difficult.”  He smirked as he checked his fingernails.  “You see, I also have friends in high places within our incoming administration, Ms. Warren...friends that can help me accomplish all sorts of things.  You don’t want that nice FBI agent you’ve been seeing to have his chance for promotion ruined by being associated with a loose woman such as yourself, do you?”  

Jessica flinched for a moment, afraid for her family and Aubrey’s career.  Shaking it off, she tried to leave, but Maxwell gripped her arm tightly.  “Let’s be logical, Ms. Warren.  Is trying to cause all of this trouble for Gerald really worth it?  Think of how much you can do with 500,000 dollars…” 

Her eyes were blazing with anger as she finally pulled her arm away from him.  “I don’t need your filthy money!  Do you really think that I’d accept a bribe like this just so your precious son can avoid jail?  Do you think I want him to be harassing other women the same way he has harassed me?  Maybe if you’d spent more time teaching him the ethical way to live instead of buying his freedom whenever he got in trouble, you wouldn’t have to worry about how he treats women!”  She pointed to the end of the platform.  “You need to leave immediately, or I will call security…”

 “Listen here, young lady...if you think for one minute I’m going to let some cheap tease like you ruin my son’s life just because he was acting like any other red blooded American boy, you are sadly mistaken.  Do you really think you’re the first woman who thinks she’s going to try to ruin my family’s good name?  Not only will I make sure that you lose your position here, you little cunt, but I will use my influence to make sure you’re never gainfully employed.”  Maxwell took some menacing steps towards Jessica, quickly closing the distance between them.  As he towered over her, trying to physically intimidate her, he shook his finger in her face as his eyes, identical to his son’s, hardened with rage. 

Clenching her fists, Jessica bit her lip as she tried to keep her composure.  “I have work to do, Mr. Maxwell.  You need to leave.” 

“Jessica?  What’s going on?”  Hodgins wheeled his chair to the base of the platform, concern etched on his face as he looked up at his intern.  “Is everything okay?” 

“It’s fine.  I was just explaining to Mr. Maxwell about how we identify unknown individuals here in the lab.”  Jessica sniffled a bit as she backed away from Harold and raced down the platform stairs.  “Excuse me…” 

Hodgins watched her run to the restroom before turning back to the man on the platform.  “What did you say to her, Mr. Maxwell?” 

“Nothing that concerns you, Dr. Hodgins.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for an appointment.” 

“Oh, no...no, you don’t.  You don’t get to leave just yet, Harold.”  The entomologist maneuvered his wheelchair so that it was in front of Maxwell. 

“Dr. Hodgins, I remember when the Hodgins name is one that not only demanded respect, but also when those who bore it knew when to give a man the respect he’s due.” 

“My parents raised me to respect good people, Harold, not bullies like you.”, Hodgins said sneeringly.  “Now, listen to me carefully.  If I find that you’ve threatened my intern in any way, I personally will see that you are removed from the Governing Board.  In fact, I may go so far as to file charges against you for assaulting a federal employee.  You’d better hope that you didn’t leave any bruises on Ms. Warren when you grabbed her arm…”

 “We were just having a friendly conversation…”, Maxwell said, tiny beads of sweat forming on his brow.  “Ms. Warren, however, needs a lesson in respecting people of authority...a lesson she is not getting from you or Dr. Brennan.  Perhaps that is something that needs to be revisited when it’s time to renew your contracts…” 

“Thank you for your concern, but here’s the thing, pal.”  Hodgins was grim as he looked over his shoulder towards the restroom.  “You don’t know how long I was sitting here, do you?  You don’t really know how much I heard...or how much I recorded on my phone.  Think about that as you see yourself out.  I need to attend to Ms. Warren.  Goodbye, Harold…” 

After watching Maxwell hurriedly walk away, Hodgins went to check on Jessica, finding her sitting on the sofa in Angela’s empty office.  “Hey…” 

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she shrugged as she responded softly.  “Hey.”  

“Did that bastard hurt you?  Let me see…”  He gently ran his fingers over the red marks on her arm.  “I’m afraid you’re going to have a nasty bruise there.  What did he want?  How did he even know where to find you today? I mean, he knows you usually work with Dr. B., but...” 

“He said Dr. Boyd told him I was working here at the lab while Dr. B. was in court today, and since he has an access card, I guess he has the run of the building.  Anyway, it’s no big deal, Curly…” 

“Jessica...it is a very big deal.”  He shook his head as he saw her try to put on a brave face.  “He was bothering you in my lab, and I won’t stand for it, so don’t give me any of that _‘it’s no big deal’_ garbage.  You don’t have to tolerate that sort of abuse from anybody, okay?  You can tell me about anything that happens to you...and you can trust me to take care of it.  I don’t want you to be afraid to come to work.” 

Sighing softly, she tried to explain.  “He offered me a ‘gift’...a very large amount of money...if I would drop the charges against Gerald and sign some form stating it was all a misunderstanding.  When I said I wouldn’t do that, I guess it made him really angry, and he got aggressive…he made comments about my family...about Aubrey...”  Her voice dropped to a whisper.  “I really thought he might hurt me…worse than he did...” 

“Wow…”  Hodgins inhaled sharply as he realized what had happened.  “Okay, listen to me.  I’m going to talk to the president of the board…Ms. Marshall.”  He held up his hand to stop the intern’s protests.  “I know you don’t want to _‘cause trouble’,_ but we have to let Mr. Maxwell know that this sort of abhorrent behavior won’t be tolerated, right?” 

“I suppose so.”  Chewing her lip, she slowly nodded in agreement.  “Oh, okay...whatever you say, Curly.  Do what you think is best.”  

“You need to call Caroline, too...no later than tomorrow.”  Hodgins said.  “If Harold is trying to intimidate you into dropping the charges, she needs to nail his ass.  You also need to talk to Aubrey about this before he finds out some other way.” 

Jessica nodded before standing up and straightening her lab coat.  “Is it alright if I go back to what I was doing for another hour or so?   Aubrey’s going to pick me up about five...” 

“Yeah...if you feel like it.  I don’t think Maxwell will be back.  Guys like him are big cowards who back down if someone challenges them.” 

“Okay.  I need to finish that set of measurements before I go home.” 

 “That’s fine.  I’ll be in my office if you need me.”  As soon as she left the room, Hodgins wheeled over to his workspace and picked up the phone.  “Cam, are you busy?  Just a question for  you…it’s kind of related to what you told me about Friday night...” 

 After he talked to her for a few minutes, he nodded his head.  “I’ll definitely keep you posted.  I hope it doesn’t come to that.  I’m going to call Booth now.  Bye.”  

 Hanging up, he sent a quick email before dialing another number.  “Hey, Booth?  Do you have time to answer some questions for me?  What I need won’t take long...yeah, it’s kinda important...listen, what constitutes assault of a federal employee?” 

Ending the call, he made another outside call before dialing an in house extension.  “Dr. Boyd?  I need to see you in my office immediately.” 

A few minutes later, the blonde sauntered confidently into his office.  “You wanted to see me?” 

Hodgins nodded silently as he glared at the woman, who began nervously shifting from one foot to the other.  Finally, he spoke quietly. 

“Dr. Boyd, it has come to my attention that you’ve given out information to Harold Maxwell about Ms. Warren’s work schedule here at the lab.  As I’m sure you remember, we have a strict policy that prevents anyone from giving out any employees’ schedules.  That is an integral part of the lab’s security protocols.  In addition,  the only way you would have had that information to begin with would be to access files that were expressly off limits to you.” 

“Well, I...you know...he said he needed to talk to her, and I didn’t see what it would hurt.  He’s on the Governing Board, Dr. Hodgins.  He has a right to know what’s going on around here.” 

“That wasn’t your call to make.  As I’ve explained to you many times, I am in charge of this lab until Dr. Saroyan returns on March 1st.” 

Dr. Boyd squared her shoulders as she stared down at Hodgins.  “It was requested I wait for the transition to be made official.  However, I’ve already let Dr. Strohmeier know about my new position this morning, so there’s no point in waiting.” 

“Waiting for what, Dr. Boyd?”, Hodgins asked, barely concealing his annoyance. 

“For your information, Dr. Hodgins, Mr. Maxwell informed me last week that a change in leadership that will be made soon...that I’ll be taking over as Director of the lab.  Of course, both you and Dr. Saroyan, upon her return, will act in a supporting capacity…” 

Hodgins could barely hold back his laugh.  “Well, I apologize for the miscommunication, Dr. Boyd, but I will continue as Interim Director until Dr. Saroyan returns to work, at which time she will resume her role as Head Pathologist and Lab Director.”  He pointed to the doorway.  “These two gentlemen from security are going to escort you to your office.  You have 15 minutes to gather up your belongings, and then they will escort you from the premises, and you will not return unless you have written permission from me.  You’re fired.” 

“But...Harold said...he promised…”  Obviously stunned, Dr. Boyd gaped at the man in front of her.  “He said I could have this job.  He said it was unfairly denied to me--” 

“Unfortunately, he may not be in a position to make good on that promise.”  Hodgins glanced at his watch, making note of the woman’s last comment.  “14 minutes...you’d better hurry.”  He nodded at the guards.  “Make sure she only takes the things in her desk.”  

“I am an excellent pathologist, Dr. Hodgins, and you will regret firing me.  You’re also going to hear from my lawyer!”, she yelled angrily. 

“Good.  You’re going to hear from the Jeffersonian’s lawyer, too, so I guess that makes us even.”  He chuckled as she sputtered in rage.  “I guess you don’t need anything from your office. That’s fine with me.  Bye, Dr. Boyd…” 

Seeing that she was beaten, at least for the moment, she turned to leave.  “I’ll be back…” 

“Not if I have anything to do with it...oh, Dr. Boyd…”  When she turned around, Hodgins wheeled up to her.  “I almost forgot to tell you that I’ve also taken the liberty of calling Dr. Strohmeier to inform him that your temporary employment here has been terminated.  Funny, he didn’t mention that you had already quit.  I’ve also let him know that I will be having a conversation with Deputy Director Stark about how you were chosen to be our interim pathologist over other recommended candidates tomorrow morning.  You may want to question whether being a buddy of the Maxwells is helpful to you.” 

After the pathologist gave him the bird, she stormed out.  Waiting until she left, he checked his phone.  “Good.  Everything was recorded, nice and neat.  I’m sure the Governing Board will find that conversation to be very interesting.” 

**Oooooooooo**  

Aubrey arrived at the lab about 5 o’clock to pick up his girlfriend.  “Hey, Jess.”  He reached over to give her a peck on the cheek.  “Did you get lots of measurements taken this afternoon?” 

“Not as many as this morning.”  She shrugged as she stared out the passenger window, wanting to avoid eye contact with him.    

“So I guess thinking about me all afternoon kept you distracted, right?  Sorry…”, he said in a teasing tone.  “I guess I’m just too sexy…” 

“Yeah, I guess.” 

Surprised that she hadn’t responded in kind, Aubrey glanced at his girlfriend, noticing how she wound a strand of dark red hair around her finger.  _Something’s not right...she’s preoccupied._   

He cleared his throat softly.  “So I was finally able to talk to Tanner today about Karen’s behavior at the Gala.  He’s been really cranky since he got back from paternity leave, but having quintuplets will do that to a guy…” 

“Hmm...I suppose.”, she commented absentmindedly. 

“Yeah.  Anyway, he and Booth both agree that we need to send Karen to the federal prison on Alcatraz Island.”  _No reaction from Jessica.  Okay...something is definitely wrong._ “Anyway, I met with Stark today, too, and he wants me to take a new job in Idaho.  I’ll be running the federal task force concerned with crimes against potatoes.” 

“That’s good.”,  Jessica said softly.  _‘How am I going to tell him?  He’s going to be so pissed...’_  

“Okay, dammit...out with it.”  Pulling his SUV into a parking lot, he shut off the engine and took Jessica’s hand.  “What’s going on?  You haven’t heard a word I’ve said…” 

“It’s nothing, really.  I don’t want to discuss it right now.  Can we just go home, please?  I’m exhausted…”  Glaring at him, Jessica pulled her hand away and crossed her arms over her chest.  “Aubrey…just leave me alone for a few minutes, okay? 

“Do you want me to take you to your apartment instead of my house?  You obviously don’t feel like talking to me…”  Upset at her reticence, he shook his head.  “We’re supposed to discuss things with each other, okay?  If you have a problem, we can work it out together.  Please don’t shut me out, Jess…I love you, and I want to help...” 

She remembered what Hodgins had said earlier and she knew Aubrey was sincere, but for some reason she was still hesitant to tell him about Harold Maxwell’s offer of a bribe and the threats he’d made.  “I just...had a bad afternoon, that’s all…” 

“No...that’s not all.”  Sighing softly, he started the car.  “I really thought we were past this shit, but I guess not.  I thought you trusted me…but obviously I was wrong about that...” 

“I do trust you…”  Suddenly, Jessica was angry.  _This is not my fault!  I didn’t do anything to be ashamed of...I won’t let that asshole come between me and Aubrey!_ “Okay, you’re right.  I’m going to tell you what happened...actually, I _need_ to tell you what happened, but can it wait until we get home?” 

Aubrey’s antennae went up.  “No, it can’t.  What is going on, Jess?” 

Jessica took a deep breath.  “Okay, I’ll tell you but you have to promise to stay calm.” 

“Really?  You’re going to tell me what happened but you warn me to stay calm...how do you expect me to stay calm when I hear that?” 

“I just don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret.”  She took a deep breath.  “Gerald’s dad came to the lab to see me today…” 

“That rat bastard!”  Aubrey was livid.  “So do we need to get another restraining order?” 

“Just listen, okay?  He offered me a bribe to drop the charges against Gerald…”  Jessica paused as she glanced at Aubrey, knowing how upset he’d be when he heard the rest.  “It was a lot of money...but, of course, I turned him down, so he got angry, and he grabbed my arm…”  

She pulled up her sleeve and exposed the area where an ugly purple bruise was beginning to form.  “Nothing’s broken…there was no blood...anyway, he said some things about my reputation, and then he suggested that he could make sure I’d never work as a forensic anthropologist…” 

Aubrey saw her hesitance.  “He threatened your family, didn’t he?” 

Jessica nodded as she choked back a sob.  “My family’s winery...he also said that you’d never be able to advance in your job...that he’d use his influence to hinder our careers.  About that time Hodgins showed up, and I got away from Maxwell…and that’s why I’ve been so distracted.  I was scared...you know I hate being weak, but he really frightened me…he was so angry and I wasn’t sure what he was going to do.” 

Aubrey could see how close she was to tears and he was quick to reassure her.  “You’re not weak, Jessica.  You stood up to that animal, right?  So what did Hodgins do?  Did he call security?” 

“I don’t know...we talked about the incident right after it happened, and I think he was still considering what to do.  He said something about assault against a federal employee…” 

“He’s right...it was assault.”  Angrily pounding his fist against the steering wheel, Aubrey swore under his breath.  “I’m gonna beat the shit out of that mother fucker…” 

“You promised to be calm, James.”  Jessica reached out to take his hand.  “Why don’t we see how Hodgins handles things?  You don’t need to get involved, okay?  Maybe we can ask Booth or Shaw to look into what happened.” 

Aubrey heaved a big sigh.  “You’re right.  I have to control myself, and I have to remove myself from the equation.  But I’ll say this...I don’t want you working in the lab by yourself anymore...at least not until we get this shit taken care of.  I don’t want you to be in the position to get hurt…” 

“Okay.  I’m sure Dr. B. and Hodgins will say the same thing.”   She offered him a small smile.  “So did you really talk to Agent Tanner today, or were you just giving me a load of BS?” 

“Oh, I talked to him alright.  Karen is in Cincinnati working a case, but she should be back in the next week or so.  I have a feeling he’ll be talking things over with her very soon.  He wasn’t happy to hear about what’s been going on.” 

Pulling the car out of the parking lot, he drove a few blocks over to a small strip mall, stopping the car in front of their favorite chili parlor.  “How about some Seventh Circle of Hell for dinner tonight?  We can get a couple of quarts to take home along with some of Mr. Leonelli’s multigrain muffins.”  He gave Jessica a sly wink.  “However, we may need to eat in the nude to keep from getting any on our clothes.  You know how tomato sauce stains...”

 Giggling at Aubrey’s suggestion, Jessica nodded.  “That sounds good.  Maybe we can have some vanilla ice cream later to cool down...you know...without the bowls and spoons?  They just get in the way...”  

“Oh, yeah, baby…”  Aubrey grinned as he climbed out of the truck.  “I’ll be right back...don’t go anywhere…” 

“Don’t worry.  I’ll be right here waiting.  I love you, James Aubrey...you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me…” 

He nodded as he looked into her eyes.  “I love you, too...and I always will.  Now, listen...enough of that sweet talk, or we’ll have to go home and go right to bed without any dinner.” 

“Yeah, but you’d be hungry again four hours later.”  She laughed at his glare.  “Go get the chili!”  

She smiled as she watched him lope into the store, feeling better about herself.  “I don’t give a damn about Harold Maxwell.  I have James Aubrey on my side, and that’s all I need.”

 


	62. Shit Hits the Maxwell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi folks...so last time we met, Harold Maxwell went too far with Jessica. Does he get what's coming to him? Read and find out.
> 
> PS: Important note after the story...

January 5th was overcast as Caroline Julian pulled into the US Attorney’s Office parking garage just shy of 8:00 in the morning.  Getting out of her yellow Gremlin, she walked to the elevator in a good mood, still excited about the good news her boys Keith and Marcellus Miller had shared yesterday.   

Keith had received a 92% on the GED exam he’d taken a few weeks earlier, so all of the study help she’d given him during the last four weeks of the previous semester had paid off, as had her time spent on Marcellus’ tutoring, as he had been placed in an AP math course for the new semester.  Tonight they were going to the Royal Diner after Keith got off work to celebrate her boys’ accomplishments. 

After getting her coffee, she hummed an old Creole song as she walked into her office holding her bag with the beignet she’d picked up on the way to work.  Turning on her computer, she shook her head as she waited for it to slowly boot up. 

“I hate this computer.  I could try a case at the courthouse faster than this...thing boots up.  Technology is better, my butt…” 

Looking at her phone, she puffed out a sigh.   _Eight o’clock in the mornin’ and already a call.  A body can’t even enjoy a good cup of coffee and a beignet without someone interruptin’...probably nothin’ important...guess I’d better check since my ‘new computer’ is taking its sweet time..._  

Her attitude quickly changed as she listened to her voicemail.   _“Ms. Julian...this is Jessica Warren.  I need to talk to you...I had a problem yesterday with Gerald’s father...I’ll be in Aubrey’s office at 8:30.  Would you please come see me? Or if it’s more convenient I can come to your office....”_  

“Those Maxwells sure are nasty bastards.”, Caroline muttered to herself.  Gathering up her belongings, she walked back out of her office as she hit speed dial on her phone.  “I’m on my way to your office to talk to your squintern...no, you can’t be there...no arguments, young man...when I get there in fifteen minutes, you will go find something Special Agent in Charge like to do...” 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***  

Jessica sat nervously in Aubrey’s office, waiting for Ms. Julian’s visit.  He’d stepped out a minute ago when they got the call that she had arrived in the building.  She inhaled deeply several times, trying to calm her nerves. 

_‘I have no reason to be scared...I didn’t do anything wrong.  I just have to tell the truth…’_  

She had wanted Aubrey to stay with her during the interview, but they both understood when Caroline nixed the idea that it would be an unwise choice.  As much as her Superman wanted to be involved, he knew had to stay out of the way to avoid any appearance of impropriety. It was frustrating, but in the long run it would be worth it if they could bring Harold Maxwell down. 

After what seemed like a couple of hours, Jessica heard Caroline’s voice as the prosecutor made her way across the bullpen.  As she turned to the door, she tried to smile as the older woman came into her boyfriend’s office. “Ms. Julian...thank you for coming...I appreciate it.” 

“No problem, Cher…”  Ms. Julian nodded to the technician standing behind her.  “Ms. Garcia here is gonna record your statement, okay?” Sitting down in the armchair across from Jessica, Caroline offered a sympathetic smile.  “Now, why don’t you tell me what happened, okay? Don’t leave out any details...I need to know everything.” 

“Okay…”  Jessica shifted anxiously in her chair, averting her eyes from Caroline’s intense gaze.  “I was working on the lab platform at the Jeffersonian yesterday, taking measurements for one of Dr. Brennan’s projects.  I was by myself…” 

Caroline made a face.  “I thought you all had security guards in that lab with all that evidence you work with?  Where were all those squints that are usually there?” 

“The lab was having the last of our new equipment installed, so almost everyone had taken the day off.  Dr. B was in court and Dr. Hodgins went with Angela to her OB appointment. As for security, you’re right...we usually have guards in the lab, even on the weekends...but there wasn’t one yesterday.”  Sighing softly, Jessica continued. “Anyway, I had my earbuds in because I was listening to some music as I worked, with Dr. B’s permission, of course, when I was startled by my shoulder being tapped.  Turning around, I saw Mr. Maxwell standing next to me on the platform.” 

“Hmm…”  Caroline’s eyebrows knit together as she considered what Jessica had said.  “When you say Mr. Maxwell, you mean Gerald’s father, Harold, correct?” 

Jessica nodded before sipping her rapidly cooling catnip tea.  “Yes, it was Harold Maxwell. I was surprised...shocked, actually...because access to the platform is restricted.” 

“Wait, don’t you all have to use those fancy badges to get up there?”, Caroline asked.  “It was Dr. Saroyan’s badge being stolen that led to those bombs being put under there a few months ago, correct?  I thought they were being extra careful with those things now.” 

“Yes, Ms. Julian.  Dr. B told me a while ago that only Dr. Saroyan could grant access to the lab by submitting a request to the Security Office, which would then issue the badges.  Of course, while she’s on her leave of absence, Dr. Hodgins does that sort of thing because he’s taking her place. However, only lab personnel and federal agents who have the proper security clearance are allowed up on the platform, and there’s a sign posted by the platform and main doors that states that.” 

“Not even Dr. Brennan can get someone a fancy badge?  Interesting.”, Caroline said with a nod. “Go ahead.” 

“When I asked Mr. Maxwell if someone had let him up there, he said that he had his own badge because he was on the Governing Board, although Dr. Boyd had offered to loan him her badge.”  Jessica took a deep breath. “It didn’t feel right...him being there with me...and he really wasn’t supposed to be on the platform, so I told him that Dr. Brennan doesn’t like us to slack off and that I was busy, hoping he would leave.” 

“If the lab was deserted, how did he know you would be there?”, Caroline asked. 

“He said Dr. Boyd had told him I was working that day, which is a big no no.  For security reasons, we are not allowed to give out other employees schedules without going through Dr. Hodgins, Dr. B, or Dr. Saroyan first, and that’s strictly enforced.  A technician got suspended for three days back in November for doing that.” Jessica played with the hem of her skirt. “I know that Curly wouldn’t let Dr. Boyd give my schedule out with all that has been happening, so I told Mr. Maxwell that Dr. Boyd could get in trouble for that.  He...basically he blew that off before telling me that I could take a break from my work, saying he had business to discuss with me.”

 “What sort of business?  Was it pertinent to what you were working on for Dr. Brennan?”   

“He asked about what I was doing, so I explained that I was taking measurements for a special project Dr. B is working on with the Sorbonne to identify World War I remains.  Then he said that I must be bored doing such a menial task, and he was prepared to make my life easier so I could continue my education. I was trying to be polite, so I said anything regarding my education had to go through Dr. B, and then I tried to go back to work to give him a hint to leave me alone.  He then offered me a _‘gift_ ’, saying it would allow me to continue my education or to have a nest egg after I got my PhD...a certified check in the amount of 500,000 dollars.” 

“500,000 dollars?  Merde...that’s a lotta cash, Cher…” 

“I know...I was flabbergasted.  I thought I’d misunderstood at first, but he laid the check out on the table and I saw it written out for half of a million dollars.  I was getting very uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to start anything, so I explained that my educational needs were already covered by a trust fund.  He then told me I could use it on a house...or my father’s medical bills… somehow he knew about my dad’s stroke and his nursing home fees, Ms. Julian…” 

Caroline remained silent as she grabbed the box of Kleenex on Aubrey’s desk and handed it to the young woman. 

Taking it, Jessica played with the box nervously.  “I told him that my father and I were all set financially and so ‘no thank you’.  He was insistent, saying he’d sign the check over to me if I’d sign an affidavit saying that what had happened with Gerald was merely a misunderstanding and that I’d drop the charges.  Of course, I told him I wasn’t interested in doing that...that I wanted his son to get what he deserved and that we shouldn’t be talking about it.” 

“I see.”  Caroline sat back in her chair, rubbing her chin has she thought over Jessica’s statement.  “So he was going to pay you off...but you said no. Then what happened? Did he leave?” 

“I wish that’s what happened, but no, he didn’t leave.  He looked really surprised...it was like he couldn’t believe that I would actually say no, and then he got really angry.  I tried to get away, but he grabbed my arm and squeezed really hard.” Jessica pulled her sleeve up to show Caroline her bruises. 

Seeing the extent of the bruising on Jessica’s arm, Caroline was horrified.  “Oh, dear Lord…” She turned to the technician. “Call forensics and tell them to get someone over here with a camera right away.  I want pictures of this injury.” 

Turning back to Jessica, Caroline nodded.  “What happened next, Cher?” 

“I was afraid that he might hit me, but he just got really cold.  His eyes were...hard and scary. He said that I had no right to ruin Gerald’s life since I’d led him on and that it would be in my best interest to take the check.  Once again, I said no and that I had work to do, but when I tried to leave again, he just held onto my wrist harder. He responded by making all sorts of insinuations...threats, actually...saying he’d ruin my career...that he’d ruin my family’s business.  Mr. Maxwell even threatened Aubrey...saying that a loose woman like me would ruin him. He also said that he had friends in the incoming administration, and he could use his influence with them to make sure Aubrey’s career stalled at the FBI.” 

Caroline remained quiet, waiting patiently for the woman to continue. 

“That stuff he said about Aubrey just...really pissed me off, so I told him what he could do with his dirty money and that his son was the way he was because he always bought him out of trouble.  Mr. Maxwell became even more upset. He actually came out and said that I wasn’t the first woman to try to _“ruin his family’s good name.’_ and that no…”  Jessica shuddered for a moment.  “‘ _Cunt’_ was going to ruin his son because he was just being a normal, _‘red blooded American boy’_.  He said if I didn’t take the money and keep my mouth shut, he would get me fired from my internship and that he would blackball me in the forensic anthropology field so my career would be ruined.” 

Jessica wiped away the tears that were falling before pulling a Kleenex out of the box to finish the job.  “I was so scared...but I was determined not to let him see it, so I told him that he needed to leave. He just stared at me coldly but before he could do anything else, Dr. Hodgins arrived and asked what was going on.  I lied, saying he was there to see what I was doing for Dr. B, and then I ran to the restroom before hiding out in Angela’s office. I don’t know what happened with them after that…I was really scared Ms. Julian...” 

Sighing softly, Caroline reached out to pat Jessica’s hand as the young woman shed more tears.  “Well, Cher...it looks like Mr. Maxwell really has assaulted you. Now, listen here...this is how things are gonna go, okay?  I’m gonna see Deputy Director Stark right now and ask him to assign an agent to handle this case...someone who isn’t your boyfriend or Agent Shaw.”  

 “I don’t want to cause any more trouble…” 

“Young lady, stop.”, Caroline said firmly.  “Based on what you’ve told me just now, he’s obviously done this sort of thing before to cover his bon rien, piece of crap son’s scrawny butt, and you’re probably the first woman who has rejected his offer.  I’m pretty sure we’re gonna be able to at least arrest him on bribery, witness tampering, and assault charges, Cher, so don’t you worry about it. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I live to wipe the floor with nasty scum like the Maxwells who try to hurt women who stand up for themselves.” 

“I wouldn’t say I was strong...my brothers and father always taught me to stand up for myself.  I do think you scare Dr. B sometimes, Ms. Julian…”, Jessica said quietly, a smile peeking through her reddened face. 

“She’s a strong woman...and someone who will be a good mentor to you.  Occasionally...I even admire her…”, Caroline conceded before pointing her finger at the intern.  “...but if you tell her that, I’ll deny it.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

Caroline’s smile fell.  “I think you also know that cute agent of yours can’t be involved in this case, right, Cher?” 

“Yes...we both know that.  I really wanted him here with me, but we understand why he couldn’t be involved.”  Jessica brushed away a tear. “I just can’t figure out why the Maxwells keep bothering me.  Why can’t they just leave me alone?” 

“Because they can’t wrap their tiny brains around the fact that a woman had the nerve to tell them what she thought...that she wasn’t swayed by their money or their name.”  Rising from her chair, Caroline smiled at Jessica. “I’m proud of you, Cher...you did the right thing...not just for yourself, but any other woman they may try to do this to later on.  Now, go to the lab and help catch me some bad guys to prosecute. I’ll be in touch.” 

“Thanks, Ms. Julian.”  As the prosecutor left, Jessica pulled out her phone and made a call.  “Okay, Superman...it’s done. Where are you? I want to say goodbye before I head to the lab.” 

“Give me a minute...I’ll be right there.”  Quickly leaving the conference room where he was talking with Genny, Aubrey jogged to his office, pausing as he stood in the doorway.  “Hey…” 

“Hey…”  Sniffling a bit, Jessica smiled as she rushed into his embrace.  “I did it…” 

“I know you did.”  He caressed her gently.  “I’m so proud of you. I love you so much…” 

“I love you, too.”  She sighed as she snuggled against him.  “I’ll see you later, okay? I’m going to work now…” 

“So has Hodgins arranged for more security?  I don’t want you to be alone in the lab…” 

“I’m sure Curly has taken care of it.  When I talked to him this morning, he said that the guard who was supposed to be on duty in the lab yesterday had been sent on an errand by Mr. Maxwell.  Of course, the guy had no reason to think Mr. Maxwell would do anything inappropriate, so he didn’t make arrangements for anybody to fill in. Anyway, I guess Curly asked the head of security to assign two guards to be in the lab at all times...you know, to make sure the chain of evidence is kept secure…among other things.  He’s also having a meeting with him later today.” 

“Makes sense to me.”  Smiling at his girlfriend, Aubrey pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.  “What about some Mexican for dinner tonight? We can pick up some tamales and enchiladas at Don Tomaso’s…” 

Jessica giggled softly.  “Well, I guess things are back to normal if you’re thinking about food.  I think Mexican sounds like a good idea for dinner.” 

“Great.  I’ll pick it up on the way home.”  He bent down to give her a kiss. “I’ll see you later.” 

“Okay.”  She gave him a teasing grin as she patted his ass.  “I’ll see you later...all of you, Agent Aubrey…and I might even wear the turquoise nightie tonight...” 

He arched an eyebrow and gave her a sexy smirk.  “I’m looking forward to that.” 

**oooooooooo**  

An hour later, Booth was grim as sat in the Homicide conference room waiting for the two other agents who were supposed to join him.  As he read through the information in front of him, he rolled his eyes in disgust. _‘Harold Maxwell is a piece of shit.  No wonder his kid is so screwed up.’_  

Assault of a federal employee wouldn’t normally be something Booth’s division would investigate, but as soon as Stark had figured out who was involved, it became obvious that Aubrey shouldn’t have anything to do personally with the matter.  Therefore, it had been handed over to Booth, since he was an experienced senior agent with an impeccable reputation, and he’d be the one to oversee the investigation. _‘Because I don’t have anything else to do with my time, right?  But we’ve gotta be extra careful with this one…Aubrey...Bones...Jessica...they need me to come through for them.’_  

He’d dutifully answered Hodgins’ questions about what constituted assault of a federal employee as best he could over the phone yesterday.  Based on the way the law was written, Harold Maxwell had indeed verbally and physically assaulted Jessica Warren as she performed her duties at the Jeffersonian.  The problem was the lack of other disinterested witnesses to the incident. Right now it was more of a _‘he said/she said’_ thing, without much real evidence to prove what had actually happened between them. 

He paused as he read Jessica’s statement once again, highlighting the section about Maxwell’s access card.   _He got one because he’s on the Board?  That doesn’t seem right. I mean, it took me a couple of cases working with Bones before she could talk Dr. Goodman into giving me one.  Cam didn’t give Aubrey one until after the Hayes Robertson case and Genny only got hers a month ago. If they have everybody traipsing through the lab, that could foul up all sorts of cases...it could invalidate evidence...no, something’s fishy there.  Cam and Hodgins wouldn’t give out access cards for the lab to just anyone, especially after the bombs...no way. I just have to figure out how that scumbag got around the system and got one…I need to find out who made those arrangements. If anyone can get an access card, the FBI needs to rethink their connection with the Jeffersonian lab..._  

Caroline had called him thirty minutes ago, warning him to tread lightly in his dealings with Harold Maxwell.  The prosecutor had no doubts about the young woman’s claims, but she also knew the man’s _‘weaselly’_ lawyers would mount a fierce defense, and that they might go as far as to claim that Jessica had initiated the contact with Harold.   _‘Yeah, I know Janis Jergins’ reputation, but whatever.  Tread lightly my ass...I’m gonna go after that bastard with everything we’ve got..._  

Pulling a picture out of the file, Booth let out a low whistle.  The pattern of dark purple bruising on Jessica’s arm was large, and clearly it hadn’t been caused by accident or by casual contact.  In fact, it actually looked like a hand had wrapped itself tightly around her wrist and had squeezed it with a large amount of force. 

_‘Jessica is lucky her wrist wasn’t sprained...or worse.’_  

He wondered if they could measure the bruise and then measure Maxwell’s hand to see if there was a match...but they’d need a warrant for that, and he was pretty sure a judge wasn’t going to sign off on such flimsy evidence.  Still...maybe it was worth a try… 

“Agent Booth?”  Agents Haggerty and Shaw stood in the conference room’s doorway.  Haggerty nervously twisted her fingers as she glanced at Genny and then back to him.  “You wanted to see us?” 

“Yes, I did.  Please come in...and shut the door.”  He pointed to the chairs on either side of him.  As they got settled, he opened the folder. “I’ll come right to the point.  Agent Haggerty, I need you to look into an incident that happened at the Jeffersonian yesterday.  It appears that an intern, Ms. Warren, was assaulted...”

 Genny was surprised at Booth’s statement.  “Gerald went after Jessica? I didn’t think even he was that stupid...” 

Booth saw the confusion on the woman’s face and interrupted her..  “Not Gerald...Harold Maxwell…” 

“Son of a bitch…”, Genny said angrily.  “The boss must be going nuts right now…I mean, he’d normally be the lead on a case like this...” 

“I’m sure he is.  You’re right...it would be normal procedure for him to be aware of what was going on with a case like this, and he would either work it himself or assign an agent designated as a lab liaison to the case.  However, we have to make sure that there’s no possible way the alleged perpetrator or his attorneys can say that there was even the whiff of the FBI tampering with the case, especially since it involves Jessica.  I know you’re loyal to Aubrey, but he simply cannot be involved.” 

It had taken all the strength Booth had not to call Aubrey and check on him after the case had been reassigned from his division.  However, he knew that if they were going to get the Maxwells, he had to keep Aubrey out of it. This needed to be treated just like any other case, so he’d sent an email to the SAC of Major Crimes, asking for recommendations on an agent from their division that could be impartial and best suited to be lead on the case.  After reading the jacket of his colleague’s recommendation, he had to agree that she was the best choice. 

He turned to Shaw with an apologetic look. Pursing his lips slightly, he hesitated before he spoke again.  “Because you’re investigating Gerald Maxwell, Agent Shaw, you can’t have any input on this case, either, since the assault charges have been leveled against his father, Harold Maxwell.  Again, we have to maintain the appearance of neutrality, even if we do think that both of those guys are despicable assholes. We can’t show any bias whatsoever. Anyway, as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, you can go with Jill here to bring Mr. Maxwell in for questioning, but I don’t want you in on any interrogations.” 

Seeing their confusion, Booth cleared his throat.  “Agent Haggerty will be the lead on this case, and I will sit in with her when the time comes to question the suspect.”   

“What?”  Caught off guard by that statement, Agent Haggerty looked like she just might throw up.  “Um...excuse me, Agent Booth...I’m not sure...that is, I don’t know...well, you see, I’ve never been the lead on a big case like this since I transfered to DC in October, and this one seems really important, so…” 

“So you’ll learn a lot.”  Booth nodded as he pushed the file towards the agent.  “You’ll do fine. Aubrey said that Agent Thompson had great things to say about you since you two became partners.  I’ve also checked your jacket and it says you’d worked some big cases in Minneapolis before coming here, so it’s not like you don’t have any experience with being a lead agent...we just need to beef it up a bit, okay?  Shaw will go with you to apprehend the suspect, but you’re the one who’s in charge...you’re the one who makes the actual arrest...you’ll be the one to slap the cuffs on the bastard, and you’ll be the one to write any reports as necessary.  Don’t worry...we won’t let you do anything silly. We want to make sure we get a conviction, okay?” 

“I just...I know I have experience, Agent Booth, but...I don’t want to let the Boss down…” 

Understanding, Booth nodded.  “Agent Haggarty...Jill....when I told Aubrey that I was overseeing this investigation, he was the one who suggested you be the lead agent on this one.  This is important to him, right? He wouldn’t have given me your name if he didn’t think you were capable of handling something like this and could be impartial.  Anyway, you’ll get some more experience being lead, and both Shaw and I will be available in some capacity to assist you.” 

The young woman nodded as she sat back in her chair.  “Okay...if you say so.” Picking up the file, she glanced through it.  “So it looks like the man in question went to see Ms. Warren at the lab without an appointment, right?  He just showed up?” 

“According to Jessica’s statement, she was working in the lab alone on a special project for Dr. Brennan, and he used some sort of access card to gain entrance to the lab platform.  She says she was surprised that he had a card, but I guess that’s not really the issue in this complaint.” Booth held up the photograph of Jessica’s arm. “Ms. Warren further states that Mr. Maxwell offered her a significant amount of money as an inducement to drop the charges she filed against his son.  She rejected the offer, and he became angry, so he grabbed her arm and held her tightly against her will until Dr. Hodgins showed up.” 

“Isn’t his son’s trial coming up soon?”, Haggarty asked.   

“January 23rd.”, Shaw replied. “We’re still burning the midnight oil gathering evidence against the little douchebag.” 

“Cutting it pretty close, don’t you think?”, Haggarty asked.  “I figured he would have tried to bribe her before the holidays, when it all first came down.” 

“Not necessarily.”  Booth shook his head.  “It’s smart, actually. Harold Maxwell is an asshole, but not a stupid man.  He probably investigated Jessica’s background and waited to have all his ducks in a row before he offered her the money.  If she changes her story this close to trial, it’s harder for Caroline to counter it.” 

“So he’s charged with bribery, witness tampering and assault of a federal employee?”  Haggerty puffed out a sigh. “What’s our evidence?” 

“That’s the sticky part.  We have a picture of Ms. Warren’s injuries, and the snatches of conversation between the two of them that Dr. Hodgins overheard.”  Booth shrugged as he put the photo back into the folder. “Realistically, according to what Ms. Julian told me this morning, we may not have enough to actually get a conviction in this case, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s not the main purpose of this arrest, okay?  What we’re trying to do is to show these _‘gentlemen’_ that no one is above the law, no matter how much money they have.”   

Seeing the unhappy expressions on the agents’ faces, he continued.  “I mean, we’re going to go after him with everything we have, and we may get lucky enough to have something stick, but I don’t want you to be disappointed if we aren’t successful.  That’s not the whole end game here, okay?” 

“Nice to know pricks don’t fall far from the tree.”, Genny said to herself.  She tapped her nails against the table as she thought over what Booth had said.  “Okay...but we’re going to do the best we can to take this sucker down, right?” 

“Yeah, we are.”  Booth rose from his chair and handed the folder to Haggerty.  “Mr. Maxwell is probably at work this morning. His company, Maxco Enterprises, has a building over in Vienna, Virginia.  I suggest you go pay him a little visit. Call me when you’ve got him and you’re on the way back here.” 

Agent Haggerty inhaled deeply to calm her nerves.  “Okay...we’ll see what we can do. Let’s go, Shaw…” 

**Oooooooooo**  

Genny chuckled as she glanced at Agent Haggerty, who was muttering to herself as she drove the SUV down the highway.  “Come on, Jill...it’s not the Oscars, okay? We’re gonna go to his office, and you’re going to present your badge. You’re going to tell him that he has to come to the Hoover for questioning, and you slap on the cuffs if he resists…” 

“I know all that, but I can’t help it...I’m nervous.”   

“Why?”, Genny asked.  “It’s just another case…” 

“I just want to do well, okay?”  Jill shrugged as she checked her rearview mirror.  “I mean, after all, you trained with Booth, right? And then you worked with Aubrey?  They’re two of the best…” 

“Well, you’ve trained with Aubrey, too, and he gave you an outstanding job review last week for your 90 day evaluation.  He also said you were a great asset to Major Crimes and that he saw you moving up in the Bureau.” 

“It’s just...I don’t want to screw this up…” 

“Jill, I’ve never seen you this nervous.  You were on your A game when we arrested his piece of crap son Gerald last month.  Yeah, it’s for the boss’s girlfriend, but in the end, she’s another victim, and Harold Maxwell is another suspect we’re arresting.  He’s nothing special.” Genny paused as she considered what to say next. “Anyway, that’s why Aubrey wanted you to do this...so you could get more experience and based on your record, he feels you’re the best for the job.  The more often you do this sort of thing, the less nervous you’ll be.” 

“I suppose…”  Agent Haggerty smirked at her partner.  “Hey, I know what might help me take my mind off things…” 

Genny was suddenly suspicious.  “What?” 

“Tell me what happened after you and that gorgeous accountant of yours ducked out of the Gala the other night.  You were gone for almost an hour. Just a stroll in the gardens, right? A pleasant hour spent dancing under the stars?” 

“Of course.”  Genny couldn’t hide her happy smile.  “It’s a beautiful venue…and the gardens are lovely…”   

“I bet...about six foot four of blonde loveliness, right?”  Haggerty sighed softly. “You looked kinda dazed when you came back in…and you might have had a leaf in your hair...’ 

“Hey, look...there’s our turn off.”  Pointing off to the right, Genny winked at her driver.  “Listen, I’ll tell you all about it later. Right now we need to concentrate on Maxwell, so game faces on, okay?” 

“Okay.”  Steering the car toward the off ramp, Haggerty giggled softly.  “Maybe, if we have time, I’ll tell you about my Gala adventures with Shawn, too...including how Karen Delfs tried to get him to hook up with her later that night.”

 “Karen’s involved?  I’m counting on it.”  Genny grinned at her companion.  “That’s what partners do. They share things.  It builds trust.” 

Jill smiled back.  “Good to know. Thanks, Genny.” 

**Oooooooooo**  

Haggerty drove the SUV into the large parking lot surrounding the modern building which housed Maxco Enterprises.  “Nice place…” 

“Yeah, well, they make more money than the governments of some small countries.  Who knew electrical parts would be in such high demand? I guess this company goes back to the time of the cotton gins...no wonder the Maxwells are so big in DC.”  Climbing out of the van, Shaw eyed her fellow agent. “So do we have everything? Badge? Handcuffs? Sidearm?” 

“Yep...I’m ready.”  Jill nodded towards the front door of the massive structure.  “Let’s do this.” 

Entering in through the lushly appointed lobby, the women stopped at the receptionist’s desk.  “Good morning. I’m Agent Jill Haggerty, and this is Agent Genevieve Shaw...FBI.” Flashing her badge, Haggerty continued.  “We need to see Harold Maxwell...right now.” 

“Do you have an appointment?”, the receptionist asked cautiously.  “He’s a very busy man, and it’s practically impossible to catch him in his office…” 

“No, we don’t have an appointment, but we’re not leaving until we see him.”  Haggerty focused a steely glare at the woman behind the desk. “So maybe you’d better discreetly call him and ask him to meet us in the lobby so my associate and I don’t have to make a scene by going from office to office to look for him.  I’m not sure he’d like that...”

 “Oh…”  Picking up the phone, the receptionist spoke quietly to the person on the other end of the call.  “Yes, sir...FBI. They say they aren’t leaving…yes, I’ll tell them.” She hung up the phone and pointed across the lobby.  “He said he’ll meet you in the lunchroom in ten minutes...it’s over there...on the right. Help yourself to a cup of coffee...” 

Haggerty put on a polite smile.  “Thank you.” 

The agents soon found the ornate lunchroom, which was empty at the moment.  Near the middle of the room, there was a Pixler’s BBQ stand that seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. 

Haggerty raised an eyebrow in disbelief.  “Pixler’s is the last thing I would expect to see in here.  It seem so….un-Maxwell like.” 

“The boss told me once that Beau Pixler’s dad and Harold Maxwell are business associates.  I think it’s weird too, but Maxwell probably gets good money for having it here.” Glancing at her watch, Shaw shrugged at her fellow agent.  “I’m gonna give him twenty minutes. If he doesn’t show, we start searching the building…and we make lots of noise...” 

“Do you really think he’ll try to duck us?”  Haggerty was obviously surprised that Maxwell would do something so stupid.  “I mean, he knows we’re here…” 

“This is a big place, and I’m sure there are a lot of doors the skunk could use besides the front entrance.  He might have an idea that we’re here to take him in…” 

“True, but that’d make things even worse for him than they are now.”  Haggerty glanced at her phone. “I hope we can get this wrapped up by seven this evening...I’ve got a date.” 

“Yeah, me, too.”  Keeping her eyes focused on the door, Shaw tapped her companion on the shoulder.  “Son of a Bitch! There he goes…” 

After seeing Maxwell walk quickly across the lobby, the two agents sprinted after him, beating him to the front door, and blocking the entrance so he couldn’t leave.   

“Hold it right there, Mr. Maxwell!”, Haggerty said.  “FBI. I’m Agent Haggerty and this is Agent Shaw. We need to ask you some questions about an incident at the Jeffersonian’s lab yesterday…” 

“Agent Shaw...Oh, I remember you...you’re the agent who arrested my son on those bogus charges.”, he began in a smarmy tone.  “I’m sorry…but it appears that you two girls have been wasting your time waiting for me. I have an appointment that I can’t miss.  Goodbye…” 

“Sorry, Harold, but it looks like you’re probably gonna be late.”  Shaw nodded at Haggerty, who pulled Harold’s left arm behind his back before fastening a handcuff to it.   

Pulling his right arm around, Haggerty raised her voice so everyone in the lobby could hear her.  “Harold Maxwell, you’re under arrest for bribery, witness tampering, and assault.” She locked the cuff on his right wrist.  “You have the right to remain silent…” 

“You girls are going to regret this…”, Harold fumed, tugging against the restraints.  “You have no idea who you’re dealing with…” 

“...and anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.  Let’s go.” Grabbing Maxwell’s upper arm, Haggerty hustled him towards the door. 

“Ginger...call my lawyer!”, he yelled.  “Tell her I’ve been arrested and detained without cause by two FBI agents…” 

“That’s enough, Harold.”  Shaw glared furiously at the man.  “Save it for the interrogation room.  The car is parked right outside.” 

Sputtering with anger, Maxwell continued to rage as the agents put him in the vehicle.  “I’ll sue. This is false arrest...I’m being harassed. I didn’t do anything to that little redheaded slut.  She’s lying…” 

Shaw raised an eyebrow as she looked over at Haggerty, who was trying to suppress a grin as she got Maxwell situated in the car.  “Well, looks like the boss missed out on all the fun again…” 

“Yeah…”, Haggerty agreed.  “And you know what? Being the lead really is kind of fun...especially when we get to arrest assholes like Harold Maxwell.” 

**oooooooooo**  

Shaw had called Booth on the way back to the Hoover, and he had an interrogation room ready and waiting for their guest of honor.  “Here you go, Mr. Maxwell. I assume you’ve already called your attorney?” 

“My receptionist has placed the call for me.  However, I know I have the right to one phone call…” 

“By all means...be my guest.”  After returning Maxwell’s phone to him, Booth crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair.  “But I’m not leaving…” 

Rolling his eyes, Harold hit the speed dial.  “Gerald? Listen, son...you need to call our attorney and make sure she’s on her way to the FBI.  Yes, that’s right...that bitch Agent Shaw and some other bitch arrested me on some trumped up charges.  What? No, don’t do anything stupid. I’ll be out as soon as I make bail. This is a sham arrest anyway...tell your mother that I’ll be home for dinner.”   

Ending the call, Harold had an air of confidence as he glared at Booth.  “Okay, get those agents in here and let’s get on with the dog and pony show…” 

“Actually, Mr. Maxwell, it seems you’re in quite a bit of trouble...perhaps more than you realize.”  Booth opened the door and looked out into the hall. “Agent Haggerty, would you bring in that file?” 

Haggerty wore a disdainful glare as she entered the room.  “Here you are, Agent Booth.” 

“Hmm…”, Booth began.  “It says here that when the agents went to speak with you today, you resisted arrest...it also says that you mentioned your dealings with Ms. Jessica Warren yesterday…” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”  Harold blustered. 

“You said, and I quote, _‘I didn’t do anything to that little redheaded slut.  She’s lying… ‘_.”  Haggerty shook her head, trying to hold back her smile.  “Neither Agent Shaw or myself said the name of the person whom you were charged with assaulting when she arrested you.  We didn’t even specify it was a federal employee. Anyway, Ms. Warren is the only woman with red hair that works at the Jeffersonian lab…” 

“That’s circumstantial...none of this will stick!”  Harold was livid as he shouted at Booth. “You’re way out of line here…” 

“So you’ve decided to talk to us without your lawyer present?  Okay. Well, speaking of out of line…” Booth pulled the photograph of Jessica’s bruises from the file.  “It seems you think it’s acceptable to assault a federal employee. That can get you at least a year in a nice federal prison and a fine of 100,000 dollars.” 

“Of course, Agent Booth, that fine doesn’t mean much to Mr. Maxwell, since he offered a check to Ms. Warren in the amount of 500,000 dollars to entice her to drop the charges against his son.”  Agent Haggerty smiled smugly at the man across from her. “How many years is bribery worth?” 

“Three to five”  Booth glanced at the agent next to him.  “You also threatened Ms. Warren’s loved ones, including her invalid father if she didn’t drop the charges.  That’s witness tampering. Add on to that the fact you threatened her boyfriend James Aubrey...who’s an FBI Agent.  Threatening a federal agent is a violation of 18 US Code 115…” 

“Yeah...all that together is ten to twenty plus one hell of a fine.”  Haggerty chuckled softly. “I hope you didn’t have any plans for the next 25 years or so, Mr. Maxwell…” 

“You have no proof!”  Maxwell’s voice was shrill with anger.  “It’s her word against mine! There is no paper trail…” 

“Ah, but we do have Dr. Hodgins’ statement as to what he overheard you saying to her, and then there’s this photo.”  Booth tapped the purple marks in the picture. “See, the forensic scientists at the Jeffersonian are geniuses. They can take measurements from a bruise like this and figure out the size of the hand that made it using one of their fancy computer programs...if they have a suspect’s hand to check out, that is.” 

“Won’t we need a warrant for that, Agent Booth?”, Haggerty asked in an innocent tone. 

“We do need a warrant...and guess what?”  Booth pulled a sheet out and held it up. “We have a warrant.  The federal prosecutor delivered it personally just before Mr. Maxwell arrived.” 

“It’s amazing what criminals with an ego can do to help provide us evidence, Agent Booth.” 

“It sure is, Agent Haggarty.  Besides, Dr. Hodgins is excited because the lab got some new equipment yesterday that he can try out with the evidence we get from our friend Harold here.”  Booth leaned forward and spoke to Maxwell in a menacing growl. “If there’s anything I hate, it’s a son of a bitch like you who thinks he can get away with scaring young women...hurting them so his son can get away with all sorts of nasty stuff.” 

“My lawyer will be here soon, and then I’ll be out on bail in a heartbeat.  We will sue your asses for everything you’ve got, Agent Booth. Your wife won’t be able to write enough books to cover the judgements that you’ll have to pay out for this farce.” 

“Whatever you say, Harold, but you’re still not going anywhere until we get those measurements taken of your hand.” 

Suddenly pale and frightened, Harold licked his lips nervously.  “Look, if I did scare Ms. Warren, it was unintentional. I was just trying to clear up a misunderstanding between her and my son.  Maybe I could call her and apologize...I can pay to have a doctor look at her wrist to make sure there aren’t any permanent injuries…” 

“That might be a good idea, except for one minor detail, Mr. Maxwell.”  Haggerty produced another form from the file. “This is something else the prosecutor delivered...a personal protective order.  Basically it says you, your wife, any of your family members, or an employee with Maxco Enterprises are not to go within 100 yards of Ms. Warren or Agent James Aubrey.  If any of you violate this order, you are subject to prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.” 

“You don’t know who you’re dealing with, young lady.”, Harold replied, as the panic rose in his throat.  “I’m a Maxwell...we’ve been around this area for over 150 years...we’re well connected with people in government in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia….and here in DC.  We have several friends who will be joining the new administration on January 20th.” 

“Actually, I do know exactly who I’m dealing with.  You’re not the first blowhard who has tried to use his money to intimidate people, and you certainly won’t be the last.”,  Haggarty shot back. 

“Now, Harry...it’s time to face the facts.”  Booth gathered up the loose pages and put them back in the folder.  “No matter when your lawyer gets here, you’ll still need to have measurements taken of your hand.  Those results will probably determine the how high your bail is set. So for now, you get to go sit in a nice holding cell.” 

“I beg your pardon!” 

Rising from his chair, Booth moved to the door once again, summoning another agent.  “Escort this man to holding.” 

Protesting loudly about his unfair treatment, Harold was led away, much to Booth’s satisfaction.   

“Good job with the interrogation, Jill.”, Booth commented, nodding his approval.  “You have no reason to doubt yourself. Aubrey’s right...you’re a good agent.”

 “Thanks, Agent Booth…” 

“I see you’ve been hanging out with Shaw too much.  It’s just Booth.” He checked his watch. “It’s going to be awhile before Bones...my wife...Dr. Brennan...can come take measurements on Maxwell’s hand.”  He gave Jill a sly wink. “I told her to take her time getting over here. Might as well go get something to eat...Angela said she’ll be over after lunch with what she found in Harold Maxwell’s financials.” 

Agent Haggerty grinned.  “Okay, thanks...Booth. I need to talk to Shaw anyway.”   _She still needs to tell me how she and Hunter got it on at the Gala…_

  **Oooooooooo**  

It was eight o’clock in the evening before Maxwell was finally released on bail.  Going by the holding cell, Booth gave him some instructions. 

“Don’t leave town.  We’ll let you and your attorney know the results of the test on your hand and of any indictments that are handed down in this case.  Understand?” 

“Yes, of course.  I’m not some imbecile.”  Maxwell glared angrily at Booth.  “I can’t wait to sue you for false arrest…” 

“Go for it.”  Booth smirked at Maxwell before turning to walk away.  “I can’t wait to read the article about this case in tomorrow’s paper, so we’re even.” 

“What article?”  Maxwell was horrified as he watched the agent walk away.  “Agent Booth?” 

As he reached the end of the hall, Booth turned to face the man.  “The article that talks about your arrest for assault. Those things are public record, you know?  I’m sure the people at the Jeffersonian will be very interested in reading about it, particularly the Governing Board.” 

Harold was shocked.  “What are you talking about?” 

“You see...Bones.. I mean my wife, Dr. Temperance Brennan, tells me that the board members are very socially conscious...image is very important to them, which is why your family has always had a seat on the board for the last four generations.  Of course, things like sexual harassment...witness tampering...assault...that sort of thing doesn’t put the museum in a good light...and that could mean less donations...a smaller endowment...especially for your beloved Antiquities Department.” 

Booth smiled.  “When I met with my wife at the Royal Diner for dinner this evening, she said that Dr. Hodgins had called your good friend Amanda Marshall, who sits on the board, to let her know what happened yesterday and she was quite angry.  She’s a very nice lady...very into women’s causes, including a few with my wife. She also...really, really doesn’t like you. So when a little bird let her know after lunch that not only were you charged with assault and witness tampering, but that you had also resisted arrest...she called all your fellow board members and they are having an emergency meeting tomorrow at 2:00.  So, I would kiss that position goodbye, too.” 

“You’re lying…”, Harold sputtered.  “Amanda doesn’t have that much influence…” 

“Nope. I don’t lie.”, Booth said, putting his hands in his pockets.  “Jessica mentioned your comment about how she wasn’t the first woman you had to pay off for your son and I found that very interesting.  My guess is when the public reads the article about how you’re about to go down for assaulting a woman after she refused a bribe, I bet we’ll hear from all sorts of women...women who’ll tell us that you did the same thing to them.”   

Booth shrugged a shoulder as he turned away.  “See, when this stuff happens, folks can’t wait to take the rich guys down.  We’ll have women practically begging us to take their statements so they can help put you away.  And you know what? There isn’t a goddamn thing you can do about that, mother fucker.” 

“I’ll get you for slander, Agent Booth!” 

“Whatever...”  Waving as he walked away, Booth called out,  “Good night, Harold. Sweet dreams…” 

Harold slumped on the bench in his cell as he waited to be released.  The Maxwell name...the clout...the respect...the decades of respectability would be gone.  Everything he’d worked for to continue the prestige of the Maxwells was about to be ruined because he’d tried to protect his very spoiled son.  He had to do something… 

**Oooooooooo**  

Brennan pulled back the covers on the bed.  “You really think this will work, Booth?” 

Booth did the same before getting into bed.  “I do, Bones. Bullies are nothing once you take away their power.  For the Maxwells, it’s their prestige that has gotten them through life, and now they think they’re above the law.  There is no way that Jessica was the first intern to have this happen to her. Haggarty and Angela went through his financials and they found eleven other payments ranging from $75,000 - $250,000 out of one particular account of Maxwell’s.  When they examined the canceled checks, eight of them were made out to women. Cross referencing them, four were former interns from the Antiquities department at the Jeffersonian and two of them were in George Washington University’s Antiquities program at the same time Gerald was working on his masters’ degree there.  We’re still searching for the other two. My guess is they were going to school wherever he was working on his bachelors...or maybe even from an earlier time...like at that private high school he went to..” 

“What about the other checks?”

“They were made out to a variety of places.  One was to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit for $96 K and change, one was paid to George Mason University for $126,265 or something like that, and one for $179,000 to Bank of America.  My thought is that one had medical bills for herself or family back home, one had her tuition paid, and the other used the money to pay off a mortgage, but that’s just a guess.” 

“So what you’re thinking is that either these women or some other women, although they accepted the money, may come forward to air their complaints?”

“Yeah, but I also think that there’s more out there, Bones...I think it affects a lot more women than just those few..  Obviously, if there were no charges filed, we can’t use the information for more than investigative purposes. However, if Gerald has had previous charges in other places, even if they were dropped, we could establish a pattern and possibly get them entered into the record at his trial.  If he did anything to any of the other interns, that’s a new federal crime, and we can take jurisdiction on that. The fact that he offered Jessica $500,000, and that he knew about her family business and her father’s health tells me that he’s desperate and running scared. My gut tells me that Harold is going to realize his son’s nasty habits are getting expensive and the old man will choose the family name over his piece of shit son.” 

“Very clever, Booth.”, Brennan said as she snuggled into her pillow. 

“Caroline gets the credit, Bones.”  Booth pulled the covers up around himself.  “She was the one who suggested this idea. Sweets had also mentioned something like this to me years ago as well...that people blame themselves when this sort of thing happens...but once others step up you’re not as afraid, because you know you’re not alone.” 

“But Ms. Warren isn’t alone, Booth.  Aubrey is standing by her. He’s a good man, Booth.  They remind me of us sometimes.” 

“Yeah, but we’re still the best, Bones.” 

“Harold Maxwell must pay for what he did, Booth...as does Gerald.”,  Brennan stated. “Men like that can’t be free to hurt young women...I won’t let anyone hurt my interns for defending themselves…” 

“They will pay, Bones, I promise.”, Booth said, kissing his wife and turning out the light. 

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***  

In the master bathroom, Aubrey finished brushing his teeth as he listened to the phone conversation on the other side of the wall. 

_“I’m fine, Aaron...yeah, there were reporters out in front when I got here, but Aubrey put that gate up in front of his driveway so they can’t come up to the front door anymore...he threatened a couple of them...no, you don’t have to come over here...because Niki and the girls have just started the new semester, and you have to a lot to do before coming here in June...Aubrey will take good care of me...I’ll be fine, I promise…”_  

Putting his toothbrush away, he put the toilet seat up and did his nightly constitutional.  After washing his hands, he heard Jessica continue to speak. 

_“I’ll call you this weekend, all right?  Yeah...Aubrey would like that...let me ask him what his schedule is this month and I’ll get with you…”_

 Feeling guilty for eavesdropping, Aubrey came out into the bedroom, where he saw his girlfriend wearing her bathrobe.  Shooing Skinner to the end of the bed, he crawled under the covers as she finished her call. 

“I love you, too...bye.” 

Aubrey watched her end the call and plug in her phone.  “How’s Aaron?” 

“Worried about me.”  Jessica turned to her boyfriend.  “But I reassured him that my FBI boyfriend will protect me, so he had nothing to worry about.” 

Aubrey rubbed her leg.  “I’m sorry about the reporters being here when you got home.” 

“It is what it is, Superman.  They were here when Gerald was arrested, too, and after you came home from the hospital.  They’ll get bored and leave. Our dog sounds don’t work as well anymore.” 

“So what did Hodgins call about earlier?” 

Jessica turned onto her side.  “He said I could come in at 10:00 tomorrow, but he was going to have me work in Angela’s office instead of being on the floor.” 

Puzzled, Aubrey became inquisitive.  “Why? I mean, I think you deserve a day off...” 

“There is a lot to be done with filing the remains in the electronic database Dr. Mayer helped create.  With her on vacation in England, someone needs to pick up the reins.” 

“Surely, he can get someone else, Jess.” 

Jessica exhaled.  “Superman, it will be less disruptive if I’m already there, since I have to go talk to Amanda Marshall tomorrow morning.  She said she would meet me in Angela’s office, and with the lab still on a skeleton crew, I’m good with that, especially since we can’t go to the Governing Board meeting.” 

“Yeah, I’m videoconferencing with her when Booth goes to see her.”, Aubrey said quietly.  “Booth said it would be best.” 

“We don’t want to endanger my case in anyway by making it so Harold accidentally violates the restraining order.”  The redhead’s hand went up to interrupt her boyfriend’s protests. “It will be fine, Superman. Plus, Daisy wanted to come have lunch with me tomorrow, if that’s okay.” 

Disappointed, Aubrey nodded his head.  “Well, I think I’ll live...I can order in and get more paperwork done so I can leave earlier…perhaps I’ll beat you home…” 

“You wish, Superman…”, Jessica said before sitting up on her knees.  “Now, let’s forget about reporters, Governing Boards, and Harold Maxwell.” 

“What did you have in mind, Ms. Warren?”, Aubrey said, putting his hands behind his head. 

Jessica untied her bathrobe and slipped it off, revealing that she was indeed wearing the turquoise nightie.  Climbing on him, she straddled his waist as he moved up to meet her. “I did promise you the nightie...and I did promise to see all of you.” 

“Yes, you did.”  Aubrey pulled his t-shirt off and tossed it at the end of the bed, missing Skinner by a few inches.  “You look gorgeous, Jessica...but now I want to see all of you, too…” 

Grabbing her, he pulled her down on top of him, their laughter filling the room.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With next weekend being Labor Day Weekend, Love & Carbonite will also be taking the weekend off as Laura and I work on our amazing story while we try to enjoy the holiday with our families (I'm working...LOL). So we'll see you back here in two weeks and you'll find out what happens to the Maxwells and our favorite couple.


	63. A Storm on the Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to Love and Carbonite. Aubrey and Jessica are still dealing with the fallout after Jessica was assaulted at the lab. 
> 
> What are their next moves? 
> 
> Read on to find out.

 The morning was overcast outside the Mighty Hut II.  After getting Hank situated in his chair, Brennan poured two cups of coffee and set one next to Booth as he made pancakes on the stove.  Taking it, he drank greedily and then sighed in satisfaction. 

“Thanks, Bones.  I needed that.” 

“I know, Booth.”, Brennan said as she rubbed her husband’s arm.  “You were tossing and turning throughout the night.” 

“I’m sorry I kept you up.”, Booth replied as he flipped the pancakes.  “I was thinking about what’s going to happen later today...Harold Maxwell’s case...I can’t make any mistakes, Bones.  I can’t fail Jessica…” 

“You won’t, Booth.”  Brennan pulled berries and other assorted fruit from the refrigerator and began preparing fruit salads.  “Are you still meeting with Amanda later today?”

 “Yeah, I have a video conference scheduled at noon with her and Aubrey, so I can’t have lunch with you today.”, the agent stated.  “I told her I couldn’t comment on an ongoing investigation and she understood.  However, she did want information about Maxwell’s arrest yesterday.  What about you?.” 

“After Amanda talks to Ms. Warren, Hodgins and I will be meeting with her as well this morning.”  Brennan replied.  

“I’m here!”, Christine said before sliding up to her spot at the table.  

While Booth continued to work on breakfast, Brennan put their subject on hold to bring a bowl of fruit to Christine and Hank.  “Don’t forget to eat your fruit, Christine.  You need your Vitamin C.” 

“Yes, Mommy…” 

“Here comes the pancakes, clan!”, Booth boomed as he brought a large plate of of his famous pancakes to the table. 

“Pan-cakes…”, Hank said, clapping his chubby hands. 

“That’s my boy…”, Booth declared, putting one on a plate that he set in front of his wife.  “Appreciates good food like his dad...” 

“...and also likes to make a mess, like his dad.”  Brennan cut her son’s pancake before putting it in front of him.  “Are you coming to the meeting today as well?” 

Booth finished putting syrup on his pancakes.  “Yeah, I am.  Need me to bring you lunch?” 

“That would be appreciated.  Thank you.”  Brennan ate some of her fruit.  

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***  

Angela got Michael Vincent around in his bedroom as Hodgins got dressed.  When ready, he pulled his wheelchair over and climbed in before heading to the kitchen.  Seeing the cup of coffee his wife had poured for him waiting on the counter, he grabbed it and drank gratefully.  He’d tossed and turned throughout the night as worries about today crept into his mind. 

Running his fingers over the rim of his mug, he thought of the day ahead of him.  When he got to work, he had several phone calls to make before he and Dr. B met with Amanda Marshall.  He hoped to have time to eat lunch with Angela before going to the Governing Board meeting, where hopefully Harold Maxwell would get what was coming to him.

 Once again, a sick feeling settled in his stomach as he thought about what had happened to Jessica Wednesday.  Originally he was going to be there in the lab with her that day, but the genetic counselor had an opening that was close to the time of Angela’s OB appointment, so he’d gone with her to both.  With the security guard in the lab, he’d felt confident all would be fine. 

But it wasn’t fine…and it was his fault when once again, he’d let Jessica down as another Maxwell found a way to terrorize his intern…all because she wouldn’t have sex with Gerald Maxwell and then had stood up for herself. 

 “Some King of the Lab I’m turning out to be…I can’t get anything right…” 

“Shut up, Hodgins.  You’re an excellent King of the Lab.  You’re standing up for your intern so those pricks know that they can’t get away with that shit.” 

Startled, he turned around to see his wife scooping up a bowl of oatmeal she had cooking on the stove.  “Angie—” 

“Hodgins, you didn’t fail her, and I don’t want to hear you talking that way or I’ll kidnap one of the rats out of your home lab and you’ll never see it again.” 

“Angie...don’t throw innocent lives into this…”           

“Then listen to me when I say you’re a great lab director...and it’s not just because you’re my lover and boss.”, Angela admonished with a smile as she set the bowl on the table.  “Now get over here and have your breakfast.  Michael Vincent is going to eat all of it if you don’t get some first, and the baby’s hungry, too.” 

Smiling, Hodgins wheeled over to the table to join his wife as they waited for their son to come downstairs.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***  

            The headline jumped off the page at Harold Maxwell as he ate breakfast that morning. 

**_Maxco Head Charged with Assault and Bribery in Federal Case_**  

Throwing the paper aside, a wave of nausea overtook him.  While he was sure his attorney would be able to prevent the case from going to trial due to lack of solid evidence, the public would still be able to connect his company with a scandal involving that horrid young woman.   

If only his son would’ve shown some self restraint...but that wasn’t Gerald’s style.  Anxious to live the millionaire playboy lifestyle, Gerald had been prone to self indulgence most of his life.  Their other children maintained respectable lives...but not their eldest child...the one who was supposed to keep the family name intact...the one who was supposed become a legend in the field of Antiquities, which was the great passion of the Maxwell family. 

_‘.I can’t have him ruin the Maxwell name…he’s cleaning up his own damn messes for once.’_  

Hearing the front door slam, Harold looked up to see his son strolling nonchalantly toward the breakfast room. 

“What’s up, Pop?”  Snagging a piece of bacon, Gerald glanced at the newspaper.  “What time did you get home last night?” 

“It was after nine...where have you been, young man?  I thought you’d be home...you know, showing support for your father…your mother was quite upset.” 

“I spent the night with Ashley...she wanted a dose of the ol’ Maxwell magic wand, you know?  I had to give in, right?  She’s starting to get annoying and too clingy though...talking about making it permanent and shit like that…but I tell you what...for a quiet little mouse, she can give good head and she’ll do anything to keep me happy.  Besides, she’ll be useful to keep around until this bullshit with Jessica is done, and then I can cut her loose...after at least one more tug.”  Gerald looked at his father in surprise.  “You okay, Dad?” 

Harold could practically feel his blood pressure rise with his anger.  Red faced with rage, he shook his fist at his son.  “No, I’m not, because once again, I had to clean up one of your messes by offering that Warren whore a huge bribe to drop the charges.  However, that little bitch made a fuss to her FBI boyfriend and her bosses at the lab, so I was arrested for assault because I bruised her slightly...and I spent time in jail last night...and it’s now all over the damn news.  Our family is the top subject for gossip hounds and tabloids today...and all you can worry about is making your dick feel good?”

 Gerald stuffed a piece of bacon in his mouth.  “What the fuck, Dad!  You have no room to talk, especially when I caught you last week with your receptionist on her knees in your office.” 

Harold slammed his fist on the table.  “That’s enough out of you, you little shit.  My activities are discreet and are the business of only your mother and me.  We’re not talking about me anyway...we’re talking about you and your fucks ups…” 

  “Hey, you said cunts like Jessica owed us and and she does, especially after that Karen lady told us about all that shit she was saying about me at the lab.  You know, stuff like how she’s going to sue me for sexual harassment, that I piss my pants at work all the time, and that it was her that left that big box of  _Depends_  by my locker on my first day back after that bullshit suspension.”  Gerald began ripping up a piece of bacon.  “Plus that slut is also spreading rumors that I can’t get it up and that I’m a fucking fag...or even that thing she said after her asshole boyfriend was shot...you know, that I like women pissing on me!  How am I going to get laid when women hear that shit? The bitch wouldn’t let me fuck her when I gave her the chance, and now, she makes me sound like some kind of down low perv...” 

“Well, aren’t you?”, Harold asked through clenched teeth.  “The last girl I paid off said that you like things that were not...proper…” 

“Women should be glad someone like me is interested in them, not acting all high and mighty like they can get anyone better.  Isn’t that what you’ve always said...that they needed to know their place?”, Gerald said before chewing on more bacon.  “That firecrotch cunt is fucking that FBI agent and now thinks she’s better than me?  Hell, no...the bitch already got me screwed out of my internship at the Jeffersonian and now I’m fucked because I’m going to get kicked out of my program at GWU.” 

“You should have kept your damn mouth shut at the Halloween Gala and you wouldn’t have been suspended.”  Harold pointed a finger at his son.  “After all I did to get you into that program, you almost ruined all that we’ve worked for because you had to have the last word.” 

“I was provoked!  It’s not my fault that Dr. Miller is a stick in the mud asshole who thinks he’s better than me.  He was using me to flex his authority.  Now do something about Jessica Warren, Dad.  That fucking redheaded bitch is making me...us...look like shit.  Just offer her some more money or get that asshole FBI boyfriend of hers fired or something.  He acts like he’s better than me, too.  Considering his dad ripped people off for millions, he’s got some nerve to act all high and mighty.” 

“Philip Aubrey is a criminal, but at least his son can conduct himself with dignity in public.”, Harold said snidely.  “As I’m sure you recall, it wasn’t Agent Aubrey who made an ass of himself before pissing his pants in front of several guests at the Halloween Gala, embarrassing his family in the process.   I actually have more respect for that asshole FBI boyfriend of Ms. Warren’s than I do for my oldest son right now.” 

“What the fuck, Dad?”, Gerald bellowed.  “You’re taking that scrawny asshole’s side over mine?  He threatened to send me away from the Gala in an ambulance...just because I told that cunt the truth about herself.  Isn’t there some rule against that?” 

  Harold kept his temper under control so he wouldn’t assault his own son.  “No, because everyone that called Dr. Miller that night and the next morning stated that you were the aggressor, you little shit.  Now, get some control over yourself, young man or I won’t be able to stop you from going to jail.  I’m warning you now...if that happens, I won’t let you embarrass your mother or this family’s good name any longer.  I’ll let your little entitled, perverted ass rot in there.”  

Angry at his father, Gerald jumped up from his chair. “Hey, I’m already doing the hard part by playing the loyal boyfriend to that boring ass Ashley so I look good for the trial and I’m stuck with sneaking around to get some good sex.  Hell, all I could get last week with that hottie in your legal department was a quick fuck at a hotel while my girlfriend was having dessert in the restaurant downstairs!  She’s got a body that won’t quit--” 

“So your solution to man up was to vandalize that intern’s locker before breaking into her apartment and doing...those disgusting things you did?”  

“I had to teach that bitch a lesson, Dad!  She didn’t appreciate my interest in her and she doesn’t know her place.  You would think she would be grateful for my generosity in not pressing charges against her when she tried to steal my car, but instead, she refuses to fuck me even once when she’s given it to other guys at the museum, including interns in my department!  To be even  more insulting, she throws it my face that she’s fucking her holier than than thou glorified government cop ex boyfriend who doesn’t know his place and then she spreads nasty rumors about me!  How am I supposed to get laid when bitches like Jessica Warren get away with making me look bad?” 

Harold wiped away the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.  “Okay, that’s it.  You can’t keep your dick in your pants...you can’t find a woman in our social circle who will put up with you...you shamed this family by getting fired from your internship in the most prestigious Antiquities program on the Eastern Seaboard because you couldn’t control your temper...” 

“Jessica is saying shit about me--”

 “I don’t care!  You’ve wasted enough of my money and time.  I’m cutting you off...you’ll get no more money from me until you get your life straightened out.  The fact that you think with your cock is what got our family into this mess with that Warren girl, so you need to figure out how to get us out of it.”  Harold groaned in pain as he rubbed his chest.  “Just thinking about all this fucked up misery is giving me heartburn…” 

Gerald gaped at his father in shock.  “Wait just a fucking minute, Dad...you can’t cut me off.  I don’t have a job…I’m probably getting kicked out of my PhD program...I’m going on trial...” 

“Well, that’s your own goddamn fault, you lazy bastard.  My money paid for you to hire a PI to stalk that woman...it gave you enough leisure time to...pursue perverse interests...and I’m done.  I’m paying for the best criminal attorney in DC to defend you out of these charges...and she is not cheap...plus you live in our guest house rent free.  Outside of that, I guess you’ll have to figure things out on your own…” 

“I’ll just get some money from Mom…”, Gerald huffed.  “I can always count on her for a couple of thousand…” 

“I still control the checking account, Son.  I’ll make sure she doesn’t give you a dime.  Now, get out of my sight.  You’re making me sick.” 

Watching Gerald storm out of the room, Harold pushed his half-eaten breakfast away, too dizzy and nauseated to eat anything else.  Dealing with the young man had literally made him ill, and he suspected things would only get worse as new revelations cropped up about what Gerald had been doing to indulge his sexual desires and kinky fetishes in his spare time.  When he thought about what he’d read in the PI report on the last woman he’d had to pay off to hide Gerald’s fuck ups, it still made him ill. 

_Hopefully he doesn’t mess things up with that Ashley girl...or else the shit will hit the fan….if he does one more thing...he’s cleaning it up himself.  The Maxwell name can’t be tainted by a young man’s pique over not getting laid._

  ***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

 

Aubrey got ready for work in the bathroom, trying to forget the headlines of the Washington Post that he’d seen on his phone ten minutes earlier. 

Jessica would be going in at 10:00 and was assigned to catalog digital photographs in Angela’s office for the day.  It was irritating to him that she had to be exiled like that, but he understood why Hodgins and Dr. B had chosen to do what they did. 

As Aubrey combed his hair into place, he thought their discussion last night at dinner about her suing Gerald for damages in civil court. 

He’d pushed for her to sue Gerald since she’d had to shell out almost $1800 to replace the things the prick damaged in her apartment, to replace her tires, go through all the trouble of moving her trust fund account, and she wanted to repay Hodgins and Angela, who had been kind enough to pay her December rent for her as well buy her new phone.  Jessica disagreed, however, stating that while she had been brave in the past, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to poke the Maxwell dragon now.  She’d had the expenses approved by her father so she wouldn’t have to pay the trust fund back, and she was able to pay back Hodgins and Angela for their generosity.  Now, she wanted to focus on getting Gerald punished for assaulting and attempting to intimidate her instead.

He’d hoped to change her mind, but she was a stubborn lass.   _Which is another thing I love about her..._

Aubrey had also really wanted his girlfriend to stay home today.   There were still several lab technicians on vacation until Monday, but some had returned, and they could pick up the slack.  He didn't want her to have to deal with the stares from people and the gossip that would be going around the museum, but Jessica had refused.  She’d won the argument by simply stating,  _‘Superman, why should I hide from the Maxwells?’_

He smiled to himself in satisfaction.  He admired her guts and couldn’t be prouder of her for standing up against the Maxwells.   _I love how strong and independent she is..._

                It pissed him off that neither he nor his girlfriend could go to the Governing Board meeting.  However, Booth had been right when he’d said that they didn’t want to cause Harold Maxwell to scream  _‘entrapment’_  due to his restraining order.  Dr. B was certain that Harold would be kicked off the Governing Board and Caroline had said that if the elder Maxwell was removed it would help at Jessica’s trial.  Be that as it may, he didn’t want to count their chickens before they hatched.

                After leaving the lab yesterday, she had to make a trip to Towson to tell her father in person so Charlie wouldn’t find out from the news or another resident.  He smiled when he recalled what Jessica had told him as they made dinner.

                 _“Dad said, and I quote, ‘get that little mother fucker and his dad by the short and curlies, Jessie…’”_

_“Have I ever told you how much I love your dad?”_

                Unable to stop himself, Aubrey pushed the home button on his cell phone, and the article lit up the screen.

             ** _Maxco Head Charged with Assault and Bribery in Federal Case_**

 

                The article summarized what had happened Wednesday at the lab and the charges that were filed, including threatening a Federal Agent.  Shaking his head, Aubrey remembered how after they each got home last night, their evening was spent fielding calls from TMZ and local news affiliates in between their dinner and attempts to have a quiet night together.  Hannah Burley even had the balls to knock on their door asking for an exclusive until he put up the gate at the end of the driveway, something he never felt compelled to use before, even when the reporters camped out last month after he was shot.

                “Fucking vultures…”, he muttered to himself.  “Anything for a story, right?”

                But the Maxwells were a powerful family in this country...and they made news.  He moved back to his feed but saw a response on Twitter that made him angry from  ** _@Man4EqualRights_**.

                 ** _Hey @MSUBoneGirl, u need 2 shut up, get back in kitchen, bake bread, & knit._**

He hoped against hope that Jessica hadn’t seen this on her Twitter feed as she followed the Washington Post on there.  Clicking on the profile, he saw a picture of Paul Walters from the now disbanded  _Men Now_  organization.

“Fucking asshole…”, Aubrey muttered before whipping out a quick tweet in response.

**_@Man4EqualRights, u need 2 shut up & close your acct b4 another woman socks u in jaw again, u prick._ **

                He knew it wasn’t mature to respond to crap like that, but he couldn’t help it.

As he finished, he became troubled as he acknowledged the fact that while Jessica hadn’t faltered once in the last two days, he wished she would, even a little bit.  All of the stresses associated with what had happened and what would be coming in her immediate future were going to hit her hard eventually, and when they did, he hoped that he would be right there beside her.  As he knew from personal experience, the reality of what was coming didn’t always run on a time clock of convenience for the person.

Hearing his phone buzz, he picked it up and saw the message from Booth.

**_Change of plans.  AM meeting us both by video at 12 in my office._ **

Nodding, he sent a text back to Booth stating he would be there.  Coming out of the bathroom, he got dressed, put on his badge and sidearm, and walked downstairs, where he saw Jessica in the kitchen cooking breakfast.  Making his way through the living room, he could hear the television and it pissed him off when he heard Hannah Burley’s voice.

_‘Currently, Harold Maxwell is charged with assaulting a 28 year old intern at the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab.  His son, Gerald Maxwell,  is charged with burglary and vandalism in connection with the same woman.  When asked for a comment when he left FBI headquarters yesterday, Maxwell’s attorney, Janis Jergins responded, “Members of the Maxwell family do not assault women nor do they need to do so for any reason.  Our accuser is a liar and we will be vindicated in court.”_

“Jesus…Jess, why are you listening to this shit?”, Aubrey said before quickly turning it off.

“I wanted to hear if there was any more news about the Women’s March coming up on the 21st.”,  the redhead replied quietly before taking a breath.  “I’m almost done with the pussy hats all of us women are going to wear.  Andie and I made some for you guys, too.”

“I usually don’t wear pussies…I just like to play with a certain redhead’s...”, Aubrey responded, attempting to make her smile.  Instead of her usual sarcastic response, he caught the subtle shaking of her posture.  “Jessica…”

“Did I tell you that Dr. B was asked to speak at the March?”,  Jessica said quickly as she mixed eggs and other ingredients in a bowl.  “That’s so cool, you know?”

Aubrey walked in a brisk pace across the large living room towards the kitchen.  “Yeah, she told us at the FBI Gala and it is cool, Jessica, but--”

“She’s my mentor and she gets to speak at such a high profile event like that…one that’s a direct fuck you to Trump and all those other assholes who think women are second class citizens…she said if we wanted to we could go on stage with her…you know, Dr. Saroyan, Angela, Daisy, even me…she wants me to stand up there with her, too…”

Aubrey caught how hard she was mixing the items in the bowl and realized how close she was to breaking.  “Jessica…”

“I’m just an intern…”  Jessica’s voice began to crack.  “An intern who, depending on what newspaper or online article you read, is either standing up for my rights or just a troublemaking bitch who needs to shut up, stay in the kitchen, bake bread, and knit.”

When she finally broke down, Aubrey took her in his arms and held her.  “Sshhh, come on…it’s okay…it’s going to be all right...I promise...”

“What if people think I’m lying…what if they get off…”, she cried into his shoulder.  “They’re going to hurt my family...my dad...you…”

“They won’t get off…you hear me, Jessica.  We’re going to get those fuckers…starting today.  No way is Harold Maxwell going to stay on the Governing Board after all this…Gerald and his uptight father are not going to get away with hurting you.”

When Jessica had finally calmed down, she pulled out of his arms and saw the wet spot on his shirt after wiping her eyes.  “Damn it…I got your shirt wet.  I’m sorry, Superman…I washed your dress shirts after we got home Tuesday and they’re hanging in the laundry room…your blue one will go with this suit and tie...”

“It’ll dry, Jess.” , Aubrey replied, trying to put some humor in the situation.  “Now, those eggs are looking good.  What did you put in them?”

“Spinach, ham, and habanero cheese.”, Jessica replied, knowing what he was doing.  Appreciating his efforts, she gave a small smile in turn.  “I was going to make your five egg omelet but I wasn’t paying attention this morning, so it’s just going to be scrambled eggs with stuff.”

“Hey, it’s still good now matter you put it together.  Now, I’m going to start some bacon and toast while you work on that.”

Jessica smiled.  “Okay, but because you let me blubber, you’re now running late.  Are you doing to have time to sit and eat breakfast?  I can just put it in a container for you to take to the Hoover...”

“I can be a little late, Jess.”

“But--”

Aubrey held his hand up to interrupt her.  “I’m the Special Agent in Charge of my own division.  I think Genny and my agents will survive if I take an extra hour and enjoy some amazing food and time with my girlfriend this morning.”

Smiling, Jessica handing Aubrey the loaf of rye bread they picked up from Mr. Leonelli’s deli.  “Okay...if you insist, Aubrey.  Bacon is by the coffee machine.  I set your coffee cup and the cinnamon out next to it as well.”

“You know me so well.”  Aubrey kissed her on the cheek before moving to do his tasks.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Hodgins was at his desk studying all the papers in front of him when his office phone rang.  Picking it up, he immediately answered.  “Dr. Hodgins…you did, Carl…great…no, that’s impossible because Dr. Saroyan has been on leave since the end of August…No way, I’m the only one authorized to request access.  Not even Dr. B can…yeah, send it to me in an email and I check it.  Thanks for calling me back, Carl.”

Hodgins threw his phone aside in annoyance before an email popped up on his computer.  Going into his Microsoft Office application, he found the message from the head of Security.  Clicking on the attachment, he realized what happened.

“Son of a bitch.”, Hodgins muttered before he wheeled out from behind his desk and onto the floor, passing Angela and Brennan.

“Hodgins, where’s the fire?”, Angela yelled after her husband.

When they didn’t get an answer, the two followed him into Cam’s autopsy room, where they found him opening the bottom left drawer of her desk.

“Dr. Hodgins, what are you looking for?”

The entomologist continued to look for a few minutes.  “There it is…”  Pulling out a hanging folder from the back, he opened it and sighed. “That bitch…”

Angela saw her husband’s seething anger and got scared.  “Hodgins…what’s the matter?”

The man looked up to his wife and her colleague.  “When Cam needed to make a request for badge access to the lab, or any other security upgrade for an employee, she did most of the forms on the computer.  Her name is printed at the bottom, but she always signed them herself before sending it with the person to the Security Office.  With me covering for Cam, the forms have been printed with my name since they’re from my computer in the Ookey Room and I sign them with my name…”

Angela tapped her foot impatiently.  “Hodgins…I don’t understand…”

“Cam also keeps hard copies of forms in case the computers are down.  They just have to have the person’s information handwritten onto the form instead of typed onto the .pdf document…”  Hodgins tapped the bottom of the form to the point where the paper crinkled, “…then signed by the requester who used this form.”

Brennan realized what her colleague was saying.  “Dr. Hodgins, are you suggesting that Dr. Boyd completed a security request without consulting you?”

“I was just on the phone with Carl Andersen, the head of Security, and we had an interesting conversation.  It seems on November 2nd, she called to request lab access for Harold Maxwell, but Carl told her it had to come from either myself or Cam when she returned.”

“Is he sure of the date?”,  Angela asked.

“Yes, he is, because he documented the entire conversation after it happened.  He was suspicious of the timing since it was right after Gerald Maxwell was suspended.”,  Hodgins replied.  “Dr. Boyd asked him to make an exception as a personal request from one FBI employee to a former FBI employee, but he said no.  Then she tried to get him to circumvent procedure by reminding him that at that time Harold Maxwell was the President of the Governing Board.  He flat out told her that if she continued to push the issue, he would call me personally.  Her response was to hang up.”

“How did Harold Maxwell get a badge then?”, Angela prodded.

“As a favor, Carl checked all the security request forms in November and found Harold Maxwell’s, which was processed on November 30th.”

Brennan made a realization.  “Booth and Aubrey were shot…”

“And most of us were there at the hospital.  He sent the scanned form to me, and it was one that was handwritten on one of these with Cam’s name scribbled onto the bottom.  There was a new clerk training that week, and she didn’t know that I was working as interim director.  Of course, seeing the official request form had been allegedly signed by Dr. Saroyan, she processed the request and made the badge for Harold.”

“Dr. Boyd forged Cam’s signature...that is egregious…”

“Very well put, Dr. B.”, Hodgins replied before looking at the paper again.  “I don’t know when Dr. Boyd found these forms, but she either did this on the spur of the moment or the bitch bided her time until I wasn’t around to catch her.”

“Wow…she had some brass balls…”, Angela muttered.

“That’s not all, ladies.  When I talked to HR, I found out that she’d actually applied for Cam’s position...twice...the second time was when they were talking about firing Cam after we all took our sabbaticals.  Remember how you and I had to help intervene, Dr. B?”

“Yes...we stated that we would tender our resignations immediately and go public with why.  That explains Dr. Boyd’s hostility towards us.”  Brennan nodded.  “Harold Maxwell probably told her about what we did and therefore she views the two of us as the reasons why she didn’t get the job the second time…”

“While what you two did gave them a push, the Governing Board also knew that it would look bad if they fired Cam, because she was speaking the truth about the brain stuff with soldiers and we also solved two cases.”, Angela said.  “What a bitch...did she really think she could just come in and play kiss ass with people on the Governing Board so she could steal Cam’s job like that?”

“Well, Angie, I’ve also got an email from her stating that she’s going to be at the Governing Board hearing today to request her job back and if she doesn’t achieve that goal, she says she’ll pursue legal action, stating that she was unjustly fired by me.”

“You’re shitting me.”, Angela said.  “Why doesn’t she just go back to the FBI?”

Folding the paper, Hodgin shrugged.  “Don’t know.  I have a video conference meeting with Deputy Director Stark at 10:30 today.  He requested to personally speak to me, so it should be an interesting conversation as I’ve also got some questions for him.”

Hodgins wheeled out of the autopsy suite, determined to get answers.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Jessica spent the morning filing away digital photographs on the Angelatron.  Using the cataloging system Dr. Mayer had started, she examined them and used a built-in set of parameters created by one of Angela’s algorithms to file the bone away.  Part of it was tedious, but it did also help her towards her research, and she’d made screenshots for later use, saving them on her flash drive.

It also helped to keep her mind off her meeting with Amanda Marshall that she’d had an hour earlier in this room.

She had been nervous when the older woman had met with her, and it was hard to share what had happened all over again.  However, to her surprise, the new President of the Governing Board listened to her story without interruption and even asked about her interactions with Gerald before and after what occurred with her vehicle and apartment.  When she showed the woman her arm, Ms. Marshall had gasped before offering a sincere apology for all that had happened, with a promise that it would be immediately rectified.  After requesting that Jessica call her personally if she needed anything, the chairwoman walked out with Brennan and they chatted briefly before she left the lab.

She knew that Dr. B, Curly, and everyone else at the lab had believed her, but now she felt hopeful after the woman’s visit.  Her mentor had assured her that Amanda Marshall was a fair woman and that she would ensure that the board would take what had happened seriously.

As it got closer to lunch time, she began to feel better.  Daisy was bringing lunch to the lab today to hang out with her.  It would be nice to see her friend, although she knew Daisy would be mostly bitching about Beau, but it would distract her from her own problems.   Deciding to put her focus back on her work, Jessica continued her task, unaware of the person who stood in the doorway.

“You need to tell the truth to the Governing Board and stop lying about Mr. Maxwell trying to bribe you before it’s too late.”

Startled, Jessica turned around and saw Ashley, who was holding a package.  She was wearing a black skirt and pale pink turtleneck sweater whose neckline spilled onto her chin.  “Ashley…”

“You still have time to fix this…”, the other woman said in a croaking voice.  “If you tell the truth now, Jessica...maybe if you just say it was a misunderstanding, you won’t get into any trouble.  I’m sure the board will understand that you didn’t intend to lie.”

The redhead took a deep breath, remaining calm as she continued to work.  “I’m not lying about what happened with Harold Maxwell, and I won’t lie now to protect him.  He assaulted me and what he did was not only against the museum’s policy on personal conduct but also against the law.”

The petite woman stepped into the room.  “I know that you’re mad that Gerald wouldn’t go along with your plan to get back at Agent Aubrey, and that he rejected you after you two had sex, but enough is enough.  Accusing Mr. Maxwell of assaulting you is going too far.”

Jessica sighed softly as she glanced at her visitor.  “Is that what Gerald told you?  Ashley, he’s lying to you.  I had never made any plan with your boyfriend to get back at Aubrey…I didn’t even talk to him the day my tires were slashed, and the only man I was intimate with that night was  _my boyfriend_.”

“Gerald would never lie to me, Jessica.  He’s always respected you.  I admit he is a little bit frustrated still about the damages to his car from that tow truck back in October when you tried to take off with his car--”

 “Gerald is frustrated?  That’s rich.”  Jessica pushed back the other woman’s protest.  “I’m the one who’s frustrated.  He was the dick who groped me on the dance floor at Daisy’s wedding.  He was so pissed because I wouldn’t let him play grab ass with me in public that he got shitfaced to the point that I had to find another ride home.  A few days later, he came into the lab and begged for my forgiveness, and I was stupid enough to give him another chance.  I was rewarded by him showing up two hours late on our date to the Star Wars convention.  Then, he acted like he was doing me this big favor...like I owed it to him to just shut up about his disrespectful attitude towards me.  When he became a disgusting pig, Aubrey told him off and then the little baby left his keys behind.  I didn’t try to steal his car.  I can’t even drive a damn manual!  Why the hell would I try to steal it?”

“He loves his Alfa Romeo and is very protective of it, because it was a gift from his father.  You must have misunderstood—”

“I don’t think so…”  Jessica pulled up her sleeve and showed her wrist to Ashley. “As for Harold Maxwell, this is what he did to me after I turned out a bribe for $500,000 to drop the charges against his son two days ago.  Dr. Hodgins found out today that he asked Dr. Boyd to get him access to the lab.  You and I both know that anyone without the proper clearance has to be with an escort.  He had no business being in this lab.  The only reason for him coming here was to threaten me, Ashley.” 

Ashley winced at the large pattern of bruising, but continued to press forward.  “You just misunderstood what Mr. Maxwell was trying to do.  He just wanted to help you, don’t you get that?  He feels you have so much potential, and that it’s going to waste with Dr. B.  He wanted to prevent you from making a mistake that could cost you dearly.” 

Jessica stared at the young woman in surprise.  “What mistake was that, Ashley?  Testifying against a man who’s sexually harassed me?  Who terrorized me?  I haven’t slept in my apartment since Gerald broke in because I get nauseated just going in there, even if Aubrey or my friends go with me.  I wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone…”

“Why are you doing this, Jessica?  When Gerald gave in after you begged him to make love to you the night your tires were cut, it was a mistake, don’t you understand?  He’s apologized enough to you for leading you on, but you have a boyfriend you need to focus on instead of mine.  Now just admit you may be mistaken, apologize to the Maxwells, and we can all go on with our lives like nothing happened.  They’re very forgiving people…”

Jessica rolled her eyes in frustration.  “I’m not going to say this again.  I’ve never been intimate with Gerald, Ashley, and I never will be.  The only man I made love to that night was my boyfriend, James Aubrey.”, the redhead said calmly, remembering what they did was not actually making love, but the woman in front of her didn’t need to know that.  “Ashley, contrary to what lies Gerald has put into your head, I don’t care who he sleeps with...and I would love to concentrate on Aubrey, but when your fuckstick boyfriend and his father keep pushing me, it’s really hard to do so.”

“But Gerald said—"

“Your boyfriend is a liar, Ashley.  Has he told you about what happened his first day back from suspension?”, Jessica asked, fired up.  “First, he cornered me when I was alone while I was in Cultural Anthropology, threatening me until he was interrupted by Dr. Wilson.  Next, the Governing Board interns were sent down due to  _‘complaints_ ’ about my music, which no one could hear unless they entered the room.  Finally, Gerald cornered me in the locker room as I was getting ready to leave.  He sweet talked me by saying he was mistaken in threatening to sue me for damages to his car.  I thanked him, but when I tried to leave, he stopped me and proposed that I thank him by saying, and I quote,  _‘You give me what I want, which is a good time like you used to give to the other guys here, and I’ll let bygones be bygones with my car.’”_

“Gerald would never—”

“I refused and then it was like a switch flipped, because he did a 180, first by calling me a  _‘cunt’_  and then after I threatened to report him to Dr. Miller for sexual harassment, he said he wouldn’t let some  _‘redheaded bitch with a big mouth’_  ruin his internship here and that he wouldn’t let a  _‘firecrotch’_  like me ruin his future plans.  I should have called the police and filed charges then for assault, but I was stupid and blamed myself for what he did...which was totally wrong.  Then, of course, there was the lecture I got on my wardrobe after Harold Marshall was part of a tour of the lab.  He gave me a look that could kill when the perv wasn’t undressing me with his eyes.”

“Jessica, your skirts are short and could be misinterpreted as trying to provoke male interest.  Besides, Mr. Maxwell or Gerald didn’t intend to hurt you—"

“Bullshit, Ashley.  I could be wearing just a pair of panties here, but that doesn’t mean I’m automatically open for business.  Your boyfriend was pissed that I wouldn’t sleep with him and that I had the courage to call him out for the pig he is.  He was also humiliated when my boyfriend stood up for me...twice...with the second time making him pee his pants at the Halloween Gala.  Shit, his date ditched him after he humiliated her, too.”

“Stop it!”

“Then, he was pissed that instead of getting a free pass like in the past, his new boss in Antiquities held him accountable for his behavior and suspended him, although he could have canned his ass right then and there.  Of course,  Gerald blamed me because I didn’t lay down and spread my legs for him like he thought I should have.”

“You’re wrong.”

Keeping Aubrey’s suspicions about Karen to herself, Jessica pressed forward.  “All that stuff pissed Gerald off so much that on the night of that ice storm after Thanksgiving, he slashed my tires and vandalized my locker.  He destroyed my phone, tossed out my birth control pills and cut up my driver’s license and my credit cards before ditching my purse.  Of course, he wasn’t done yet, so he stole my keys and then broke into my apartment where he stole my trust fund bank book and my panties before sealing up my door lock and dresser drawers.  He couldn’t even stop there because as a final ‘fuck you’, he masturbated in my bedroom and jizzed all over my nightshirt, which was in my hamper.  All of that was before the fucking coward left for Florida.” 

“Gerald would never do something that awful, Jessica.  Just shut up!”

“No, Ashley, he would, because his DNA matched the semen on my nightshirt...and I didn’t save up his semen either, which I’m sure is what he told you.”

Jessica saw the other woman’s eyes widen and she realized she was right.  “Now, when Agent Shaw served him with a search warrant, he tried to stop the agents.  When they arrested him, he called her a bitch and threatened her job as well.  What did he tell you about the 41 pairs of panties and other lingerie the FBI found...including five of my pairs of underwear?  That he was framed by my boyfriend?  By me?  By the entire FBI?  What about the PI report they found hidden in a secret compartment of one of his bedroom dresser drawers?  You know, the report that was mentioned in the  _‘Washington Times’_  article that came out after his arrest?  They nicknamed it  _‘The Stalker Journal’,_ remember?  He had me followed from my apartment…from here…my father’s nursing home…my boyfriend’s home…Gerald had me followed, Ashley!  He stalked me!  He’s a sadistic monster who hates women!

“Gerald is not a monster!  You’ve misunderstood...”

Jessica was on a roll.  “And his father Harold?  He threatened not only my future, but also my boyfriend’s career with the FBI and he also threatened to ruin my family’s business.  On top of all that, he also called me a cunt, which is the most degrading thing to call a woman, and a redheaded bitch when I said no to his $500,000 bribe.  That’s not a misunderstanding…that’s intimidation, and I won’t stand for it anymore.”

Ashley shook her head in denial.  “You liar.  Not only did you set him up that night you two made love, but you’re spreading awful rumors about him here, too.”

“Gerald and I didn’t make love!  I’ve only made love to one man, and it’s the man I’m currently sharing a bed with, and although he was threatened as well by the Maxwell family, Agent Aubrey is also standing by me.  As for starting any rumors about your boyfriend, I really don’t care what he does, because I have my own life to lead.  Rumors are just that, and if he’s getting his tighty whities in a bunch over whatever gossip is going on about him, it must be true or else he wouldn’t care.”

The brunette pushed up her glasses and clenched her fists.  “Gerald’s friends have abandoned him, did you know what?  He called me this morning and told me that his father is cutting him off because you’ve gone public with your lies.  I’m practically all he has left!”

Jessica shrugged her shoulders, ready for the conversation to end.  “I guess when you’re caught assaulting and bribing a witness and it goes on the front page, I could see it pissing someone off.  It would me.  As for his friends, I guess realizing he’s a pervert is making them reconsider a friendship with the guy.”

Ashley shoved Jessica, who was surprised by her ferocity.  “You fucking bitch…I won’t let you destroy the man I love because you’re bitter and jealous.  You can’t have him.  You hear me!  You can’t have him!”

_‘Oh my God, is she taking psycho lessons from Karen?’_ Jessica thought, but remained calm.  “Ashley, I don’t want that asshole.  You can have Gerald because I’m in love with Aubrey and he’s more of a man that your prick significant other can ever aspire to.  You deserve much better than him, though, and I just pray that he doesn’t give you an STI the way he carries on with other women.” 

“You lying bitch…”

Taking a deep breath, Jessica straightened her lab coat, ignoring the daggers boring into her after her last comment.  “No, I’m telling the truth about Gerald and Harold Maxwell, and I’m sorry you don’t believe me, but I can’t let that dictate my actions.  I’m hopeful other women will come forward eventually, because I’m sure I’m not the only one he’s hurt with all this crap.  Now, I’m done talking to you about this.  Anything else you have to say about Gerald or Mr. Maxwell needs to go through Caroline Julian at the US Attorney’s office.”

As Jessica turned her back, Brennan walked into Angela’s office.  “Ms. Anders, why are you here?  Dr. Hodgins has assigned you to work in his laboratory today.”

Turning around, they saw a furious Brennan standing with her arms crossed, making the young entomologist turned red with embarrassment.  “I-I’m going there now, Dr. Brennan.  I just had a package that arrived at Dr. Hodgins’ office by mistake that I wanted to bring to Ms. Montenegro.”

“Well then, put it down on her desk and return to your assigned area.  There is no current project that should bring you into Anthropology or in contact with my interns.  Ms. Warren has work that I’ve assigned her to do and she doesn’t have time for your petty issues…now.”

Setting down the package, Ashley moved quickly to leave but was stopped by the anthropologist.  “Oh, Ms. Anders…if your misguided attempts to help your boyfriend interfere with Ms. Warren’s work again, I will report you to Dr. Hodgins with the recommendation that your internship under him be terminated.  Am I clear?”

“Yes, Dr. Brennan.”, the young woman said quietly before leaving quickly.

When Ashley was gone, Brennan turned to her intern.  “Ms. Warren, are you all right?”

“Yeah, Dr. B.  Please don’t get Ashley in trouble.  She’s has enough to worry about with Gerald.”

Brennan nodded.  “As long as she heeds my warning, things will be fine.  However, this is a forensics laboratory and work needs to continue.  Her issues with you belong outside of the lab.  I must commend you on how calm you were.”

“I don’t want to fight her, Dr. B.  My internship…and my case is too important to me.” Jessica shuddered before her phone buzzed.  “Dr. B, Daisy is leaving the NFL to come here for lunch.  Would you like to join us?”

“No, Ms. Warren.  Booth is bringing me lunch before the Governing Board meeting today but thank you for the invitation.”  Brennan nodded.  “Feel free to take your break when Daisy gets here.”

 “Okay.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

“That’s the most I can comment on in regards to Harold Maxwell’s case, Ms. Marshall.”,  Booth said to the computer.  “He did resist arrest and with the evidence we presented, the judge held him over for trial.  Judge Matthews also signed off on a personal protective order to keep him, his family members, and anyone who works for his company 100 yards away from her and Agent Aubrey here.  He’s as dangerous as his son.”

From the computer, Amanda Marshall nodded.   _“Two former Antiquities interns called me yesterday and what they had to say was very upsetting.  I’ve asked them to contact you, Agent Booth, and if they don’t by the end of the day I’ll give you their names.  I feel they should be given the chance to come forward themselves due to being...well...traumatized.”_

Booth nodded.  “Fair enough.”

_“I also did speak to Ms. Warren this morning and her story was disturbing, to say the least.  The Jeffersonian has a strict policy on sexual harassment that I helped draft myself.  No woman should have to go through what this young woman, or the others I’ve already spoken with did...and I’m determined that they won’t again.”_

“No, they shouldn’t, Ms. Marshall.”,  Aubrey said.  “What I want to know is how the hell did Harold Maxwell get that badge so easily?  Cam and Hodgins are very careful about that sort of thing, especially after what happened before...with the bombing.”       

Amanda nodded on the screen.  _“I understand your frustration, Agent Aubrey.  I’m quite upset as well, especially after our Director of Security explained how it was apparently forged by Dr. Boyd.  I’m even more distressed that Harold dismissed the security guard, leaving him alone with that girl.  That never should have happened and Carl Andersen agrees, which is why there will now always be two security guards in the lab, so if one goes to lunch or a break no employee will be left alone again.”_

“I can’t believe she thought she would get away with that.”, Booth commented.

_“I’ve discussed changes in how security requests are processed with Dr. Hodgins earlier today with Dr. Saroyan calling in.  To prevent something like this happening again, starting immediately, all completed request forms will either be scanned and sent in a secure email by himself or Dr. Saroyan or the form will be delivered personally by the person who approves it.  I think that will work  as an added security measure.”_

Aubrey nodded.  Booth, seeing that his fellow agent was satisfied, continued.  “Cam said that when she talked to some pathologists from the FBI at the Gala on the 30th, everyone was surprised that Dr. Boyd was hired ahead of other applicants.  What was that all about?”

_“When the lab posted the temporary pathologist position, Harold Maxwell volunteered to be charge of the search, and being that there was no reason to deny the request, the board voted to let him.  When they brought the resumes to the next meeting, the only choices were Dr. Boyd and two others.”_

“According to the FBI pathologists, there were six individuals from their lab that had applied for the position, and they all had the necessary qualification and security clearances.”, Aubrey said.

_“Yes, Dr. Saroyan contacted me after Dr. Hodgins informed her of Dr. Boyd’s dismissal.  Dr. Strohmeier let me know the same thing when I emailed him.  I can only assume that Harold Maxwell was determined to get Dr. Boyd hired and so he got rid of resumes from promising candidates.”, Amanda replied, linking her hands together.  “I called the HR department this morning and found out that when the position was created in 2006, she had applied.  When I contacted Dr. Goodman over at American University, he remembered her interview from all those years ago.”_

“It doesn’t surprise me.  Dr. Goodman has the memory of an elephant.”, Booth replied.

Amanda smiled.  _“It seems he does because he noted Dr. Boyd’s sense of entitlement and her non-specific answers to some of his questions about her relationships with employees.  She had also applied for the position when the board contemplated making a change in leadership in 2011.  As you know, the intervention of Dr. Brennan and Dr. Hodgins, along with the resolution of the Logan Bartlett case led to the retention of Dr. Saroyan.  I didn’t join the board until three years ago, but since I’ve been here, we’ve had no concerns with Camille Saroyan’s leadership.”_

_‘That was all bullshit.’_   Booth thought, remembering the events of year before when he returned from Afghanistan.  “So if you didn’t like Dr. Boyd, how did she get chosen?”

_“When she interviewed for the board this summer, her attitude was off putting and I didn’t get specific answers to my questions, and her mention of friendships with the Maxwell and other people didn’t sit well with me.  Three others on the board agreed, but Harold and Martin Pixler swayed the other members with the argument that her years of experience would be a valuable asset to the lab.  Unfortunately,  the dissenting members were outnumbered in a 5-4 vote and she was hired.”_

Booth pulled out a sheet of paper.  “Her husband is a vice-president at Maxco Enterprises and according to people at the FBI lab, she went to college with Harold Maxwell’s sister.  I guess she calls herself a  _‘friend of the family.’_ but others think it’s more of  _‘hanger on.’_.  She was the one who let Mr. Maxwell know when Ms. Warren was working, which a violation of lab policy regarding employee schedules, a policy she was very familiar with.  Mr. Maxwell also apparently told her that she would be taking over as director of the lab.  I’m not sure if he told her that to get Jessica’s schedule out of her or just to butter her up for intel, but either way, she shouldn’t be working at the lab.”

_“I agree.  She called me to requesting a one on one meeting, but I turned her down.  Under the circumstances, I think Dr. Hodgins’ actions were fair and just.  Of course, she disagreed and stated she planned to pursue legal action, which she is free to do, but she won’t win.”_ Amanda shuffled papers on the table in front of her.   _“Gentlemen, thank you for speaking to me.  I think I have what I need for the meeting at 2PM.”_

“Is Maxwell going to be there?”, Aubrey asked.

“Yes.  However, he won’t be anywhere near the lab, so reassure Ms. Warren, please, that we do take her safety, and everyone else’s, very seriously.”

“Will this be meeting be recorded like the others?”, Booth asked, not noticing that Aubrey was reading his phone.

“Yes.  Record keeping is important for our meeting minutes and we can forward you a copy if anything is pertinent to your case against Harold Maxwell.  Agent Booth, I will see you at the meeting this afternoon.”

“See you then Ms. Marshall”, Booth said as he ended the call.  Turning to his friend, he saw that Aubrey finished reading his phone and was wound up tight.  “What’s wrong?”

“Jess just sent me a message.  Ashley confronted her in Angela’s office.  She said it was minor but I don’t buy it.”

“Is she all right?”, Booth asked.

“She says she is.”  Aubrey replied in a quiet manner.  “But she always says that…”

_‘Time to defuse.’_   Booth thought.  “We need a break from all this.  Come on, Aubrey.  Let’s go to the diner.”

“I’m not hungry...I’m going to the Jeffersonian.”

“Aubrey, don’t make me kick your ass in front of all my agents.”, Booth said, jabbing his finger at his friend.  “If you go there and he’s there, Maxwell could call entrapment, especially if his asshole son is with him.  I’m not going to let you fuck up my case or Genny’s.  Understand?”

“But Jess--”

Booth stood up.  “Aubrey...she’s no physical threat to Jessica.  I’ll talk to your girlfriend later today because Caroline needs to know about this.”

“Booth, she’s misguided, but Ashley Anders is no criminal.  Gerald is using her.”

“I know.  It’s obvious that the prick is taking that girl for a ride and he’ll dump her when she’s no longer useful...or when he finds another gullible girl to use as a prop.  Caroline isn’t going to jail her...probably just scare the crap out of her.  Now...Jessica is fine..all is good.”

“But--”

“You’ll see Jessica tonight, Aubrey.  She’s probably going to want to celebrate or just have a quiet night at home away from the newspapers, reporters and shit.  You have to trust your girlfriend to take care of herself.”

Aubrey scowled at his friend.  “Big words from the guy who went nuts when you thought a dead Pelant was stalking you guys again, Booth.”

“Yeah, and Bones was also seven months pregnant at the time...but I had to trust her to take care of herself.  Now, let's get some lunch.”

Aubrey watched Booth get his coat and walk out of his office before following him.  “You think you’re so bad, don’t you?”

“I know I am, Aubrey.  Now go get your coat from your office...you’re getting cranky and Frankie has a triple bacon cheeseburger with your name on it...plus I have to feed Bones.”, Booth shot back as the two made their way through the Homicide bullpen.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

           

“Jessica, it’s not happening.  No way…no how.”

Jessica sipped her soup.  “Daisy, before making up your mind, why don’t you look at the job opportunities in the area?”

Daisy sipped her beverage.  “It’s Regina, Saskatchewan, Jessica.  Outside the city is all boring prairie.  He couldn’t get an offer from Toronto or even Vancouver.  No, I’m not leaving my dream job just to follow my husband to the sticks so he can throw a ball for peanuts for some team.”

“It’s more money than with the Redskins, though, even with the exchange rate, and Regina is a large city with a lot to do.  Besides, it could be educational for Lance.”,  Jessica said diplomatically.  “How does Beau feel about the offer?”

“He stoked, Jessica.  He’s all excited to try out…calling it our new beginning.  He says it will be good for Lance and a place for our friends to visit.  Beau is a grown man, not a teenager and he needs a normal job like a normal person.  Football is a game where men get paid to beat up each other over some ball.  Lancelot grew up to be an FBI psychologist.  Beau can do the same.”

“Daisy…don’t you think you two should talk about this…maybe compromise?  Maybe he can commute back here in between games and come back to the States in the off season?”

“I suggested that to him, but Beau disagrees, saying we need to be together as a family unit.  I said fine, then his place was here and he would find another job while I continued at the NFL.  Of course, he stormed out last night…and again this morning when we argued.”  Daisy stabbed her salad.  “He’s being such a baby.”

“Daisy…Football is Beau’s dream.”,  Jessica replied gently.  “The CFL is offering him a chance at second string and more money.  A player’s career is maybe 10 years on average.  Surely you can two work out a plan where he can have a few years playing football, then you guys can return to the States.  I’m sure he’ll be fine wherever you want to go to pursue a career after that.”

“No, because forensic anthropology positions don’t grow on trees, Jessica.  I’m not interested in teaching like you and Arastoo are.  I’m not going to work some CSI job because Beau wants to drag me to a foreign country.  No, my husband’s place is here in DC, whether that means taking the Redskins’ offer or doing something else.  All I have to do is put my foot down, just like you did with Aubrey.”

Jessica was confused.  “Dais, what are you talking about?”

“Come on, when Aubrey was offered the chance to go to LA, he almost went but he stayed to be with you.”

“Daisy…that was a little different.  First, Aubrey didn’t even talk to me about the offer...I found out from Dr. B.  He didn’t ask me to go with him until less than two weeks before his transfer date.  We weren’t in a good place at the time...and we also broke up the next day, remember?  It wasn’t until after Booth and Dr. B busted that woman who helped kill Mr. Keenan that the FBI offered him a promotion to stay here.  I wasn’t the reason he stayed….”

“Jessica, wake up.  You said you weren’t leaving and that you two had no future…he stayed because he loves you…it’s obvious.  If you can get Aubrey to stay, and you two aren’t even married, then I can get Beau to stay.”

The redhead felt that Daisy’s black and white view was a little harsh.  “Well, what will Beau do if he doesn’t play for the Redskins?  Can he work for his dad?”

Daisy slammed her fork down.  “That’s another thing.  One would think my father-in-law would want his son to work with him, but on New Year’s Eve, his father did a 180 and said Beau needed to _‘follow his dreams’_.”

“That’s strange…”

“I know…”  Daisy stabbed her salad again.  “He told Beau to not take the Redskins offer and instead find another team.  When I told Martin to quit pushing Beau towards chasing useless rainbows, he told me I needed to maybe be more supportive by either putting my career aside for a couple of years or working another type of job so Beau could play football elsewhere.”

Jessica sipped her Coke.  “I’m just surprised that Mr. Pixler would encourage his son to leave Washington DC.”

Daisy gave the redhead a face.  “Yeah, I tried to talk to you about that but Aubrey wouldn’t let you talk to me last weekend…”

“Daisy, I talked to you like five times on our vacation.  You called us before 7:00 in the morning and we were both sleeping since we had a late night.  It wasn’t an emergency.  Plus, he was just frustrated because he wanted me to himself for the weekend…and I wanted him to myself…”

“But you invited Andie and Wendell…”

Jessica exhaled softly, hoping her irritation wasn’t apparent.  “They were housesitting, and Aubrey thought it would be a nice gesture to thank them for doing that and for taking care of Skinner since they refused to get paid.  We weren’t shutting you out.  You had plans that Monday anyway, so stop blaming Aubrey.  I’m sorry that you didn’t agree with what he did.  However, as I’m respectful to Beau, you will be respectful to Aubrey.”

“Fine….”, Daisy trailed off when Oliver walked up to the break area.  “Hello, Oliver…I didn’t expect to see you today.”

The tall man turned and smirked.  “I’m here for another hour then I’m going to finish a project with Dr. Beesley at the NFL.”

“Jessica, sorry I have to eat and run…”  Daisy picked up her empty trays.  “I’m due back at the NFL.  I’ll see you later, Oliver.”

“I’ll see you later, Dr. Wick.”, Oliver said before leaving the area.

“I hope you all appreciate the genius that Dr. Oliver Wells brings to science.”, Daisy said wistfully before smiling at Jessica. “I’ll call you this weekend and check on you.”

“Thanks, Dais…”, Jessica said as her friend walked away.  Grabbing a french fry, she chewed thoughtfully before looking at the time.  _‘12:51...T minus 1 hour and eight minutes...why the hell does time pass by so slow…’_

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

Five hundred miles away, Karen was coming out of a briefing with the joint FBI-Cincinnati police task force she was working with.  Agent John Thomas had come along because he had connections with the Cincinnati police department before joining the FBI.  Impatiently, she waited as he was talking to an old friend.

_‘Hurry the fuck up, John.  I’m hungry and I wouldn’t mind taking part of our lunch break in my hotel room.’_ Karen thought.  The younger man was pretty good in bed and they had some things in common.  The fling would probably die out soon, but she didn’t want to be alone just yet.

Deciding she didn’t want to look stupid by waiting in the hall any longer, she walked over and got a cup of coffee from the nearby machine.  Sipping, she made a face.  “Damn, Aubrey’s cappuccinos taste better than this…”

Sitting down in a nearby lounge, she reviewed her notes as the television had Headline News on.  Suddenly, she heard something that got her attention.

_“There have been no new developments in the Harold Maxwell assault case.  To recap, he was arrested yesterday for assaulting the alleged victim in his son Gerald’s upcoming trial for burglary, stalking, and vandalism.”_

Karen’s jaw dropped as the news showed footage of Harold Maxwell being released from FBI Headquarters and jumping into a limousine with a woman who was identified as his lawyer.  After hearing the quote from his attorney, the jaw drop turned into a scowl.

“Is there anything that bitch won’t do for attention?  Although it couldn’t have happened to a nicer man...he was a dick when I spoke with him.”  Karen sipped her coffee before going back to her notes.  “You should have just arranged to fire her ass like I wanted, boys…now you’re fucked because she’s going to lie through her teeth so Aubrey will feel sorry for her.”


	64. Let Tomorrow Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So...Harold Maxwell goes in front of the Governing Board. How does that go?

The people attending the Governing Board meeting filed into the small banquet room shortly after 1:00 PM. Any reporters who had tried to get into the meeting were stopped by Security and sent back to the press pool on the other side of the hall. By 1:50, people were situated in their seats, waiting impatiently for the proceedings to start.

"Look at that bastard.", Hodgins said in annoyance, pointing across the room at Harold Maxwell, who was making small talk with Martin Pixler and another board member. "He's so goddamn smug."

"Yeah, but that smugness won't last long…", Booth said, turning at the sound of the opening door. "…and here comes Dr. Boyd. Damn, Bug Boy, she's giving you and Bones the stink eye…"

"Eyes do not become malodorous until the body begins its chemical breakdown after death…" Brennan paused when she saw her husband's amused expression. "Too literal? Sorry…oh, I think she's coming this way."

Katherine Boyd stopped in front of the threesome, standing stiffly as she spoke to them. "I just want to say I have no hard feelings towards you, Dr. Hodgins…"

Hodgins merely nodded. "Okay…"

Dr. Boyd continued with a haughty expression. "When I get my job back and I'm promoted to the Lab Director position, we will discuss respect. The way you spoke to Harold, a member of our Governing Board…and to me…is disgraceful. You're a valuable member of the lab's staff, Dr. Hodgins, but there are other bug people out there, and you can be replaced if your attitude doesn't improve dramatically."

The entomologist shrugged a shoulder as he pretended to be concerned. "That may be true. Of course, replacing me might not be as easy as you believe, because all of my possible replacements will also need to have doctorates in Mineralogy and Botany, just like I do. However, I'm sure you'll have applicants coming from all over the world, clamoring for the chance to work with you, Dr. Boyd. I'm sure the FBI will miss your pleasant presence, too…"

"The FBI didn't appreciate me enough, but the Jeffersonian is worthy of my experience in pathology, which will be recognized when the Governing Board gives me back my position."

"Temporary position.", Booth said with an artificial smile. "Cam is coming back on March 1st."

"Well, after today, she will be my subordinate." Dr. Boyd turned to Brennan. "The same conversation regarding respect will also commence with you, Dr. Brennan. Yes, you are supposedly the best in your field, but I'm sure there are others who are almost as good, especially since you have former students who have struck out on their own. I'm sure any one of them would jump at the chance to succeed you here at the Jeffersonian...Martin Pixler's daughter-in-law for one. I met her at one of his recent parties. Daisy is very ambitious and I'm sure she could give you a run for your money."

"Yes, Dr. Wick is ambitious, but it was my recommendation that got her the Head Forensic Anthropologist position at the NFL. She is also quite comfortable there, but you could certainly ask if she's interested in taking my job." Brennan stood up and stared at Dr. Boyd. "Dr. Edison once temporarily occupied my position when I was framed for murder, but it's very well known that he prefers his position as head of Cultural Anthropology. Dr. Fisher is another possibility, but he also didn't enjoy working with you the two days he was here last month, commenting that your time together was  _'mental prison'_. There's also Dr. Vaziri, but I'm sure you realize that he would never entertain working with the woman who took his wife's job."

"Finn Abernathy earned his doctorate six months ago…oh, but Opie just started that new position with the North Dakota Bureau of Investigation…" Hodgins smirked at Dr. Boyd. "He's a southern boy but he wanted to go where there was snow."

"Bones, didn't you say Wendell should have his PhD by the end of the summer?", Booth asked innocently, joining in on the fun.

"Yes, he will, Booth, but he plans to continue working with Dr. Anderson to earn his PhD in Medical Anthropology. While he could work in Forensic Anthropology, when he came to me with his idea for his dissertation several months ago, he indicated that his chosen career path will be to specialize in the medical side of anthropology."

"Oh, never mind…", Dr. Boyd said before storming off, causing the three to laugh among themselves.

"Was it something we said?", Hodgins asked with a shrug. "Sorry...not sorry…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Jessica had finished filing the last batch of photos that had been photographed. She had a couple of hours left in her scheduled day, and she contemplated what she could do next.

_'I could go photograph some more unidentified remains…I could also work on identifying more WWI veterans…since I'm ahead of my assigned tasks for today, Dr. B wouldn't begrudge me working on research for my thesis on Limbo's computer…starting next week my time will be limited to do that, although I am on schedule…'_

"Honey, it's okay to be nervous…"

Gasping as she turned around, Jessica saw Angela standing there with two cups and a paper bag. "Sorry…you startled me."

"I had a hunch I did." Angela set the drink carrier on the table. "Now, I took a walk to the coffee booth at the museum's entrance and got you a catnip tea and me a decaf coffee. I also picked us up a couple of treats…"

"Oh, my God!" Jessica groaned when she saw what Angela pulled out of the bag. "Their Bailey's Cheesecake…I love that cheesecake…but you can't eat that…"

"I know…but I can eat a piece of their white chocolate cherry cheesecake.", Angela smirked. "Now, don't make the pregnant lady wait, Jessica. Sit down and let's gorge."

Smiling, the redhead sat down with her friend and they enjoyed their cheesecake and beverages. "This…was just what I needed, Angela. Thank you."

"You're welcome…but it wasn't just for you. I enjoy your company, plus Michael Vincent has been asking if you can babysit for him again soon."

"Sounds like you and Curly have a date night coming up.", Jessica chuckled. "I'll check with Aubrey, but I don't think he'll mind Michael Vincent hanging out with us one night at our house."

_'Our house?'_  Angela took a bite to hide her smile at Jessica's slip. Nosy for gossip, she sipped her coffee. "So…how do you like living with Aubrey?"

Surprised, Jessica swallowed her cheesecake. "We're not living together…"

Angela looked at the young woman incredulously. "Jessica, you've spent every night there since Aubrey came home from the hospital."

Jessica stammered. "Superman needed me to take care of him…"

"…but Aubrey is doing alright now. I know you're scared to stay at the apartment alone, but..."

"Gerald Maxwell stole my lingerie, Angela…he violated my privacy…I think I have every right to be wary of being in my apartment. I'll move back there when I'm ready."

Angela could see this was a sensitive subject for her friend, so she decided to drop it for now. "Well, that's understandable. Of course, I'm sure that you and Aubrey have made your mark in the Mighty Hut these last couple of weeks now that he's…back in action. A month is a long time to go without sex..."

_'I went without for seven months while waiting for Aubrey...and it did suck...but it was worth the wait…'_  Jessica blushed as she scooped up another bite of cheesecake. "Christmas Eve was a lot of fun with just the two of us…and the sex was really good, Angela. Superman is very talented...in many ways..."

Angela chuckled. "When I moved into that big family mansion Hodgins had many moons ago, we made it a challenge to fuck in every room. Unfortunately, we only got about half way done before we bought our house on Warrington Way…but it was still really fun. Of course, it would be ideal if he could walk, but one thing about him being paralyzed is that we've discovered some new and creative things we can do in his wheelchair."

The two women laughed hysterically before Jessica calmed down. "Thanks, Angela…"

"For what, Jessica? I'm just bragging about my sexy husband.", the older woman replied before rubbing her belly. "It was one of the fun wheelchair times that produced this little guy."

"For taking my mind off what's going on in the other side of the museum.", Jessica said with another chuckle, pausing as a security guard came into the office.

"Ladies, we just got a call from the Security Office. There's been a bomb threat called in. We have to evacuate the museum."

"Are you shitting me?", Angela shot back before regretting her words. "No, of course you're not. Sorry. Okay, I'll just get my coat, and Ms. Warren needs to get hers from the locker room."

"Quickly…"

Grabbing their things, the two followed the security guard out the back exit through the employee entrance. When they were outside, Angela called Hodgins, who told them where he was waiting with Booth and Brennan. Seconds later, Jessica and Angela met up with the trio.

"Who the hell would be stupid enough to call in a bomb threat here?", Hodgins grumbled.

"Someone who doesn't want the Governing Board meeting to happen.", Booth said. "Whoever it was probably thought it would get canceled."

They stood around for ten minutes, idly chatting before a panting Aubrey ran up to them. "Jess…Jess…are you all right?"

Jessica felt guilty about his sudden appearance. "Oh shit, Superman…I should have called you. I'm sorry…I'm okay if you want to go back to work."

"It's fine…I wasn't getting anything done anyway, so Shaw kicked me out and told me to plan on having a long day on Monday." Aubrey turned to Booth. "Don't worry…I'll stay away from Maxwell, and when they have the meeting, I'll wait with you."

"Whomever called this in, if it's fake, this is a serious crime.", Brennan stated. "The consequences will be severe."

"Federal institution…federal case…it's a felony…", Booth replied.

"Up to 10 years in prison. If it wasn't Gerald Maxwell, I hope it was worth it to the person who called it in.", Aubrey remarked, reaching out to take his girlfriend's hand.

"Is Gerald really that stupid, Superman?", Jessica asked, but Aubrey only responded with a knowing look. "Okay, you have a point."

"You don't think it was Ashley, do you? She worked until 1:00 and then she was off for the rest of the day.", Angela said quietly. "She's so devoted to that chode…"

Aubrey shook his head. "Nah. The caller was male…that's what the Head of Security told me when I asked him where you all were. I've got Bower talking to the person who took the call over there. Even though it may be a burner cell, maybe Angela can track down the tower…"

"I hope this isn't an actual bomb, Booth.", Brennan muttered to her husband.

"Me too, Bones. Me, too."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

It wasn't until three hours later when the Bomb Squad cleared the building. By now, only a small handful of people remained due to it being the end of the day. Seeing Harold Maxwell talking to a few board members, Aubrey and Jessica made sure to stay over 100 yards away, as did Angela, Hodgins, Booth, and Brennan, who were now joined by Cam and Arastoo.

"Look at that prick…all smiling…he really thinks he's going to beat this…", Arastoo said.

"Oh, I think he's getting ready to leave…now Ms. Marshall is now talking to him…oh, he does not look very happy…", Cam interjected.

"Prick probably thought the meeting would be delayed…nope…", Booth chimed in, smiling with the group when they watched the elder Maxwell's agitated face.

"Jess, do you want to walk down to the diner?", Aubrey asked. "Maybe we could have a piece of pie…a chocolate shake might be nice..."

The redhead shook her head. "I'm too nervous to eat…can we just wait at the lab, Superman?"

Aubrey nodded. "Yeah, if no one cares."

"It's fine. I'll wait with you.", Angela said. "My dad's in town and he picked up Michael Vincent from school today. He's giving him guitar lessons at the house right now."

"Ms. Applegate is with Christine and Hank right now. Hopefully, we'll be out of here in a couple of hours.", Brennan lamented.

"Well, folks, let's get this thing started." Booth said as he saw people filtering back into the building. "Time to bring the bastard down."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"So you admit, Mr. Maxwell, that you did grab Ms. Warren's wrist?", Amanda Marshall asked, annoyed with the man in front of her.

"Yes, I grabbed Ms. Warren to stop her from leaving…merely because I didn't want her to misunderstand my reason for visiting her."

"You really must have wanted her to understand your intentions, because I saw her wrist, Mr. Maxwell. You left quite a bruise when you restrained her."

Harold Maxwell nodded contritely. "Yes, that was a miscalculation on my part. I truly didn't mean to hurt Ms. Warren. I would welcome the chance to apologize to her. I am even prepared to pay any medical bills she may have incurred from the injury."

"That seems reasonable, Mr. Maxwell.", Martin Pixler stated before turning to the other members. "My son Beau sometimes doesn't know his own strength, either."

"While your son is a professional football player, he also has no record of violence against women.", Cheri Hitchcock responded before holding up a picture of Jessica's wrist. "This picture disturbs me, Mr. Maxwell. Your meeting with Ms. Warren disturbs me as well. Surely you knew how it would appear not just to us, but to her as well…instead of calling a public meeting where she could bring her attorney, you instead chose to surprise the young woman at her place of employment...a young woman who so happens to also be a witness against your son in an upcoming trial… it was a meeting where you two just happened to be alone...a meeting where you offered her a $500,000  _'gift'…_ "

"To continue her education…", Harold gave the board members a million-dollar smile. "Yes, Ms. Hitchcock, I do understand how indiscreet it appears now. At the time, however, I saw a woman whose talents and intellect were being wasted as she did menial work with bones. This is a young woman, who joined Mensa when she was 17 years old and I know she could do so much more than taking measurements on old skeletons. I also didn't want her to think that our family were monsters, and I hoped I could convince her otherwise."

"So your visit wasn't just to offer her a financial gift, Harold?"

Harold exhaled. "Yes, it was mainly to offer her the gift, but I felt she need to know that all Gerald wants to do is complete his internship here at the Jeffersonian, so he can finish his Antiquities doctorate from George Washington University. He's a very smart young man who also has a lot to offer this institution and the field of Antiquities as well. He feels terrible about their misunderstanding and he hopes they can find a way to resolve things."

Hodgins crossed his arms as he spoke quietly to his friends. "Don't tell me that people buying this bullshit?"

"I think he has a couple of the board members on his side, but some others are giving him the stink eye, so we have that.", Booth said. "He hasn't won yet."

"I do not give my interns  _'menial work'_. Those are the tasks that prepare them for their future careers…Harold Maxwell may be well dressed, but he's most certainly a troglodyte."

"I know, Bones.", Booth replied before kissing his wife's cheek. "He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"You're trying to butter me up, Booth."

"No, I'm trying to love you, Bones…", Booth replied, indicating they should listen to the hearing at hand.

Amanda Marshall interjected a comment. "So Gerald wants to complete his internship here? Well, there is a significant issue with that, Mr. Maxwell."

Harold looked at his fellow board member with impatience. "I've explained that everything that occurred between Gerald and Ms. Warren is a misunderstanding, Amanda."

"Yes, you did, to some extent, but the issue I'm referring to his Gerald's background check…you know…the one the FBI conducts for us on all our potential interns? Even in Antiquities, they must pass certain security requirements because of the valuable artifacts they work with…"

Maxwell's eyes darted around the room as he thought quickly. "He hasn't been charged with any criminal offenses. You can see that for yourself."

"Well, an interesting thing happened this morning, Mr. Maxwell. I went to do just that, but when I asked Mr. Andersen to pull up your son's background check…there wasn't one. All of our interns and employees who began working here before and after Gerald started his internship have one, Mr. Maxwell. The question is…where is your son's?"

Harold Maxwell had a drop of sweat on his brow. "Well, that's something that should be taken up with the Security Office. However, my son has never been in trouble with the law. He did excellent work under Dr. Batuhan and Vanderbrook."

"I highly doubt that, Mr. Maxwell.", Dr. Miller shouted out.

Angry at the slight towards his son, Harold turned behind him and found the other man. "This man has had it out for my son since Day One. I don't know what his issue is with my family, but Gerald is being unfairly persecuted."

Rolling his eyes, the middle-aged curator came up to the microphone. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Governing Board, I'm here to confess…I do have an issue with Gerald Maxwell."

Hodgins' mouth dropped. "Really? David, what are you doing?"

At the microphone, Dr. Miller didn't hesitate as he continued. "My issue pertains to the fact that Gerald Maxwell was and still is a lazy son of a bitch. I was hired here to oversee Antiquities last April after Dr. Vanderbrook was fired when he was caught naked with his barely 18 year old co-op intern in a closet. Right from the start, all the staff curators I met with stated the same thing…Gerald Maxwell was not an ideal employee and an average intern on a good day."

"I beg your pardon, Dr. Miller!", Harold exclaimed. "My son is an excellent—"

"I did some research and what my subordinates described was correct." David looked over at Harold Maxwell, who glared daggers at him. "For those uninformed, he was always late for his shifts, and he regularly disappeared from Antiquities to flirt with other interns in various parts of the museum. More than once, he would sneak out early when he wanted to avoid work. Most of all, he copped an attitude when he was corrected in an action by the member of my staff...the very experts he was supposed to learn from."

Trying to ignore the headache that was forming between his eyes, Harold jumped to his son's defense. "Gerald is just overeager-"

Miller turned to the board members as he continued. "There were also excellent curators and other experts who tendered their resignations, who, when given an exit interview, stated as their reason for leaving the preferential treatment that Gerald was given by my last two predecessors."

"So you're stating that Drs. Batuhan and Vanderbrook turned a blind eye to all this...all the supposedly inappropriate things that Mr. Maxwell did as an intern here?", Martin Pixler asked with sarcasm. "That seems a bit ridiculous."

"Yes, it is ridiculous, especially considering that it went on for four years. I'm not sure why...money...prestige from being connected to the Maxwell family. I just know that Gerald Maxwell was a blight on the Antiquities Department and he didn't like that I chose to hold him accountable."

"You had it out for my son since Day One!", Harold yelled but was interrupted by Dr. Miller continuing to speak."

"However, in the last eight months, our department has once again become one of the best in North America. The reason for that is twofold: being associated with the Jeffersonian is in itself very prestigious, but it's also because I run my department fairly, and I've worked hard to weed out the inferior people to bring on board top caliber people. Currently, we have ten experts, six with their PhDs and four with Masters degrees. Our people have an average experience of 12 years post graduate work and are eager to help the interns learn their craft, so that their extensive knowledge can be passed on. However, Gerald always thought he knew better than them…which, of course, was not the case. I'm loathe to think of how many other qualified students were shut out of the opportunity to learn here because of that entitled young man taking their place."

Harold was livid. "You didn't give my son a chance!"

"Actually, sir, I did, but I have seven other interns to consider, and I would be doing Gerald no favors by looking the other way when he made his mistakes. I know Batuhan and Vanderbrook did so, and unfortunately for your son, that is not what a true mentor does. I've heard rumors about your son sexually harassing other interns at this institution, but no one came forward. In the end, the reason he is no longer an intern here is because I fired him for theft of Antiquities supplies and vandalism of another intern's locker and their property here at the museum."

Ray Stover moved into the microphone. "Are you referring to his alleged vandalism of Jessica's Warren's locker, which is one of the charges that led to his arrest last month?"

"Yes, I am, Mr. Stover." Dr. Miller answered before turning to the Maxwell patriarch. "When I suspended your son for his actions at the Halloween Gala last October, your son threatened me, telling me he would use your influence to terminate me from my position in retaliation and that he'd make sure that you would no longer donate to the Jeffersonian. When I confronted him with the evidence we had proving he vandalized Ms. Warren's property in the locker room before firing him, he tried to intimidate me with the same threat, but I wasn't going to let your influence dictate how I discipline one of my employees. To put it mildly, Gerald Maxwell is an entitled prick who used his size and power to terrorize interns and employees. It appears, Mr. Maxwell, that the apple didn't fall far from the tree."

"You're out of line, Dr. Miller!", Harold yelled. "I move that his entire testimony be stricken."

Martin Pixler was quiet until he got a stern look from the Senior Maxwell. "I second that, Mr. Maxwell. There's no reason to be insulting..."

"I disagree.", Amanda Marshall replied. "All opposed?"

Seven people raised their hands, much to the chagrin of Harold Maxwell and Martin Pixler. "The motion is denied, Mr. Maxwell. Now, I have something to say…actually more like something to show…"

Nodding to the security guard, he opened a door in the back of the room and three women walked through. As they sat down in a specific row of chairs near the Board, Harold Maxwell fought to remain calm.

_'What are those little bitches doing here?'_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

In Angela's office, Aubrey and Jessica watched  _'To Catch A Thief'_  on the Angelatron while sitting on Angela's couch.

"This cheesecake is amazing, Jess…why didn't I ever try it before?", Aubrey exclaimed before eating another bite of it.

"Because you always go straight for the donuts at the coffee booth." Jessica stole the fork but ate the last of her dessert halfheartedly. "What do you think is going on in there right now?"

"I don't know..." Aubrey opened his Almond Joy candy bar he'd bought from the vending machine. He offered half to Jessica, who shook her head no. "...but we haven't heard anything yet…so that's not a bad thing."

Before Jessica could comment, Angela returned with a Sprite. Sitting down in the chair, she propped her feet up, opened the can, and chugged. "Yum…been wanting one of these all day…had to steal it from Hodgins' stash in the Ookey Room."

"Angela, do you want the couch? Aubrey and I can share the chair…"

"No. I'm fine. If I lay on that couch, I may fall asleep.", Angela said, grabbing her cheesecake. "I'm still pissed some douchebag called in a bomb threat that kept me from this."

The couple watched Angela enjoy her dessert with a flourish. After a few seconds, the artist noticed the two watching her. "What? This is likely my last pregnancy…I want to enjoy it, damn it."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Amanda Marshall saw Harold Maxwell's look of shock and had to fight to keep the smile from her face.

"These ladies are former Antiquities interns here at the Jeffersonian. Ms. Joanna Stevens graduated in 2013, Ms. Andrea Davidson in 2014, and Ms. Heather Thomas is in her final year here. Ms. Davidson and Ms. Thomas are still in contact with other interns who work here, and when the news traveled around that we were having this meeting, the two decided to come talk to me. They mentioned that Ms. Stevens might have something to say as well, but before I could track her down, she called her former mentor, one of the curators in the Antiquities Department, who referred her to me."

"So?", Harold said, trying not to sound desperate. "How is this even relevant?"

"It's relevant, Harold, because each woman had a story to tell…and each story was disturbing to say the least.", Amanda said sternly as she turned to the three women. "Ms. Stevens, I'll have you speak first. I'd like the others wait outside, and each will come in one at a time with a security guard escort…because Harold will want to keep things honest."

Five minutes later, the petite auburn-haired girl spoke clearly as she continued her story. "For that entire semester, he was always asking me out and flirting with me. I turned him down but it was like a challenge to him. Finally, during the next semester, I flat out I told him I wasn't interested in going out with him because I already had a boyfriend. Instead of getting the message, Gerald got up in my face and threatened me by calling me a cunt and a tease."

"I'm sure you were upset by all that, Ms. Stevens.", Martin Pixler commented. "I know that I wouldn't take something like that lying down. Maybe you decided to wait before getting retribution like today's meeting-"

"That's enough, Mr. Pixler." Amanda stated firmly, recognizing what the man was doing. "Go ahead Ms. Stevens."

"Well, Mr. Pixler is right." Joanna took a breath. "I gave it right back by telling him if he didn't leave me alone, I would report him to Dr. Batuhan. The next day, I went to report the harassment to Dr. Batuhan, and he said he would look into it. However, I saw him with Gerald Maxwell an hour later laughing together like old friends. Two days after that, I found my locker had been broken into. When I looked to see the damage...my purse was gone. I had a box of condoms in the back of the locker I had bought on my lunch break and most of them were missing, although the empty box was left behind. The only other things missing were my keys…and the underwear that I kept with my spare set of clothes…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"After I told him off in the parking garage, he was a major jerk who threatened my internship unless I…" Ms. Davidson hesitated. "I'm sorry for the vulgar language...fucked him like the tease I was. I told him the next time he pulled his crap I would make a sexual harassment complaint. He response was to shove me into the ground, where I landed on a concrete marker and fractured my wrist. I was scared, but I pressed charges that night. Two days later, it was a Saturday, his father came by while I was working alone in an exam room."

The brunette wiped a tear from her eye and continued. "He offered me $125,000 dollars to  _'help with my education expenses'_  if I signed a form stating that everything that happened with Gerald was merely a misunderstanding. I said no, but then he raised it to $179,000, saying he knew it would pay off my father's mortgage."

"Ms. Davidson, what does your father's mortgage have to do with what happened?", Martin Pixler asked halfheartedly, greeted with Harold Maxwell's nod. "This is a meeting where an important man could lose his seat on the board that his family has held for four generations. We don't have time for your family's saga."

Andrea looked straight at Mr. PIxler. "My father had lost his job six months earlier and he was about to be foreclosed on. I was told to take the money, sign the affidavit, and drop the charges, or he would buy my dad's house from Bank of America and evict him…"

Booth connected one more of the dots. "That's the Bank of America payment."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"Gerald wanted a second date, but after the…very mediocre sex…and the fact that three pairs of my panties were missing afterwards…plus the fact that he was an egotistical jerk all evening…I wasn't interested. I told him no, but he continued to ask me out. Finally, I said I didn't want to date him and if he didn't leave me alone, I would file harassment charges against him. He looked at me...coldly and he threatened my internship, saying his father would get me fired from the museum unless I… _'gave him a good time.",_  Ms. Thomas said quietly. "I told him to…fuck off...not taking him seriously."

"What happened after that, Ms. Thomas?", Cheryl Hitchcock asked quietly, now very disgusted with her colleague on the board.

"Two weeks later, I accepted a date from my present boyfriend, who's an intern in Caribbean Studies. Gerald was really pissed about that, and he confronted me one night in the locker room...telling me that I owed it to him since I apparently… _'am open for business.'._

"Do you think he was just upset about being rejected?", Ray Stover asked. "I just think that kind of reaction sounds a bit extreme."

"I agree sir, but he was pissed, Mr. Stover. When I said no for the final time, he pushed me into the locker and said his father would make sure that I would never finish my program here. I pressed assault charges…but three days later, his father tracked me down while I was working on the weekend alone. He offered a check to help with my  _'educational expenses'_ …'"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Thirty minutes later, all testimony was heard and Amanda Marshall called a vote on the issue on the table.

"All in favor?", Amanda asked before seven people raised their hands. "All opposed?"

Harold Maxwell and Martin Pixler were the only two to raise their hands.

"Then it's official." Amanda turned to Harold. "Mr. Maxwell, you are no longer part of this Governing Board."

There was thunderous applause and whistling from Hodgins as people celebrated...or cried at Harold's dismissal. After about a minute, Amanda used the gavel to quiet the crowd. When there was order again, she turned first to Martin Pixler, whose head hung down, before moving directly to the CEO, barely keeping her disgust to a minimum.

"I think I speak for at least the six others on the board who aren't your lackeys when I say you are a repugnant individual. Not only did your son threaten these women, but you abused your power and prestige to terrorize them as well, pressuring them into being silent…allowing them to suffer at your son's hands…I'm even more disgusted that this institution allowed it to happen."

She turned to the three women, who were now seated in the front row. "On behalf of the Governing Board, I apologize for any suffering that has occurred here. We failed you ladies…and I hope today has not only helped you heal, but please realize it has also given us valuable lessons about how to handle this sort of issue in the future. We are indebted to you."

"Ms. Marshall…may I also propose that Mr. Maxwell and his son be banned from the entire Jeffersonian and underlying subsidiaries? We don't want the women here under our employ, either as interns or employees, to feel threatened by these men. I fear that they may use their presence as attendees at future museum functions to intimidate these women.", Cheri Hitchcock asked before turning to the three woman who testified. "On a personal note, I sincerely hope all of you will press criminal charges against this man…and against his son if you're able."

"You can't be serious! That is preposterous!", Harold roared as he stood up, ignoring the headache that was pounding in his head. "I'll sue…"

Ray Stover spoke into his microphone. "I second that motion."

"All in favor?", Amanda asked before raising her hand.

Seven raised their hands right away. Martin Pixler hesitated before holding his hand up as he avoided looking at Harold Maxwell, who was shooting daggers at the man.

"The motion carries.", Amanda Marshall replied before turning to the security guard by the door. "Would you please escort Mr. Maxwell out of the museum, please?"

"I still have things in the VIP lounge!"

"Of course, Harold.", the president replied, turning back to the guard. "Take him to the lounge, give him two minutes, then immediately escort him out. He is to be in his car in fifteen minutes or we will call the police and have him arrested for trespassing."

His pounding headache getting more intense, Harold became angrier. "You won't get away with this, Amanda. I have some very influential friends...friends who can determine how much funding this institution receives..."

Not acknowledging the threat, Amanda turned to the secretary. "We will also need a copy of the meeting transcript sent to Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI as soon as possible." She slammed the gavel down. "This meeting of the Governing Board is dismissed."

"Excuse me, Ms. Marshall." Dr. Boyd quickly stood up. "I had a motion I wanted to discuss with the board. I tried to talk to you in a private meeting, but you refused."

"Oh yes, you want to reinstated as Interim Pathologist here at the lab."

"No, I was to be the director of the lab...a job that was promised to me by Harold. Now, from the start, Dr. Hodgins and Dr. Brennan have done whatever they could to undermine me-"

Amanda turned to the pathologist with a bored expression. "Dr. Boyd, you're a two-faced politician who overplayed her hand instead of welcoming the opportunity to work with our lab. There's a good reason you were turned down for the pathologist job here when you applied both times and it's because you have the most inflated sense of self I've ever encountered.

Dr. Boyd turned white before recovering quickly. "But I was fired unjustly by Dr. Hodgins. He has let his friendship with Ms. Warren influence him, including being disrespectful—"

"I've talked to several people in the last couple days about you, and they paint you as a woman who refused to learn how things were done at the lab, expected everyone to work on your timetable, were quite disrespectful to the interns, as well as Drs. Brennan and Hodgins, and who threw around names of influential people she knew, including Mr. Maxwell, in an attempt to get her own way."

"So people are jealous of who I know-"

Amanda openly rolled her eyes in disgust, making the people sitting close to her snicker. "On top of that, Carl Anderson discussed a phone call you two had back in November when he informed you that the only way Harold Marshall could get an access pass in the lab was a request from Drs. Saroyan or Hodgins. You chose to forge a security pass for Harold Maxwell and broke security protocol by giving Jessica Warren's schedule out without clearing it with either Dr. Hodgins or Dr. Brennan first."

"Dr. Hodgins was quite rude when he dismissed me without reason-"

"He recorded the conversation you two had and it was completely professional. He showed considerable restraint considering that you forged a security pass request for a man who should have never unescorted access to the lab and then you gave Jessica Warren's schedule to Harold Maxwell, which led to an assault. Both of your actions are against the Medico-Lab policy. Now, you break the rules…you get fired. End of story."

"But Harold promised me that I was taking over at lab director…", Dr. Boyd pleaded.

Amanda stood ramrod straight as she stared down Dr. Boyd. "So you were bribed into breaking the rules? You're a federal contractor and that sort of solicitation is against the law."

Dr. Boyd tried to backtrack when she realized what she said. "No, I...Harold had a right to know what was going on at the lab, Ms. Marshall."

"Unless there is a crime being committed or flagrant violation of museum policy, those of us on the board don't need to be involved in the minutiae of their operation if they are following federal guidelines. As for offering you the job of lab director, Harold Maxwell has no authority to make that determination alone."

"But-"

"You played the game, Dr. Boyd, but you got taken by a better player. Now, you're not getting your position back here...or another one here...ever. You had a chance to make things work and perhaps learn from them, but your ego wouldn't allow it. Enjoy your return to the FBI, Dr. Boyd."

"But...I'm not working there anymore either."

Amanda gave her a bland look. "So what are we supposed to do? Fire Camille Saroyan because you thought sucking up to a Governing Board member would get you inside here?"

"Well-"

"We're done, Dr. Boyd. Good luck with whatever lab will have you."

"You're leaving me no choice but to consider legal action against the lab, Ms. Marshall."

The chairwoman merely stared Dr. Boyd down. "Please do so, Katherine. When you do sue us, the transcripts from today's hearing will be brought into evidence. Your words suggest you broke the law for a non-existent job promotion. I for one can't wait for charges to be brought against you. I'll let the museum lawyers know to expect the summons. Good luck in your future endeavors."

The blonde grew pale as the Board left the room. Turning around, she saw Booth, Brennan, and Hodgins, along with Cam and Arastoo, all who were smiling broadly. Storming towards the exit, she gave them all the finger before leaving.

"Ah…there's the Dr. Boyd we know and love.", Hodgins replied as he merely waved in response.

The group then watched as Harold Maxwell wrenched his arm away from the security guard and marched out of the room. Arastoo felt his phone vibrate and looking down, he turned to Cam.

"Isaiah is calling us. I'll wait for you outside, Cam."

"No, I'm coming with you." Cam turned to her friend. "We'll see you all in the hall."

When Cam and Arastoo left, a sobered Brennan turned to her colleague.

"Hodgins, as much as I have enjoyed Dr. Boyd's termination, there's still the question of an interim pathologist. Is Cam coming back early…"

"Dr. Thompson from the FBI will be reporting Monday morning. We're going to share her, as she's only part time there. Cam talked to her colleagues at the gala last Friday and then got together with her last night at FBI Headquarters. She's young, but very bright, thinks quickly on her feet and comes highly recommended from her colleagues…and she hates drama, I'm told. If she's as good as I hear, we may be able to use her as a permanent substitute pathologist...or if that part time pathologist position ever opens, we can snag her."

"Excellent.", Brennan replied. "Some sense of…normalcy in the lab would be nice for a change. I'm sure Cam is relieved to not have to return early from her sabbatical. I know how important it was for her to take this time off with the boys."

"Their home visit with the social worker is coming up in a couple of weeks, so she and Arastoo are stressing about that.", Booth added.

"Well, if all goes well, the adoption hearing is scheduled during the last week of February. That would be cool…Cam returning to work as a mom.", Hodgins added.

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the three interns who had testified at the meeting. "Agent Booth?"

"Yes?", Booth replied, hoping their arrival was a good sign.

"The three of us were talking…", Heather began. "…and we think we want to press charges against Harold and Gerald Maxwell if we can…"

"Well…all of the alleged interactions occurred less than five years ago…I can make no guarantees if the charges will stick, but I think that old buzzard's case will be fun…and you all deserve the chance to try. Let's go down to my office at the Hoover and I'll take your statements, and afterwards I'll call the US Attorney's office and DCPD. If the statute of limitations has passed, then, at the very least, you could get him in civil court."

"Thank you…", Heather said, offering a small smile.

Booth scratched the back of his head, not looking forward to his next request. "However, there are some...articles that were found at Gerald Maxwell's house last month. Most are unidentified, but do you think you all could come to the Hoover and try to identify some of them?"

"He stole other women's underwear?", Joanna shook her head. "What a perv...yes, I can look."

When Booth got affirmatives from the other two women, he turned to his wife. "Bones, I'll see you later tonight. Don't wait up."

"I'll wait up.", Brennan stated with a no-nonsense look.

The agent nodded. Turning to the women he gestured for them to walk ahead. "You can follow me in my vehicle or I can drive you all over there."

When Booth left, Hodgins turned to Brennan. "Dr. B, let's go give Angie, Aubrey, and Jessica the good news."

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

Hodgins held up his bottle of beer. "To a piece of shit getting what's coming to him."

"To a piece of shit!", Aubrey, Jessica, Cam, Arastoo, and Angela declared, holding up their beers, wine, and club soda.

"To a piece of fecal matter!", Brennan joined in while clanking her bottle with the others.

"Jessica, I'm sure having him kicked off the Governing Board is big relief to you.", Cam said. "I'm just so sorry this happened to you."

The redhead tucked her hair behind her ear. "It's okay, Dr. Saroyan, and yes, I'm relieved. I'll be even more relieved when Gerald and his father get what's coming to them in court."

"Gerald Maxwell is an asshole.", Arastoo stated bluntly. "He can't take rejection, so he sexually harasses women, assaults them when they stand up for themselves, then he steals their underwear. What a perv…"

"Yes he is…", Booth said as he joined the table. Seeing his wife point to a beer, he sat down gratefully. "Thanks, Bones. I'm glad you decided not to go home just yet."

"Mrs. Applegate said Hank and Christine could spend the night with her and we can go get them in the morning."

"So Booth...can we get Maxwell?", Aubrey asked.

"All of the complaints fit into the federal statute of limitations. Caroline says it's a long shot, but just pressing the charges will not only give these ladies some closure, but it will send a message. I'm hoping more women come forward in the coming weeks." Booth turned to Jessica. "She said that since there's a pattern with Gerald and how he treated the other victims, she's going to try to get it introduced in court as a previous act of sexual abuse, which might make it aggravated assault. It's a long shot, but with those women pressing charges against him, it may work."

"Did you get anything from the phone number I was able to trace?", Angela asked.

"It was a burner phone, but it pinged off a cell tower three miles away from Maxco Enterprises in Vienna, Virginia."

"You think it was Dumbass?", Hodgins asked.

"Him or one of his girlfriends with a masculine voice.", Booth said as the appetizers were brought to the table. When all the platters were unloaded from the servers' trays, Booth looked around in mock surprise. "Where's the Army, Aubrey?"

"It's half price appetizers, Booth.", Aubrey chided before stealing a slider. "Besides I couldn't decide what I wanted, so I ordered one of everything."

"This is where we go most Friday nights...then we usually go home and watch a movie together.", Jessica stated before taking a bite of the slider Aubrey offered.  _'Or we start watching a movie…and then we get distracted...'_

"So domesticated. That is very cute.", Booth said mockingly.

Aubrey's eyes narrowed. "Something you want to say, Booth?"

Brennan stole a potato skin and picked off the bacon before eating it. "He's merely noting how you and Ms. Warren have a domestic routine. With her living with you during the last month, it's to be expected. Booth and I moved in together when I was five months pregnant with Christine and it wasn't long before we had...special routines of our own."

"Bones!", Booth admonished before turning pink. "Ix Nay on that stuff."

"We're not living together….", Aubrey stuttered.

"I was just taking care of Aubrey and with the trial coming up, Aubrey's house is more secure...plus I've become attached to Skinner."

"You love my cat…", Aubrey agreed.

Jessica sipped her beer. "I do. He kept me company while I did your laundry Tuesday night...after I fed him, of course."

"I had to shoo him away from your clean laundry before I folded it last week and put it away in our bedroom…", Aubrey sipped his beer. "Oh, we should pick up that drying rack you need for the laundry room tomorrow while we run errands."

Jessica's face brightened as she thought of something else they needed. "Oh, Cap'n Crunch is on sale at Kroger's, so we need to pick that up while we're grocery shopping. They have some good deals this week. We also need to hit Pet Smart because Skinner needs more food and litter for his boxes."

The other couples watched as Aubrey and Jessica bantered back and forth about various domestic things. "They don't realize yet that they're living together?", Cam asked quietly.

"Nope...not a clue.", Booth smirked.

"Should someone bring their attention to that fact, Booth?", Brennan asked.

Not realizing they were topic of discussion, Jessica finished chewing her mozzarella cheese stick. "You need to strip the sheets on the beds this weekend, Aubrey, so I can do the laundry on Sunday."

"Can do, Jess. Maybe after I change out Skinner's litter boxes tomorrow, if the weather is decent, maybe I can fire up the grill?"

"Sounds amazing…", Jessica said before giving her boyfriend a peck on the lips. "How about some steaks? Or do want shrimp this time?"

"Why not both?", Aubrey responded before stealing a potato skin.

The other couples continued to watch the youngest pair banter and Booth smiled. "No, Bones...they'll figure it out eventually."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Gerald and Ashley had arrived at the entrance of Founding Fathers when the woman stopped, turning to face him.

"Ashley...what the fuck? I'm hungry and I'm still pissed about my father giving me the riot act for what happened at the Governing Board meeting.", the former intern growled. "I mean, he was the one who fucked up, not me. He barricaded himself in the study when he got home and will only speak to my mother about what happened. Damn, I need a few shots."

Ashley thought if anyone deserved a drink it was Harold Maxwell, but kept her thoughts to herself. "Maybe when he calms down, he can tell you what happened. Since those meetings aren't made public, it's not going to be on the news, so there's that."

"But this shit spreads like wildfire all over DC. When it comes out that he got bumped from the Board, it's going to make me look bad, Ashley."

"I'm sorry, Gerald." Ashley tried to rub his arm but he turned around.

"Enough of the pity, Ashley. I'm hungry and need a drink. Let's go inside." When she stopped him a second time. "Damn it! What's your problem?"

"Gerald, Jessica is inside."

"What?", he barked, looking through the window. "Son of a bitch...what is that fire crotch cunt doing here?"

Ashley gulped as she hesitated before speaking. "Gerald...those are really ugly words…"

"Yeah, well, it's the truth. Jessica Warren a fucking cunt, Ashley. She's acts like she's better than me and she's going to ruin my life because doesn't know her place. It's bullshit that I can't go out and get a fucking drink without running into that fire crotch!"

"You'll prove your innocence in court, Gerald. I have faith in that.", Ashley said quietly before rubbing his arm. "Come on, let's get a drink at Franklin's…"

"Why the hell should I go to that shitty place? I want to go here. Jessica may think she's winning but that fucking slut is going to get what's coming to her…"

Gerald looked back in the window and his anger was mixed with lust as Jessica got up and he got a view of her posterior. Getting tunnel vision, he stared as she ordered up at the bar, an erection forming as he pictured himself lying on top of her and pumping her hard as he taught her a lesson.

' _She's going to learn one of many very soon...'_ Gerald thought, thinking of what he did this afternoon. "That bitch should have just shown me a good time like she did with the other guys at the museum instead of spreading her legs for that asshole FBI agent…and rubbing it in my face and spewing that bullshit about me."

Ashley didn't hear what her boyfriend muttered but noted her his physical reaction and felt shamed as he never looked at her that way. "Gerald...let's go home…we can order a pizza and then I want to show you the dress that I bought for your cousin's wedding tomorrow night."

Snapping out of his trance, he turned to the mousy woman in front of him. Yes, she was his girlfriend in public, but the clinginess and devotion she exhibited were becoming annoying. However, he couldn't get laid as much since his arrest. Sheila hadn't returned his calls since after the Halloween Gala. Madison was now dating that prick from that fancy ass law firm in Great Falls. Naomi was just being a damn snob...saying being around him was making her look bad. Michelle from Maxco's legal department said she wasn't interested in another romp until he got rid of Ashley...which sucked because she was awesome in the sack.

But he needed Ashley until his trial ended. She made him look good as the devoted girlfriend who was standing by him throughout his troubles. She could also give decent head, and she always wanted to make him happy. That was definitely a plus in her favor.

Weighing his options, he decided he had earned more than a few shots today. Ashley had proved herself willing to do anything he wanted in the bedroom...so why not take advantage?

Smirking at the petite woman, he caressed her face before moving down and pulling down the turtleneck, revealing a bruise on her neck. "Yes, Ashley...let's go home...I should make sure you got the right dress so I don't look like shit tomorrow night, plus you can make it up to me for stupidly trying to appeal to Jessica Warren to drop the charges today. You made me look bad."

"I'm sorry, Gerald."

The tall man couldn't hold back his fury. "You better hope I don't go to jail, Ashley...or you, either, for that matter."

Trying to make him happy again, she became apologetic. "I just wanted her to stop lying about you, Gerald."

"Well, now everyone is going to think I put you up to nagging Jessica and if she goes to the prosecutor, I'm fucked. They'll also blame me for that bomb threat."

"But you said you didn't call in the bomb threat. To do that is a federal offense. It would pretty stupid for anyone to do that."

Irritated at the insinuation, Gerald grabbed her wrist and squeezed hard, making her cry out. "Quit acting like your smarter than anyone else because you're making me look stupid!"

"Gerald…"

Getting a perverse thrill at Ashley's pain, he squeezed even harder. "Now, use your damn brain next time and keep your mouth shut or I'll find another woman who will appreciate what it means to be my girlfriend."

"Gerald, you're hurting me...I'm sorry...I love you…"

Deciding the lesson was learned, the scion let go of her wrist. "Come on, I'm stressed out and I need to relieve it."

Ashley took a deep breath and pulled the turtleneck up to her chin. Taking the hand Gerald offered, they walked down the street to his Alfa Romeo

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"Aubrey, I'm going to take a shower before going to bed.", Jessica said as she pulled her dress off and tossing it in the hamper. "Do you need to pee before I do so?"

"No, I'm good.", Aubrey said, smiling as he admired her lithe body as she stripped her lingerie.

"I'll be out in a bit." Jessica kissed him, grabbed her pajamas, and went into the bathroom.

When she disappeared from view, Aubrey took off his jacket, tie, and then his pants before hanging them up. He had his shirt unbuttoned when tonight's topic of conversation came back to him.

' _We aren't living together...she's here with me until she's ready to go back to her apartment...living together is a big step...but are we there yet?'_

Yes, he wanted a permanent commitment from Jessica...but right now? Except for the prick duo of Gerald and Harold Maxwell, things were going great. However, it was nice having her here with him when he went to sleep and it was nice that they wake up together every morning.

Shaking off his thoughts, he wandered over to his bay window and grabbed his guitar. After strumming a few measures, he started to sing as he thought of his relationship with Jessica.

_**Summer rain taps at my window** _

_**West wind soft as a sweet dream** _

_**My love warm as the sunshine** _

_**Sittin' here by me, she's here by me** _

In the bathroom, Jessica finished her shower as she also contemplated her conversation with Angela.  _'Are we living together? I'm staying here because I'm not ready to go back to my apartment, right? I mean...Aubrey's house has the latest security, so I'm safe here.'_

She thought about what had been said earlier at Founding Fathers. Aubrey had jumped in really quickly to deny they were living together after they were teased by their friends.  _'I just have to be patient with him…but honestly...am I ready for that step?'_

Turning off the water, she thought she heard music. When Jessica got out to dry off, she realized it was her boyfriend's guitar and voice.

_**We sailed into the sunset** _

_**Drifted home, caught by a gulf stream** _

_**Never gave a thought for tomorrow** _

_**Just let tomorrow be, now, let tomorrow be** _

' _And he plays a mean Johnny Rivers, too.'_ Jessica thought before grabbing her tank top and pajama pants hanging on the back of the door and tossing them on before she stepped out of the bathroom. Seeing Aubrey at the bay window, she came and sat in front of him as he continued to sing.

_**The snow drifts by my window** _

_**North wind blowin' like thunder** _

_**Our love's burnin' like fire** _

_**And she's here by me, yeah, she's here with me** _

_**Let tomorrow be...** _

When Aubrey finished, Jessica sighed. "So, Aubrey...what brought that on? I do love that song, but...not your traditional fare."

Aubrey shrugged. "Thinking about tonight...I don't know...it popped in my head...it reminds me of us…"

Jessica smiled. "Well, you did finally kiss me in May…"

Sensing the playful mood, he flirted right back. "Uh, you kissed me on the cold, wet sidewalk after I saved your life, Jessica."

"Well, you were my hero, James Aubrey...and still are." Jessica took a breath. "Do you want to talk about us living together?"

"If you want to, but...I liked our original idea of getting through the trial first, Jess." Aubrey exhaled and shook his head. "We're starting to listen to other people again…"

"People thought we were doing things wrong.", Jessica replied. "But we're not…"

"Because it works for us.", the agent said before putting the guitar down. "How about we go back to ignoring everyone unless we ask for advice?"

"Sounds good.", Jessica said, moving to sit in front of Aubrey with her back against his chest.

They sat silently and looked out the window for a few minutes before Aubrey smelled the cherry essence from Jessica's shampoo. "Now, Jessica...tell me how you're feeling about today."

"Relieved...scared...happy...angry…", she said quietly. "I'm feeling a lot of things right now."

Aubrey kissed her head again. "Have you reconsidered my idea of suing Gerald?"

"Superman…"

"Jess, he caused $1800 dollars worth of damage to your property, including your cell phone. In addition, you had to pay cash to replace your birth control pills, you had a major headache when you went through all the shit of your trust fund frozen and having to open a new account because of it. That led to you having to borrow from Hodgins and Angela to cover your rent and a new phone." Aubrey felt guilty that it wasn't him who had stepped in to help her with those expenses. "The bastard needs to pay for all that."

"I'll think about it, all right?", Jessica said. "The trial is in two and half weeks from now and I just want to get through all that first."

Aubrey thought about something. "Has your mother called you since all this crap started going down?"

"Nope...not a word. She's probably pissed because it's making her look bad." The anthropologist shook her head. "Let's not talk about her, okay? I would much rather enjoy sitting here with you tonight, Superman."

"I think we can do that, Jessica.", Aubrey replied before holding her closer. "We can sit here as long as we want, and let tomorrow be…"


	65. It's Always Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our favorite couple seems to be doing really well right now. Time for a pleasant respite from work...

The weekend was supposed to be a quiet one for Jessica and Aubrey, and they had purposely avoided making a lot of plans with their friends when they were celebrating at Founding Fathers on Friday night. Instead, they started their down time Saturday morning by running errands together. The first stop was Target, where they braved the crowd to get to the laundry section. After looking at several drying racks, Aubrey became excited as he pulled a display model on the floor to show his girlfriend.

"Yeah, Jess…this one is perfect. According to the sign, it can hold up to 200 shirts!"

Sighing in exasperation, Jessica shook her head as she looked at the triple row drying rack that was taller than she was. "Superman, are we really going to need one this large? You only need to wash your shirts every couple of weeks and your suits get dry cleaned. Everything else goes in the dryer...and I'm not even sure this behemoth will fit in the laundry room."

Aubrey made a face as he ran his hand over the upper tier. "Uh, yeah, we do need one like this, because you always hang your nylons and panties on hangers all over the laundry room…they take up a lot of room, you know…and then your bras are draped over the cabinet doors..."

Jessica rolled her eyes at his whining. "God forbid you be confronted with the sight of my drying lingerie outside of its drawer. You act like I have some panty party going on in the laundry room every weekend. I only wash my underwear and bras every few weeks, Superman. Besides, that's the price you pay for seeing me in those sexy things you like so much..."

"Why can you just put your lingerie in the dryer?", Aubrey asked, ignoring her comment. "It makes the most sense. It has a delicate cycle..."

"Because most of my panties come from Victoria's Secret…and I also know that the crotch less ones that you love me in so much aren't cheap, either, okay? They last longer when they air dry…at least until you rip them when you're super horny." Jessica picked up a smaller drying rack. "You also don't put bras in the dryer because it shrinks and ruins them. You are so obviously a boy…"

Aubrey gave her one of his charming smiles. "I'm not a boy…I'm a man…and you like it that way. Besides, when it comes to clothes, men are easy."

"You definitely are easy…", Jessica replied with a smirk.

"Hey, hey, hey…be nice…or you'll get no more of this.", Aubrey admonished as he pointed down to his junk.

"Yeah, but you would miss having this to grab onto in the shower, too…", the redhead shot back, pointing to her ass. She unfolded a smaller rack in the aisle. "So what do you think of this one? It has room for all of my things..."

"That thing is puny, woman." Aubrey held up the triple tier one. "This one has everything. I bet we could hang all sorts of things on here...maybe even my jeans. They're expensive, too, you know."

"We don't need to dry a caravan of clothes, Aubrey. This one is fine."

The couple looked at each other with slight annoyance, each certain they were correct. Aubrey returned the large display model back on on the shelf and crossed his arms over his chest. "It seems that we're at a stalemate, Jess. Now what? Do we need to buy both of them?"

Jessica shrugged as she glared at him. "Of course not. You just need to admit that I'm right, that's all."

He stood with his hands on his hips. "Uh, no, because I'm right."

After another thirty seconds of the stare down, Jessica put her rack aside and picked up the larger two-tier rack in the middle of the display. "Here's a simple solution…how about we just go with the medium sized one?"

"Works for me.", Aubrey said. "As long as it doesn't cost an arm and a leg."

"It's just an arm, and anyway, I'm paying for it, Superman."

"Fine…" He grinned as he grabbed one of the racks and put it in the cart. "So since we'll have this thing now, does this mean I get to buy you some more lingerie? You know...some fancy bras for your nice rack, and then you can hang them on this nice rack?"

"Don't push your luck, Aubrey…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

At Pet Smart, Jessica stood in front of the shelves which held several varieties of canned cat food. "Aubrey, Skinner likes the Blue Buffalo Salmon and Trout stuff, right?"

"Yeah, but only get a few cans of that because we also need some of the Red Meat Feast as well as the Wellness Lamb and Venison kind.", Aubrey answered as he put two large boxes of cat litter in the cart, followed by a large bag of dry cat food. "He needs a variety of wet food. You know how picky he is."

Jessica grabbed the correct items and put them in the cart. "You got the resealable bag, right? I caught Skinner climbing into his bag of food again yesterday."

"Yep, and we're now hiding it under the sink.", Aubrey grumbled as Jessica pushed the cart to the front of the store.

"Maybe we should get one of those big plastic tubs to keep his food in." Jessica pointed to a display of containers at the end of an aisle. "I bet he couldn't break into one of those."

"Twenty dollars for a pet food safe? No way. Maybe we should just get some of those magnetic door latches like people use for little kids…"

"You know someone would have to install them on the cabinet doors, right?" Jessica giggled as Aubrey took over pushing their cart along. "Maybe you could get Booth to help you with that. He is your landlord after all..."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Inspecting the tubs, Aubrey shook his head. "Nah...I don't want one of these. I bet we can find a cheaper one at Priceco if we decide we need one."

"Cool. I love shopping at Priceco. I always find stuff there I need. Maybe we can get some new sheets. The old ones are starting to show some wear."

Aubrey rolled his eyes at his girlfriend. "Maybe we can plan an all day Priceco excursion for next weekend…"

Jessica chuckled softly. "I'll look forward to that…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

At Kroger's the two walked around getting the things they needed while debating about what things they didn't need.

In the Dairy section, Jessica had just put a gallon of 2% milk in the cart when her boyfriend dumped six boxes of cereal on top of it. "Superman! Do you really need all those boxes of Cap'n Crunch and Lucky Charms?! Gross!"

Aubrey shrugged as he straightened the boxes in the cart. "Jess, they're on sale, okay? Buy one, get one half price when we use the Kroger card, plus it's double gas points this weekend. Anyway, there's plenty of room to store them in the pantry..."

"I figured we'd get maybe two…or three at the most. Besides, Lucky Charms is so full of sugar. You're going to give yourself diabetes!" Jessica shook her head in amazement. "How you still have your teeth, I'll never know."

"Come on…this stuff is amazing." Aubrey smiled as they walked back down the cereal aisle. "You know that my blood sugar is wonky. I have to eat to keep up my strength."

Jessica rolled her eyes as she grabbed a box of Cascadian Farm Multigrain Squares. "I know, Superman…I know…"

Aubrey eyed her choice. "You know…there's more to life than tree bark in your cereal, right?"

The redhead turned around and put the box in the cart before adding a second box. "I don't eat bark. I usually alternate between cereal with fruit, Greek yogurt with fruit, or eggs, bacon, and toast. There is no consumption of tree materials in any of my meals."

Aubrey pointed towards the box. "Um…are you sure about that? Looks boring to me, and probably tastes like it, too. Might as well pour milk on sawdust and have that for breakfast."

Jessica merely gave him a look before walking towards the meat department. "Be nice, Aubrey, or no cherry pie for dinner tonight."

"Hey…don't bring innocent food into it…", Aubrey whined as he followed her with the cart.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Sitting on the bar stool, Skinner watched his man and the man's mate move smoothly back and forth in perfect harmony as they prepared the food for Aubrey's grill, a rare January treat thanks to the above average spring like temperatures. As soon as Jessica finished sprinkling a bowl of veggies with olive oil and garlic pepper, she slid the spice to Aubrey. Wordlessly, he used the mixture to finish the potatoes before sealing the foil packets. After he pushed it back, Jessica took it to put on the shrimp she was skewering for them.

"Going to put the steak and potatoes on the grill. I'll come back in for the shrimp and veggies."

"Okay, Superman." As she finished her last kebab, her phone buzzed. Washing her hands, she pushed the button and saw it was from Daisy.  _Great...I hope she doesn't want to talk right now…_ Puffing out a sigh, she read the text.

_**Check out the asshole who showed up 2 his cousin's fancy wedding tonite. He has no shame.** _

Jessica saw the photo of Gerald and Ashley talking to another couple. Shaking her head, she responded back.

_**He never does, Dais. R u surprised?** _

Daisy's response was quick.  _ **No. BTW, this wedding sux. Can't wait to go home.**_

Jessica asked the next obvious question.  _ **Why r u at a Maxwell family wedding?**_

_**GM cousin married son of Ecuador ambassador. Martin guilted Beau & me into coming...family friends shit. Food is good, but Beau doesn't want 2 b here either. Had 2 deal w G & H Maxwell being snide & rude 2 FIL all nite. Plus, Ashley tried making convo w me like we were buddies but I blew her off.** _

Jessica took a breath before answering.  _ **Dais she probably doesn't know anyone. U know how shy she is.**_

The response was immediate.  _ **Don't care. Dont want 2 talk 2 girl who associates w man who hurt my bestie.**_

Jessica was touched at Daisy's last comment.  _ **Thx 4 support.**_

_**YW. GM also bad mouthing u 2 anyone who will listen in btwn getting wasted or openly flirting w/ other women. Pig even flirted w/ me when Ashley went 2 restroom. Yucky. TG Beau showed up.** _

' _Not surprised'_ Jessica thought as she waited for Daisy's upcoming text.

_**Press is here 4 wedding, incl that Hannah Burley 4 Ch 7 & she's asking people abt the trial when not interviewing B & G. Skank.** _

The redhead laughed.  _ **I wouldn't say that she's a skank.**_

_**Baghdad Barbie is skank that kept Booth from Dr. B & ambushed u after Aubrey shot. Her eyebrows don't move so she's full of Botox and probably bottle blonde.** _

"Huh?", Jessica muttered in confusion.  _ **Baghdad Barbie?**_

_**Name Angela & Dr Saroyan called her b4 troll broke Booth's heart & left town. **_Daisy texted back.  _ **We're leaving reception ASAP bc Beau, Lance, & I flying to Canada tmrw.**_

_'Wow…didn't expect that.'_ Jessica thought. _ **So you're going w Beau 2 talk to CFL team? That's cool that he wants u involved.**_

Her surprise ended with Daisy's next response.  _ **Beau nagged me until I said I would keep open mind about Canada. Coming home w Lance next Sat but he's staying 1 more wk 2 look at houses & meet w team.**_

_'Daisy…'_ Jessica thought, one again disappointed in her friend's actions.  _'She's getting his hopes up and lying to him again. It's only going to make things worse.'_

Deciding that she wasn't in the mood to listen to another Beau diatribe, Jessica sent a text back.  _ **Aubrey & I sitting down 2 dinner. Will talk when u get back from Regina.**_

She finished as Aubrey came back into the house. "All set, Superman."

Aubrey grabbed the platters of shrimp and vegetables. "Those steaks look so beautiful on my grill. I love it so much, Jess…the best birthday present I've ever had."

"Really?", Jessica said blandly, turning around to raise an eyebrow at him. "I remember hearing something different on your birthday when you were in your birthday suit...something like,  _'oh, yeah_ ,  _Jessica…you're so beautiful when you're lying naked in my arms'_...and we can't forget after we finished making love the first time when you said, and I quote… _'that was the best birthday present I've ever received'..._ or was I imagining that? _"_

"Nope…", Aubrey chuckled before kissing his girlfriend. "Okay, the best gift except for you, of course."

"Nice save, Aubrey.", Jessica said wryly as she began to clean up the counter.

"It's the truth…" Aubrey walked away towards the back door. "…especially when you were moaning my name… _'Oh God…Oh God, James…you rock my world…'"_

Jessica threw her wet dishrag at her boyfriend's back but missed. Aubrey heard the thump on the floor and turned around with an arched eyebrow. "Hey, it's not the grill master's fault you love the way he makes you scream…"

The redhead held back her snicker as she put on a mock annoyed face. "Go outside and cook our food, Grill Master."

Aubrey smirked as he headed back outside while singing _, "Cooking the meat…cooking the vege-tables…then for dessert...I get to fuck my girlfriend...over and over…"_

Jessica controlled herself until the back door shut before cracking up. "Oh, Superman…you're never boring…that's for sure."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

The next morning began early as Skinner finished his business in his downstairs litter box. Walking back up the stairs, he heard familiar moans that got louder as he sauntered into the bedroom.

"Yes…yes…yes…Aubrey…yes…", Jessica moaned as her legs wrapped around her boyfriend.

On top of her, Aubrey moved hard and fast inside her while bending down to take her inviting breast into his hot mouth. "Jessica…I'm going to fucking explode…", he begged as he tasted the stiffened peak while clasping both of her hands in his. "C'mon, baby…"

It wasn't long before the FBI agent felt his lover stiffen and then shudder in ecstasy. When he heard a delicious moan from her, he did just as he promised. "Oh…Christ…oohhhh…shit..."

When done, Aubrey collapsed on top of his girlfriend, his body spent as they lay together in each other's arms while recouping their equilibrium. Aubrey continued to tenderly nibble Jessica's breast and surrounding skin. "You are so hot…someday you're going to be the death of me, Jessica Elizabeth Warren…"

"I'll take…that…as a…compliment…James Robert…Aubrey…", Jessica said groaning as his tongue trailed down her abdomen. "Holy shit…you can't be up for another round already, Superman…"

"Not yet, Jess…", Aubrey replied as he teased her skin with his tongue and lips. "…but I will be soon…it's only 8:00…I could make love to you all day long…I may not let you get out of bed at all today."

Jessica stretched into her boyfriend's machinations, enjoying the attention. Turning her head, she was surprised when Skinner jumped up on the bed. "Um, Aubrey…Skinner is hungry…"

Aubrey continued to kiss and nibble down his lover's abdomen past her navel, waiting for his body to be ready for Round Two. "He'll live, Jess. I'll feed him when we're done."

The redhead felt the cat's eyes on her. Turning, she saw him looking at her before turning his attention to his man. "Aubrey, he...oh wow...has the food stare…I don't think...oh yeah...he wants to wait for...oh yes...his daddy to screw his Aunt Jessica for breakfast."

Aubrey merely smiled before ducking under the sheet. Jessica moaned as she felt him lightly brush her inner thigh with his lips, forgetting about the orange tabby nearby. "Christ, Aubrey…what are you waiting for?"

As the couple enjoyed their morning, an interested Skinner watched the movement under the sheets and his tail started to twitch. Right before Aubrey's tongue moved into Jessica's core, he felt claws stabbing him as the orange cat pounced on his back.

_"Ow...son of a bitch! Skinner! You little asshole!"_

Jessica barely held back her laughter. "I told you he was hungry, Superman."

Coming out from under the sheet, Aubrey's hair was askew as he rubbed his shoulder and stared down the culprit. "You couldn't wait 30 minutes?"

"Meow! Meow! Meow!" was Skinner's indignant reply, followed by the angry swishing his tail back and forth as he glared at his man.

Watching the standoff between man and feline made the redhead chuckle. "Apparently not, Superman."

"To be continued, Ms. Warren.", Aubrey groaned as he got up and looked on the floor next to his side of the bed. "Where are my boxers…"

Jessica dug under the sheets and pulled out his Batman boxers, tossing them to her boyfriend. "Here you go…although I don't mind the view right now. Very nice..."

Aubrey wiggled his butt a little before putting on his boxers and leaving the room, followed by Skinner. Giggling, the redhead found her boyfriend's t-shirt from last night on the floor and put it on before following the two downstairs.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

After a blissful Sunday spent together making love and watching movies, Jessica and Aubrey awoke to the rude awakening that was Monday. It was still dark out, emphasizing the bright red 6:31 on the digital alarm clock as the agent saw his girlfriend get up when he came out of the bathroom.

He bent down to give her a kiss. "Jess, I'm sorry if I woke you up. Why don't you go back to bed? You don't have to work with Clark until 1:00. I already ate breakfast..."

Stretching, Jessica smiled sleepily at her boyfriend. "It's okay. I'm awake now. I'll either sack out for a while before going to work or just use the time to work on my dissertation research."

Aubrey put on his badge and holstered his sidearm. "Okay, I'll see you when I get home tonight…don't wait on dinner for me because it's going to be after 7PM before I get home. Oh wait, you have yoga tonight, don't you?"

"Yeah, so I'll be home around 8:00, but I can run to Winkleman's after class. Their new chili is out today, and I can't wait to try it.", the redhead replied while putting her slippers on her feet.

"Oh yeah…Eighth Circle of Hell. A combo of Habanero, Jalapeno, Serrano, and three other peppers, fresh tomatoes, Angus beef…" Aubrey was drooling as they walked down the steps. "I'll be home first, so I'll pick up the chili."

"I'll run to Mr. Leonelli's to pick up some of his amazing multigrain muffins before I go to the lab." Jessica kissed Aubrey goodbye. "Perhaps I can grab a cheesecake for dessert while I'm there…perhaps with cherries on top…"

Aubrey's antennae went up as he opened the door. "Should I pick up…some paper plates…so we don't dirty dishes…"

"Nah…we won't need any dishes…probably not even a fork…"

"I love you, Jessica." Aubrey grinned like a little boy before walking out the front door, pictures of sampling cheesecake off his girlfriend's lovely naked posterior dancing in his head.  _'Maybe in the kitchen tonight so the bed doesn't get covered with crumbs like last time…'_

Jessica giggled as she watched him back out of the driveway and turn onto Janus Street. Walking up to the coffee machine, she made her favorite brew before preparing a bowl of cereal.

"Today is going to be a good day."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Over ten hours later, Jessica finished the examination of the Viking remains Clark had assigned her. Humming to herself, she was counting down the minutes to 6:00 PM when she could leave.

"A little yoga workout, then chili with Aubrey for dinner before dirty fun together with cheesecake...it's going to be fun.", she said quietly to herself. "I can't wait…"

Seeing that Clark was on the phone in his office, Jessica decided to grab a cappuccino. After taking off her gloves and putting the exam room to rights, she came out and saw one of her fellow interns documenting results on her tablet.

"Jill, I'm going to get a cappuccino quick while I wait for Dr. Edison to get off the phone. Do you want one?"

The brunette looked up. "I'm set, Jessica. Thanks, though."

Jessica removed her lab coat and hung it up. "Can you let him know where I went? I'll go over my findings with him when I come back."

"Sure."

Making sure her badge was visible, the redhead made her way out of the Cultural Anthropology area, which was across the hall from the lab. Stopping to greet the security guards at the lab check in desk, she walked to the coffee booth near the museum entrance, not noticing the custodian who was watching her with interest.

Fifteen minutes later, she sipped her beverage as she turned the corner to the hallway leading back to the restricted area. She saw the custodian again as the two guards ahead manned the desk, but her mind was occupied with her plans for tonight. Suddenly, the custodian bumped into her with his mop bucket.

"Sorry, Miss."

Wincing from the wheel running over her leg, she kept a straight face, realizing it was an accident. "It's okay."

The man looked up and smiled. "Jessica Warren?"

Startled, she looked at the man warily. "Yes…"

With quick precision, the janitor dropped the mop and pulled an envelope out of his smock. "You've been served. Have a nice day."

The man walked away quickly and it took Jessica a few moments to gather her bearings. Tearing the end of the large envelope, she opened it and her eyes got large as she read the enclosed letters. "Oh my God…"

"Ms. Warren, are you all right?"

Looking up, she saw the two guards gazing at her with concern. Keeping herself calm, she walked up and badged herself through. "Yeah...I'm fine."

Taking deep breaths, she walked back to Cultural Anthropology. Going to Clark's office, she knocked before entering when he indicated for her to do so.

"Did you get my report that I transmitted to the binder?", the redhead asked shakily as she perched on the edge of a chair.

"Yeah, I did, Jessica. Nice work. I like how you-" Clark paused when he turned from the computer and saw his friend white as a sheet. "Jessica, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine, I-"

The anthropologist came out from his desk and walked over to her seat. "Jessica...you're not fine. You're whiter than my dress shirt. What's in your hand?"

Calming herself down, she handed it to Clark wordlessly. Reading it, his jaw dropped. "You have got to be kidding me. Is this for real?"

The intern bit her lip and nodded. "Yep...it is. Some process server dressed like a custodian served me a few minutes ago outside the security desk."

"How did he get into this part of the Jeffersonian? It's restricted to the public. Oh well, I guess that's not important right now." Clark looked at the time on his computer. "Listen, you need to go see Aubrey and show him this paper. We can go over your exam tomorrow sometime when Dr. Brennan doesn't need you."

"But Clark, you have enough to do-"

"Jessica.", the cultural anthropologist said quietly. "Yes, I have things to do. However, you're my intern...and also my friend who is in distress, and that's more important. Your report can wait. Those remains aren't going anywhere soon, so I think I can manage it if you leave 20 minutes early. My next concern is whether or not I need to drive you over to the Hoover. You're shaking like a leaf."

"No, I'm fine." Embarrassed by Clark's concern, Jessica took a breath before standing up. "I'm working 7:30 to 4 tomorrow, so I'll shoot for seeing you in the morning. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now go talk to Aubrey and figure out what you're going to do next."

The redhead nodded before walking out of Clark's office. Shakily, she punched out on the time clock before going to her locker and gathering her things. Driving out of the parking garage and into the DC rush hour traffic, the radio played music, but she didn't hear any of it.

_'Why can't he just leave me alone? Why is Gerald so fixated on me? I don't know how much more I can take…'_

Finding the nearest parking spot to the J. Edgar Hoover Building, Jessica pulled in and jumped out of her Jeep. Realizing she'd forgotten to lock her vehicle, she hit the button before walking briskly up the sidewalk. Right as she got to the front doors, she heard that familiar reporter's voice...the one that grated on her nerves Turning around, her stomach lurched when she saw Hannah Burley and a cameraman running towards her.

"Ms. Warren...several sources have informed me that Gerald Maxwell is suing you for false arrest and slander. Is that correct? What will your first move be? When is your court date? Any plans to countersue him?"

The redhead was in shock. "H-how did you know about this? Who told you?"

"My other sources are confidential, Ms. Warren, but when I interviewed Mr. Maxwell Saturday night, he declared that he was going to  _'take you for all that you had'._ That has to be scary for you, especially considering the size of your trust fund as well as your share of your family's business."

"How did you know about my trust fund…"

Hannah plowed past the young woman. "What do you plan to do about it? Do you think this will affect Agent Aubrey's position in the FBI?"

Feeling dizzy, Jessica backed away. "Um...no comment. Now if you'll excuse me…"

Hannah pressed further. "Ms. Warren...how do you think this will affect the trial coming up on January 23rd? Or how about your case against his father, Harold Maxwell? Do you think this could have a negative impact on your case?"

"I don't know. No comment. Please leave me alone.", Jessica replied meekly before opening the door and rushing inside. The guard on duty recognized her, so after she ran through the metal detector, he let her through, and she rushed toward the stairwell. When Hannah tried to follow, she was stopped.

"No press past this point."

Hannah gave what she considered her charming smile. "But I'm trying to interview Ms. Warren. Come on, Dave, you remember me, right? I used to date Agent Booth a few years back...we almost got engaged, you know..."

The security guard didn't move, planting his feet as he scowled at the reporter. "She doesn't look interested in talking to you, Ms. Burley. Now go back outside, or I'll have you forcibly removed."

Hannah looked out the window before nodding towards her cameraman. "But it's starting to snow and it's 30 degrees out. It's not as warm as it was this weekend. You wouldn't want us to catch our death of cold, would you?"

The guard wasn't sympathetic. "That's what winter coats are for, Ms. Burley."

Annoyed, the blonde and her cameraman walked back out to the sidewalk, shivering as the wind began to blow. "Let's wait in the van. Her SUV is over there. She has to take it home eventually."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Running up the stairs, Jessica found the 4th floor and forced the door open. Blazing a trail down the hallway and through Major Crimes' bullpen, she barely acknowledged Steve Bower and his wife.

"Stevie Bear, what's wrong with her?", Mitzi said with concern. "She looks upset."

Steve shrugged. "I don't know, Mitzi Muffin, but I'm sure she'll live. Now, is tonight whipped cream bikini night?"

The tall blonde laughed. "But, of course, Stevie…"

Jessica walked towards Aubrey's office with tunnel vision, anxious to reach her goal. Seeing him talking to Caroline Julian through the open door, she picked up her pace. When she walked in, she knocked on the door, interrupting the two.

"Jess, this is a nice surprise. I thought you had yoga tonight...", Aubrey began, pausing as he saw the stricken look on her face. "Jessica, what's-"

"He's suing me!", Jessica cried, handing him the summons. "And Hannah Burley found me outside as I got here and asked me about the lawsuit. I don't know how she knew I was served but…"

Caroline held out her hand towards Jessica. "What does it say, Cher?"

Aubrey read it aloud while holding a crying Jessica, barely holding his temper in check. "That son of a bitch is suing her for 10 million dollars for slander and false arrest. He's stating that the charges against him have affected his college program at GWU, and now he can't earn his doctorate. In turn, this will affect his future career prospects, which could lead him to seek financial support from his family for the rest of his life. He also states  _'...the trauma that he has suffered while attempting to clear his name from these false charges have damaged his emotional well being permanently._ '"

Caroline took it and quickly read through it. "That bon rien…"

Jessica continued to break down in Aubrey's arms. "Why won't he leave me alone…"

The US attorney waited for Jessica to calm down before speaking again. "Cher, you need to sue him for the damages you incurred while he was harassing you."

"Ms. Julian, I don't want his money…"

"You had to replace your phone, get your rent covered, along with paying for other items, correct? You had to borrow money from friends, and you had to leave work to get things straightened out, and that cost you some wages. You went through a lot of trouble to clear up all the mess that bastard created, right?"

Jessica sniffled. "Yes...but I was able to get my father to sign off on that stuff…"

"I've been trying to convince her that she need him to pay for that shit-", Aubrey chimed in. "I mean, it's Law 101...recouping losses like that…"

"I don't want his money!", Jessica grumbled, wiping her eyes. "I just want justice for what he did to me."

Caroline stared down the young woman. "Cher, justice is blind, but it's also fickle. We have those women pressing charges, but I need all the ammunition I can get, and he owes you for all that stuff he destroyed because his designer panties were in a bind since you dared to stand up for yourself."

The redhead sniffled. "But...I don't want to...provoke him…"

Aubrey was going to speak up, but Caroline jumped in. "Jessica, he's already victimized you once, and he keeps doing so because he wants you to break. Don't let him break you. Don't give that piece of crap that power over you."

Jessica was silent, but Caroline knew the wheels were turning in the young woman's head. "Now, Marcellus and Keith are meeting me for dinner at the diner, so I have to go. You do what you have to do, but call me as as soon as possible when you make a decision, Cher."

Jessica smiled through the tears. "I will call you tomorrow, Ms. Julian."

"Good girl." , Caroline replied before turning to Aubrey. "You take care of her, do you hear me? I don't want to have to drive my Gremlin to your house and kick your scrawny butt with that snooty cat of yours watching me."

Nodding in agreement, Aubrey chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."

Caroline gently squeezed the intern's hand before picking up her briefcase and walking out of the office. Both watched her leave until the silence broken by Jessica. "I've always thought she hated me."

Surprised, Aubrey turned to his girlfriend. "Jess, she never hated you. What makes you say something like that?"

The redhead shrugged her shoulders. "Because she had you do a background check on me when we were...you know...kind of...sort of...dating, but still friends. I've always figured she didn't approve of me for you."

Taking Jessica's hand in his, Aubrey exhaled softly. "Jess, she knew I had political aspirations at the time. She just wanted me to be prepared, that's all, okay, so there wouldn't be any surprises along the way. She does like you. She told me once that my  _'red headed squintern'_  fit me very well and that she preferred you over Karen. Karen annoys the shit out of her."

Jessica had a thought. "Oh shit, Superman. We were going to have chili, cheesecake, and naughty food sex later. I love when we do that, but I don't think I'm up for it tonight…."

Aubrey put his arm around her. "Jess, it's okay. We'll do it tomorrow, or another day. We've got plenty of time for that. How about we head over to Founding Fathers instead for some appetizers and a couple of beers instead? I know it's not Friday, but let's just chill for a while."

"Can we order them to go and take them home?", Jessica asked. "I would like a quiet night home with you and Skinner. Plus  _Dr. Who: Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD_  is on Comet tonight."

"That one has Peter Cushing. I love that one!", Aubrey exclaimed. "Okay, we can do that. I have to hit the restroom, though. My computer is up, so go ahead and order online. We'll pick it up on the way home."

"Okay, Superman...but I'm paying." Jessica sat at the agent's desk and found the Founding Fathers website. "Definitely gonna get you some sliders."

"Thanks. Be right back." Aubrey had a reassuring smile on his face, but it disappeared as soon as Jessica's head was turned. Walking briskly, he avoided the men's room near the now deserted bullpen and instead found the one near the break room. Entering the room, he made sure he was alone before kicking the garbage can across the floor in his anger, a loud boom ringing out when it made contact with the wall.

"Why can't that fucker leave her alone?", Aubrey yelled before kicking the plastic can two more times. "I could kill that son of a bitch!"

Seeing the dent in the container, Aubrey snapped out of his moment and decided that destroying FBI property wasn't the best way to cope with his feelings. Splashing his face with cold water, he took several deep breaths so his girlfriend wouldn't know that he'd just lost his shit. When he was under control, he walked back to his office, where Jessica was waiting for him.

"They must be busy because the website said our order will be ready in about an hour. Want to have a beer there while we wait?"

Aubrey took her hand. "Sounds great, Jess."

Jessica stood up to leave but suddenly stopped. "Shit...my Jeep is out front and I'm sure Hannah Burley is waiting for me, ready to pounce with all sorts of obnoxious questions."

Aubrey thought for a second before picking up his desk phone and dialing a number. "Tony, it's Agent Aubrey. Listen, I'm going to have my girlfriend park in my spot tonight...she'll pick it up in the morning. She has a reporter outside waiting for her to leave, so if you could make sure...hey, you're the best, man. Thanks."

Jessica watched as her boyfriend hung up his phone. "I'm leaving my Jeep here?"

"Yep, we're going out front together and if Hannah is there to hound you again, I'll get rid of her before you pull into my spot. Tony, who is the night guard in the garage, will make sure that no one sneaks in to ambush us. Tomorrow morning, I'll bring you here about 7:00 so you have time to make it to the lab. Jess, if she still hounds you for a quote about the summons, I might call Booth to see what he thinks we should do."

Jessica picked up her purse. "Well, he knocked boots with her and she moved in with him…Daisy, Dr. Saroyan, and Angela called her Baghdad Barbie. Do you think he'll back you up?"

"Oh, yeah. He may even try to get an order to keep her off the premises.", Aubrey chuckled. "Ready to go?"

When Jessica nodded, he let her leave first before the SAC turned out the light and locked his door. They walked with hands linked through the darkened bullpen.

"Superman, is Skinner going to be pissed his dinner will be late?"

"Yeah, but he'll be fine. I'm still annoyed with the way he interrupted our morning yesterday. Turnabout is fair play."

Jessica's laughter pierced the air as they took the stairs leaving the 4th floor.


	66. And Now The Fun Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What did Jessica decide about taking Gerald to court, and what does Aubrey think about her decision? Read on to find out...

As predicted, Hannah was waiting outside with a cameraman when the couple walked out the front of the J. Edgar Hoover building. After Aubrey told the reporter in no uncertain terms to leave Jessica alone, she shot back with a diatribe about freedom of the press.

"We have a right to know, Agent Aubrey. You can't stop the news, and there's nothing you can do to censor me. I've covered wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and all over the world. Just ask Booth and he'll tell you that I don't scare easily. What do you say about that?"

Aubrey remained calm, pausing slightly before he answered. "I'd say…that you have every right to cover this case. However, I also suspect there must be a good, juicy reason you're now doing local news instead of international news for NBC."

"My career is none of your bus—"

"Now, you have ten seconds to back off my girlfriend immediately so we can go home to some peace and quiet. If you don't, not only will I find out why you're now with Channel 7 and then publicize it, but I'll also use my influence, and Booth's, to get your FBI credentials pulled. Not a good thing for a reporter around here, Ms. Burley. Now…what's it's going to be?"

Hannah was quietly seething. "Fine, I'll leave, but I'm still covering this story, Agent Aubrey. I don't quit just because some man threatens me."

She turned to Jessica. "It's ironic that you are accusing a man of harassment but you're with someone who's doing the same thing to me."

Jessica's cheeks flushed red with anger. Practically pushing her boyfriend out of the way, she stood toe to toe with the older woman. "Aubrey…is nothing like Gerald Maxwell. Obviously, you've struck out with men since you and Booth broke up or else you would know the difference. Now get out of my face or I'll kick your skinny, Botox injected ass, lady."

Shocked, Hannah slowly backed away with her cameraman and they got back into the Channel 7 news van. Aubrey couldn't help but smile as he watched the vehicle pull away from the parking lot.

"You would take Hannah Burley on to defend my honor?"

Jessica turned to her boyfriend. "If she ever talks that ignorant smack about you again, yes, I would. You sometimes make me mad to the point I want to kick your ass, too, Aubrey, but your worst could never compare to what that bastard has done to me and to those other women. Never."

After a quick kiss, they got into her SUV. After moving it inside the garage, Aubrey jumped out and pulled his vehicle out so she could pull into his space before he drove the two of them over to Founding Fathers.

As they had a beer at the bar while waiting for their order, they saw a Channel 7 news report on her lawsuit on the TV by the bar. Jessica knew she was getting a few stares from the restaurant's other patrons, but she focused on Aubrey.

After they took their appetizers home and enjoyed them, he set the DVR to record their Dr. Who movie. Surprised, Jessica watched Aubrey put the remote down on the coffee table.

"Superman, we were going to watch that tonight, right?."

Aubrey shook his head as he gently took her hand. "We will tomorrow, but tonight…I think you need to gather the receipts together for all the stuff you had to replace when Gerald damaged them. I'm not pressuring you, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared."

Jessica gulped. "They would be in my apartment…and it's almost 9:00…"

Aubrey treaded carefully, knowing she was still nervous about being in her apartment. "Do you want to do this tomorrow?" When he saw her quietly clench her jaw, he took a chance. "Do you want me to come with you tonight?"

The intern answered with a nod and the two grabbed their coats to brave the January cold snap that had hit DC. As Aubrey drove them over, it was silent for a few minutes until Jessica spoke up.

"How hard is it to sue someone, Superman? I don't want a million dollar judgement...but say I decide to sue him to recoup what I had to pay to replace that stuff and the headache in transferring my accounts. Do I need to get a lawyer?"

"You can do small claims court if you just want to recover what he owes you, Jess." Aubrey made a left hand turn onto Connecticut Avenue. "For that sort of thing, you don't need a lawyer. From what I learned in civil law, you are limited to whatever the jurisdiction, in this case, Washington DC, allows as its tort limits. However, if you decide to take him to court for a larger judgment, then you will need a good civil attorney. I don't know any attorneys in civil law, but Caroline might….or if you want to ask her opinion, your mother may have some advice, too-"

"No...I'm good with keeping Mom out of this, Aubrey.", Jessica said. "She hasn't talked to me since all this broke out. Either she's off her meds again or she's super pissed...or both."

' _Eleanor...you're a bitch.'_ Aubrey turned into the lot for Cho's Grocery and pulled into the back where the entrance to the three apartments were. Walking inside, they took the steps up quietly as to not disturb the neighbors until they arrived at Jessica's third floor apartment. Unlocking the door with his key, Aubrey entered first and turned on the light before Jessica followed him inside.

"It's really cold in here.", Aubrey commented.

Jessica shrugged. "I turned the thermostat down a few weeks ago since I wouldn't be here."

"Good idea.", he responded. "Where should we look?"

"My bedroom.", Jessica replied. "I have the receipt for my tires in my purse, but the ones for my phone, replacement pack of birth control, ID, and other stuff, I put in a lock box under my bed when I came here with Angela after you got out of surgery. I was going to put them in my safety deposit box, but I…never got around to it."

Walking into the bedroom, Aubrey noted the empty space where Jessica's dresser used to be. On the bed, there remained some of her clothes folded in piles, just like when he'd come with her a couple of weeks ago. Next to them was a carton that contained her jewelry box and other items that were removed from the top of the dresser, including a selfie picture of them from the Star Wars movie marathon back in May.

Before bending down to go under her bed, Jessica looked up. "Do you mind if I bring this box of stuff with me, Superman?"

"Of course...you never have to ask to take your stuff over there."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Fifteen minutes later, Jessica found what she was looking for and the couple got ready to leave. "Jess, do you want to grab anything else while we're here?", Aubrey asked while holding her box.

The intern shook her head. "The important things are at home. I'm pretty sure I have the email receipt for the panties I purchased in Scotland. The bastard is paying me back for those ones. They cost me 72 pounds."

Surprised, Aubrey calculated in his head. "Wait, you paid…"

"Roughly 97 dollars, Aubrey."

"Seriously?" The agent's eyes got large, and he let go a low whistle. "You paid almost $100 for a pair of panties?"

"They were silk." Shrugging, Jessica turned around. "Don't act all surprised. I know you paid more than that for all the lingerie you bought me for Christmas, Superman."

"I paid-"

"No!", Jessica admonished. "I told you I didn't want to know how much. I know it was a lot...but part of it was because you'd been going through a long dry spell when you went shopping, remember? As for the underwear I purchased while I was in the UK, you can't complain because you enjoyed them…a lot...when I wore them after I came home…like when we had that quickie in my Jeep when you visited me for lunch at the lab last summer during the Barrington case..."

Aubrey recalled the white silk and lace cheekies and how they molded to his girlfriend's lovely posterior to perfection. "I did…that asshole.", he replied before shutting off the light and locking the apartment door.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

The next day, Aubrey kept peeking at his phone all morning in case Jessica called or sent a text. When they were getting ready for work earlier that day, she was still unsure on what to do, but he knew that pressuring her would only get her back up.

"She was the one who was victimized...she has to make the call…", Aubrey said to himself as he examined expense reports from Agent Thompson.

Hearing a knock on his office door, Aubrey looked up and smiled when he saw Booth. "Hey, Booth. What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

The older man walked in with his hands in his pockets. "Hey, I'm meeting Bones at the diner. She said Jessica is eating lunch with Andie at the hospital, so you want to eat with us?"

The agent smiled. "Sure…sounds good."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Thirty minutes later, the three were sitting at their table enjoying their meals. After discussing the case Booth and Brennan were working earlier that morning, the topic moved to Jessica.

"What do you think she'll do, Aubrey?", Brennan asked before sipping her soup.

"I think she's going to do it, but...I can't pressure her. The fucker deserves it, but I want Jess to have some control over things. He took enough of that away from her...but I'm proud of her for standing her ground.", Aubrey replied before biting into an onion ring.

"It's got to be hard just standing by, though. However, you're doing the right thing, Aubrey. Jessica needs to make the final decisions over this. I remember...when I came home from prison that everything was happening around me and it...made me feel lost. Once we figured out that Durant was behind everything and I was able to jump in and help, I regained some of that sense of...loss, and I began to regain some of my confidence...I began to feel like my old self again...somewhat."

Booth bit into his fish sandwich, knowing that being sent to prison was one of the many things that had sent him down the path of losing his gambling sobriety. That was something he would never take for granted again. "It's hard to explain unless you've been there."

"I know...I just wish I could do more…", Aubrey replied glumly. "I wish that Hodgins and Angela didn't have to jump in and pay her rent, buy her new phone, new tires for her Jeep and all that other stuff. I'm her boyfriend, you know. That's what I'm here for...to help her in times like this. I'm not rich but even with her trust fund, I make two to three times more than she does. I could have helped her...I failed her."

"Aubrey, that's illogical." Brennan sipped her coffee. "You were shot twice, had emergency surgery, and were on bed rest for 72 hours. Your focus needed to be on your recovery. Ms. Warren didn't want to worry you, and, as I'm sure you know, she's very independent. Despite the cultural norms that are often forced upon us, women don't need men taking care of them. We are quite capable of handling difficult situations on our own when the need arises."

Aubrey knew Brennan wasn't being snide, but merely honest. "I know, Dr. B. I'm glad she has the resources available if she needs them, but she deserves restitution for all that stuff. She had to special order her tires from Georgia because her Jeep Cherokee is 15 years old, and then she had to take the next day off to buy a new phone, get a new driver's license, pay out of pocket for her medications, among other things. She lost time that she could've have spent working at the lab, and that cost her money as well."

"Aubrey, even if she didn't take the time off, she wouldn't have gotten much done because we were in the hospital.", Booth added before stealing one of Aubrey's onion rings. "I know what you're saying, but you have to agree with me on that."

"I'm surprised that, with her financial resources, she drives an older vehicle, no monthly payments aside. Even Mr. Bray has an updated vehicle.", Brennan stated. "That seems to be an odd choice."

"Well, it still runs great because she takes excellent care of it, and she loves not having a monthly payment. I suggested once that she get a new car, but it was her father's SUV before his stroke and she doesn't want to get rid of it. I guess it has sentimental value." Aubrey grimaced as he sipped his Coke. "Gerald's lucky there's a restraining order in place. What he did with her nightshirt still makes me want to beat the shit out of that little pussy. His father wouldn't be able to save him from me if we were ever locked in a room together."

"If it wasn't for that restraining order, I'm sure the bastard would try to provoke you into doing something stupid like that." Booth dipped a fry in his ketchup before Brennan followed the same action. "Stay away from that bastard, you understand? He's not worth it..."

"I know...I know…", Aubrey replied. "It's...not easy, though."

"Trust me, I know, Aubrey.", Booth said. "Now, new subject. There is some gossip going around that our mutual friend Agent Shaw is dating that SEC accountant guy who helped us with the Vacchio case. I know he came with her to the Halloween Party and to the Gala, but...it seems like there's been more than just a couple of dates."

Aubrey held back a laugh remembering how he'd overheard them in the covered garden at the Gala. "Not gossip…it's fact. He's made friends with Danny and her mother. They're...pretty close."

"Hmm...wonder if I need to do a background check on him." Feeling his wife's glare, Booth pretended to be annoyed as he turned to her. "What? Genny's been single for a long time, Bones, and she's apt to fall quickly for some sweet talking womanizer. I'm just trying to look out for her, okay? You know how those number crunching types are...he could be taking advantage of her…"

Aubrey laughed as he picked up some more french fries. "Nah...Hunter's a good guy. Besides…", he added, wearing a broad grin. "I already ran the check on him."

"Aubrey!" Brennan gave both men an irritated look. "What is it with men thinking that they have to go all overprotective cavemen on us women?"

"Because we love you women, Dr. B.", Aubrey replied as he turned to Booth. "He's squeaky clean. BS in accounting from Ohio State with a 4.0, and an MBA from Emory...he graduated in the upper ten percent in his class. He's 39 years old and has never been married...no kids...and I don't think he's even had a parking ticket here in DC. You know how amazing that is, right?"

"Yeah...you're right." Somewhat placated, Booth took a sip of his coffee. "He'd better be good to her, though...it's not a good idea to make an FBI Special Agent in Charge annoyed, and I'd definitely be annoyed if he hurt her somehow..."

"Trust me...Hunter knows we've both got Genny's back. Anyway, as far as I can tell, he's crazy about her." Chuckling softly, Aubrey sat back in his chair. "And she's crazy about him, too. I caught her talking baby talk to him on the phone the other day…"

"Okay...too much info." Booth gave Brennan a sly wink. "I think there must be a lot of baby talk going on in Aubrey's division, what with Bower and Shaw both using baby talk on the phone. Who do you suppose they learned that from, Bones?"

"I don't know, Booth." Brennan wore a coy smile as she stirred her tea. "Perhaps from their own Special Agent in Charge? He's probably setting an excellent example for his agents. I'm sure Ms. Warren appreciates hearing some baby talk from time to time…perhaps she also appreciates talk of a sexual nature over the phone as well, since they are in a monogamous relationship."

"Oookay...enough of that stuff!", Aubrey blustered as the waitress brought his cherry pie a la mode. "Let's talk about something else…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

In the late afternoon, Jessica was in the middle of her exam of Booth's latest decedent when she heard her name called. Startled, she looked up and saw Brennan standing behind her. "Dr. B, I'm sorry. Were you just-"

"Calling your name? Yes, Ms. Warren. However, you were lost in your thoughts."

The redhead exhaled slowly before picking up one of the patient's ribs and examining it. "I'm sorry...I'm just…contemplating things."

Brennan read over what her intern had documented so far about the remains. "You're deciding whether it's worth your time to sue Gerald Maxwell for the damages to your property he committed back in November."

Jessica looked at the floor before meeting Brennan's eyes. "Yeah...Aubrey wants me to...Ms. Julian wants me to...I just don't know if I want to poke that dragon…"

"Dragons are non-existent, Ms. Warren, except in fairy tales.", Brennan responded, bewildered at the reference. "However, if you are hesitant because you are afraid of what Mr. Maxwell will do next, I would advise that you...blow him off and sue his ass for what you can get."

Surprised, Jessica stood up. "Dr. B...you're usually not so…"

"Crude and common with my choice of vocabulary? You are correct, but what I'm seeing in your indecision disturbs me. You're usually very forthright in what you do. I've never seen you this timid."

"I've never had other people to worry about before…", Jessica said quietly, putting the rib down on the table.

Brennan was surprised at what Jessica had said. "Ms. Warren...please explain."

Jessica gulped quietly. "I don't give a damn what others think of me...I really don't. However, I care what people say about my family...and Aubrey. I don't want my actions to reflect on my family's business...or on Aubrey's career. It would kill me if Superman's trajectory at the FBI stalled because I made him look bad. It's unreasonable to think like this, I know...but I don't want him to resent me."

Brennan stood straight. "Ms. Warren...you should be ashamed of yourself."

Stunned, the redhead looked up. "But-"

The forensic anthropologist made her way towards her student. "You're doubting Aubrey again...and that's a mistake."

Tears formed in Jessica's eyes as she turned away. "No, I'm not. I promise that I'll never doubt him again. I love him so much, Dr. B, but...I just don't want his life ruined because of Gerald-"

"Ms. Warren, James Aubrey is a Special Agent in Charge at 33 years old. He's smart, talented, and has proven himself to be an extraordinary agent. As a comparison, Booth wasn't promoted to Special Agent in Charge until he was 35. At the Gala last month, the Director and I had a nice conversation about Booth, Aubrey, and Agent Shaw. Unless Aubrey commits a crime, nothing Gerald does will hurt his career, because he's one that the Director feels could move up the ranks of the FBI. As a matter of fact, Aubrey is being eyed as a potential Director someday...in addition to Booth and Ms. Shaw, of course."

"Really?", Jessica said hopefully. "Karen made some nasty comments to me at the Gala about how I'm going to prevent Aubrey from moving up the FBI ladder. I told her it was bullshit, but it did hurt. I know better now."

"That's good. I believe the problem you're experiencing is that you're scared, with good reason. However, you can't let that stop you from seeking justice. Don't you see that you're never going to be whole again unless you fight back with whatever resources you have?"

"I know...but I feel like I'm burdening Superman…"

"Ms. Warren.", Brennan said patiently. "At lunch today, Aubrey didn't talk about you burdening him. As a matter of fact, he talked about how he felt he hasn't done enough for you. He's so proud of you for taking a stand against the Maxwells and he wants to fight the battle for you, but he knows that you need to win this fight for yourself. He's standing by you with no plans to do otherwise. You also have friends and family who want to support you as well. Let them try to hurt us, because we can take care of ourselves. I'm certainly not afraid of what some skinny penis like Gerald Maxwell and his father can do."

 _'Skinny penis? Oh...pencil dick.'_ Jessica thought as she considered her mentor's words.

"Now, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I'd think you'd want to do whatever you could to get justice for what Gerald Maxwell did to you. He not only damaged your property, but it's obvious even to me that he damaged your sense of security and some of your self-esteem. Are you doing to let him get away with that?"

"No…", Jessica smiled. "No, I won't."

"Good." Brennan looked at her phone. "It's 3:00, Ms. Warren. As soon as you're done with your exam and secure the remains, you're free to leave for the day after you send me your final results."

Jessica nodded, making her final decision. "Thank you, Dr. B."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Three hours later, Aubrey walked into his front door and was assailed with a wonderful aroma. "Oh...I know that smell…"

Jessica stirred the soup in the pot before putting the lid back on. "Yes, I decided I was in the mood for my homemade vegetable soup tonight. It's really cold out...I still can't believe the temperature has dropped over 30 degrees from this weekend."

"Yes!", Aubrey fist pumped. Walking towards the kitchen, he loosened his tie. "I have one more question, though."

Jessica smirked before opening the oven and pulling out a tray of biscuits. "I did make my cheddar biscuits, Superman."

"Cool!" Aubrey whipped off his tie before embracing her. "I'm just going to change and I'll be right back."

"That's fine, Superman.", Jessica replied. "I'll get us some beers."

"Great.", he said before stopping at the dining room table, where there were papers laying out next to the receipts they found the night before. " _Statement of Claims_?  _Information Sheet_? Jess, what is all this?"

The redhead walked up to her boyfriend. "This...is my paperwork for small claims court. I have to get it notarized tomorrow by Oliver, of all people, and then take them back to the courthouse."

"So you're suing the bastard?"

Jessica nodded, remembering her mentor's words of wisdom. "Yeah, I'm suing the son of a bitch. I'm done with being his pincushion, Superman. I can't let him get away with all he's done."

Aubrey pulled her into a one-armed hug and kissed the top of her head. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you.", she replied quietly before taking on a mocking serious tone. "Now, get upstairs and change. I'm hungry."

"Yes, ma'am." Aubrey saluted and ran upstairs to change out of his suit.

Jessica giggled as she stirred the soup one more time before turning off the burner. No matter what that piece of garbage Gerald Maxwell threw at her, she was going to be fine.

Just as Aubrey joined her in the kitchen, her phone buzzed. Picking it up, she saw the message from Andie:

_**Turn on Channel 7 now.** _

"Superman, turn it on Channel 7."

Doing what he was asked, he changed the channel on the living room TV, where he was greeted by Hannah Burley speaking through the camera. However, it was the chyron on the bottom of the screen that got his attention.

 **HAROLD MAXWELL** **HOSPITALIZED**

"Jess, get out here."

The redhead heard the announcement before getting in front of the television, which showed Hannah Burley talking in front of an ornate mansion with Great Falls, VA on the screen below her name.

 _"_ _From what we could gather, it's speculated that Mr. Maxwell may have suffered either a stroke or a heart attack. When the paramedics arrived at the Maxwell mansion, he_ _was_ _unconscious_ _, with his wife crying over him and his son, Gerald standing by,_ _obviously stunned by the turn of events_ _._ _"_

The female anchor asked, "Is there anything else you can tell our viewers, Hannah?"

Hannah pressed onto the satellite earpiece as she listened.  _"_ _From what my sources tell me, Mr. Maxwell was having an argument with his son, Gerald, when he collapsed._ _I will have more as we get more information. This is Hannah Burley, Channel 7 News."_

The couple watched as the action went back to the studio, where the anchor turned to the camera.  _"_ _Channel 7 will update our viewers of this latest twist in the Maxwell assault cases_ _as our Hannah Burley_ _remains on the scene_ _. Now onto_ _other_ _news. In Bethesda-"_

Aubrey turned off the television and turned to his girlfriend, who continued to stare at the television. "Jess…"

"Wow…", Jessica responded without looking at her boyfriend. "Well, I hope he recovers. Ready for dinner, Superman?"

Aubrey was in shock at his girlfriend's blasé response but he decided to play it cool for the time being. "Sure…I'm always ready for your vegetable soup."

Jessica began scooping some into a large bowl. "Great. Here's yours, Superman. I'll put the cheddar biscuits in a bowl—"

"Got it covered." Aubrey grabbed two beers before pulling a large bowl out of a cupboard and loaded the dozen items into it. "Want to sit at the center island?"

"Sure…"

The couple sat together and ate quietly. After about ten minutes, the silence got to Aubrey.

"So how was your day at the lab?"

Jessica sipped her soup. "Good. The Virginia State Police brought some remains and it pissed off Dr. B because they usually botch things up when they handle remains. However, she did say they did a good job of preserving the body. We got some good particulates before she went with Booth to talk to a witness over in Great Falls."

"That town is having a bad day today.", Aubrey muttered.

"Yeah it is.", Jessica replied. "After I had lunch with Andie, I cleaned the bones and examined them and found several marks which makes me think cause of death was by a hatchet or something like that."

Aubrey finished swallowing his food. "Yuck…"

"Sorry…" Jessica smiled. "Andie and I had lunch...she says hi by the way. Later on, Dr. B and I talked about Gerald…then I picked up the stuff to file a lawsuit against Gerald before running to the store. You?"

"Well, I got to do the fun administrative bullshit that comes with being a Special Agent in Charge. You know, review expense reports, case audits…had lunch with Booth and Dr. B…"

"I know. She told me." Jessica sipped her soup. "Did you really say that you're proud of me for standing up to Gerald?"

"Of course, I am.", he said with his mouth full of biscuit. "I'm always proud of you. I'm proud to have you as my girlfriend…and life partner."

Shocked, Jessica just sat there for a moment.  _'Life partner…he sees us together always…maybe that plan of mine on March 1_ _st_ _isn't so crazy…holy shit…am I ready for that though…committing to one man…yeah I am…Aubrey is mine…'_

Taking a breath, Jessica spewed her thoughts. "But my life is going to get picked apart in a couple of weeks when the trial starts…I used to sleep around, Superman…I did dumb things…nothing criminal…but the stuff I told you about…Gerald will make it sound bad… which could make you look bad…maybe Karen had a point...Oh God, I said she was right about something..."

"Jessica, stop!" When the redhead stopped babbling, he took her hand. "Jessica, you are standing up to a man who has victimized women for probably most of his life…and to his father, who, it seems, has done the same thing to save his son's pathetic butt. Yeah, they're going to dig through your life and unflattering shit will emerge, but that's because they are desperate. You're many things, but not a liar—"

"But women have come forward in the last week talking about how Gerald has never been abusive to them and that he is—"

"They're snob types like him. Of course he behaves with them…because he's not even that stupid. However, other interns are coming forward with claims that match yours, so he has a pattern of intimidation and sexual harassment. You're going to win, Jessica Elizabeth. I have faith in that. Yes, Lady Justice is blind, but karma is also a bitch. He will get what's coming to him. We're going to get past this and then live our lives. All right?"

Jessica nodded. "Okay, Superman. I believe you…as long as you finish your bowl and biscuit."

"Leave good food unattended? Never." Aubrey smiled before stealing another cheddar biscuit and biting into it.

They chatted for the next twenty minutes until Jessica's phone buzzed again as Aubrey was getting himself more soup. Looking at it, she sighed. The agent saw her reaction as he sat back down with his filled bowl. "Jess, what's up?"

The redhead wordlessly handed the phone to her boyfriend, who read it and sighed as well. "That…is not good."

Jessica took the phone back and read it again.

_**Coming home tmrw. Asst anthropologist covering 4 me sick so NFL needs me. Beau pissed Lance coming back w me. Can u pick me up from Dulles? Flight comes in at 4:02 P.** _

_'Shit! Cutting it close.'_  Jessica thought before sending message back.  _ **TA 4 Dr B's Human Origins class tmrw 1P – 3:30P. Will get there ASAP.**_

_**Okay. Thx. Beau & I taking Lance 2 dinner. C U tmrw.** _

"Picking her up tomorrow?"

Jessica double checked the arrival time. "Yeah…"

"Wait, isn't your first class with Dr. B at 1:00 tomorrow?", Aubrey asked as Jessica put her phone down. "Even at that time, traffic sucks on 495, Jess. 267 may not be too bad but you're not going to make it there in 30 min. Does Daisy know that?"

"I told her I would get there as soon as I can. Andie has a class after her shift in the oncology lab ends at 3:30 or else I'm sure she would." Jessica sipped her soup. "It's the first class and Dr. B may let them go a little bit early, depending on the students."

"I don't understand why Daisy had to come back because her replacement was sick. I thought they had three other forensic anthropologists at the NFL? No offense, but while she's a good forensic anthropologist, she's no Dr. B."

"I don't know why she's coming home early, Superman. I would think they could survive a few days without Daisy, too, but I'm not sure how the day to day operations work there. I'm not surprised Beau is pissed off that she's returning early with Lance, but…it's on her, Superman. I…have other things to worry about now."

"You do…and I'm going to be there for anything that you need." Aubrey took Jessica's hand and they smiled until the agent's phone rang. "What the hell? Can't a man have dinner with his girlfriend?"

Jessica saw the caller ID. "It's Booth."

Aubrey grumbled about being kept away from his food before answering the phone. "Booth, what's up...really? You're shitting me..."

Jessica saw Aubrey's expression freeze in shock as she listened to her boyfriend's end of the conversation.

"So what was it...a stroke, huh? Well…I'm sorry for the family, but it makes things easier for Jess…yeah, I'll tell her. Thanks for calling, Booth. Good night."

"Aubrey, what's that about?", Jessica asked as her boyfriend put his phone down on the counter. "What will be easier for me?"

"Harold Maxwell died at the hospital ten minutes ago without regaining consciousness. They're going to do an autopsy in the morning because he had a head injury, but all signs point to him having a stroke. Mrs. Maxwell told the doctors and the police that her husband had been complaining of a headache on and off for a week, along with dizziness and balance issues. This morning, he had blurry vision and temporary loss of it in his left eye."

"Holy shit. According to the news, he may have been agitated. If he had a clot, it could have been thrown if his stress level was elevated enough, causing a stroke."

"Yeah, I guess Harold was in the middle of a loud and nasty argument with Gerald over what his wife called,  _'personal matters'_  and then suddenly he spaced out for a second before going down in a heap. He hit his head on a glass table on the way down, cutting his head open. Booth said CSI investigated the scene and it was…a bloody mess."

"Harold Maxwell is dead.", Jessica replied quietly. "Well…it does make things easier. Just one trial to worry about instead of two."

"I'm sorry, Jessica.", Aubrey said. "I know you wanted him tried—"

"Yes, I wanted him tried, Aubrey, but…as much as it sickens me to wish ill of the dead…with Harold Maxwell being gone…things are easier now. It's one less person to intimidate and harass women in this world." She tried to smile as she spooned up a bite of soup. "I feel sorry for his wife, though…"

Aubrey saw through the small smile. "Are you okay, Jessica?"

"No, but I will be. I can still get Gerald, starting with dropping off the paperwork at the courthouse so I can sue him. He'll be served either tomorrow or the next day. The timing is shitty, but I don't care anymore." The redhead sipped her beer before setting it down. "That's bad, isn't it?"

Aubrey took her hand again. "No, it's not."

Jessica kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "Okay, no more Maxwell talk. Let's finish our dinner, get the kitchen cleaned up, and settle in for the night. We have a  _Dr. Who_ movie to watch."

"That we do, Ms. Warren."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Aubrey had a morning drive filled snow and wind. He and Jessica had promised to text the other when they got to work so each would know the other had arrived there safely. Finally getting in just shy of 8:00, he parked his SUV in his designated spot. After sending a text to his favorite redhead, he headed into the Hoover while chugging his coffee.

When he got to the 4th floor break room, he was happy as he saw who was waiting for him. "Hey, Booth."

The older man turned around and put the coffee carafe back back on the burner. "Morning, Aubrey. How's Jessica doing?"

Aubrey took the coffee and filled his Star Wars mug. "She's doing all right. Knowing Harold Maxwell won't be punished for what he did does kind of suck, but...at least she doesn't have to suffer through a second trial. She's got enough to contend with when Gerald's trial starts on Monday the 23rd."

"It's going to be a shit show around here for the next couple of weeks. Not sure which will be a bigger one...Harold Maxwell's funeral or Inauguration Day the Friday after next.", Booth commented as he sipped his coffee.

The younger man searched the cupboards for a necessity. "You and Dr. B taking Christine and Hank to the parade?"

Booth shook his head in disgust. "Fuck no, Aubrey. Bones and I both agree that this January 20th is not a day to celebrate. Besides, Bones wants to work on her speech for the Women's March the next day."

Aubrey found the cinnamon and sprinkled it into his coffee. "So, have you heard anything else about Harold or what happened?"

Booth checked his watch. "The autopsy should be starting now and the Fairfax County medical examiner said he would give me a call, since the police chief in Great Falls gave the okay for the FBI to have the information. The chief is also going to send me the photographs of the scene as a courtesy, but it sounds pretty legit."

"Think it's true about what Hannah reported last night?"

"About that punk fighting with his dad?" Booth took another drink. "It wouldn't surprise me. Perhaps Harry decided he was fed up with Gerald's shit. I wonder who's paying the civil attorney for that lawsuit he filed against Jessica..."

"If it wasn't his parents, perhaps he soaked Ashley for it.", Aubrey said bitterly. "Angela is working on a new voice algorithm today. If it works, she going to try to narrow down who called in that bomb threat last Friday."

"Think it was Gerald?"

"Yeah. It's the only thing that makes sense. We don't have the phone itself, but the call pinged off a cell phone tower right by Maxco Enterprises. Who else would be stupid enough to risk going to jail for a bomb threat on a federal institution?"

"That's true. I'll give you a buzz when I hear about the autopsy."

"I'll do the same when Angela gets back to Bower." Aubrey hesitated before asking his next question. "Hey Booth...do you still talk to Hannah at all?"

"Nope. When she got back into town about a month after you and Hodgins were in that bombing, she hinted that she would like to pick up where we left off, but I put a stop to that shit. I'm still surprised that she's back in town, but maybe she pissed someone off at NBC or in the military.", Booth responded. "Has Hannah been hounding Jessica again?"

"No, no...not since I warned her off Monday night."

"Good.", Booth said. "If she does, let me know, and I'll take care of it."

"I'll do that. Thanks, Booth.", Aubrey replied before the two separated to go to their divisions.

Arriving at Major Crimes, he greeted his agents before going into his office. He sat at his desk for a moment, thinking about all that had happened in the last couple of days.

' _Gerald Maxwell better mind his own business, because if he pulls one more stunt, instead of a men's room trash can, it will be his head that I'll make a dent in.'_

Shaking off his lingering irritation, he turned on his computer and read through his mail. Seeing an email from Karen, he couldn't help but ease his curiosity. Reading it, his curiosity turned to annoyance.

 

_**Hi Aubrey:** _

_**Saw Harold Maxwell's death on the news last night. Hopefully that nor Jessica's latest Maxwell mess doesn't affect things for you at the FBI. You're too good at your job to be stuck as a SAC forever.** _

_**If I can help you in any way during this mess when I get back from Cincinnati, don't hesitate to call me.** _

_**Karen.** _

 

Aubrey took a deep breath at Karen's passive aggressive email, which looked to be sent about an hour 'Reply', the SAC typed a simple response.

 

_**Karen, kiss my ass.** _

 

However, Aubrey knew better than to engage in a war of words with the woman. Deciding to act like the professional he was, he deleted the draft. He would save his concerns for the meeting scheduled with Jake and Karen when she returned from Cincinnati.

At their meeting last week, Agent Jake Tanner was mortified as Aubrey shared with him Karen's confrontations with Jessica at the lab, the hospital, and at the FBI Gala. The fellow SAC was quite upset at the profiler's lack of professionalism and apologetic for what happened. The two came to a consensus on what to do and had a meeting planned for the three of them upon Karen's return which they kept to themselves.

Aubrey sat back and looked at the large stack of case files he had to go through today. Hopefully, he could have lunch with Jessica before her class today since after picking up Daisy from the airport the two women were probably going to have dinner together. Their week started out on such a great note Sunday...

"This week really sucks...I don't think it could get any worse."

Just then, another email popped up in his box. When he saw it was from Agent Tanner, he clicked on it immediately.

 

_**Aubrey:** _

_**Karen will be returning to DC tomorrow afternoon. I want to talk to her ASAP about what we discussed last week and I would still like you there if you are open to it. Is 8:00 Friday morning a good time?** _

_**Jake** _

 

' _No, I don't want to be in the same room as her.'_ Aubrey thought. However, when he'd talked about it with Booth while everyone was still at Founding Fathers last Friday, he was surprised to find that the older man agreed with Jake, saying it would be better to have him there. Booth's reasoning was simple:

" _Aubrey, she's going to pull her ditzy act and get all sad like she did when you confronted her after your birthday. Jake is a smart guy, but you need to defend yourself and Jessica, too, if need be. I know it sucks, but it's for the best."_

Checking his Microsoft Office calendar, he saw that the only thing he had going on was a budget meeting with Stark at 10:30. Emailing Jake back with an affirmative, Aubrey sighed again.

"Yep, it just got worse."


	67. Oopsie Daisy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Jessica to pick up Daisy at the airport. How was Daisy's trip to Canada? Read on to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way...mind the spicy bits along the way. This chapter may not be suitable for reading at work... ;)

Jessica glanced at the clock in her Jeep as she drove quickly on the Dulles Access Road. It was 4:06 and she was cutting it close, but she figured she'd make it there just as Daisy arrived at the luggage claim. Seeing her exit, she pulled in and parked in the short-term parking lot before racing inside Dulles International Airport. Looking at the incoming flights, the redhead found the ETS listed on the arrivals board and headed over to the concourse.

After leaving the airport, they were going out for dinner and drinks before Jessica took Daisy back to her condo. She had a lot to tell her friend…and something told her that her friend would have a lot to say as well.

_'Oh well, at least we won't be out too late with a two-year-old in tow.'_  Jessica thought as she arrived at her destination.

Five minutes later, she saw her friend come down the corridor, walking quickly towards her.

"Hey, Jessica!", Daisy yelled as she made her way towards the redhead. "I'm so glad to be back in the United States…"

Jessica noted one major item missing as her friend neared her. "Daisy…where's Lance?"

The petite woman flipped her hand towards her friend. "Oh…he stayed with Beau. He was really pissed because I had to come back early so he asked if Lance could stay with him so they could have some  _'guy time'_. I found out all I had to do was get a notarized letter stating he has permission to have my son when they go through Customs."

"Really?", Jessica replied as they grabbed Daisy's luggage. "And you were okay with that?"

"Yeah. No big deal." Daisy picked up her suitcase and they headed out. "One of the guys from the team is a notary, so it was easy to do. I was still a bit reluctant when I was leaving this morning, but at least I don't have to worry about child care while Beau is in Canada."

"So does Beau like the team?"

"He does...a lot. Beau will still have to go through training camp in May, because their seasons go from June to November. The coach said if he shows as much promise as he saw in the footage, they are prepared to offer him a 1.25 million five-year contract."

Jessica mentally calculated in her head. "That's almost 14K per game Daisy."

"Yeah...according to the team's owner, each CFL team has a salary cap of 5.2 million per year." Daisy led them through the busy terminal. There's not a lot of American players up there, but there are three that play for the Roughriders...including one who went to Georgetown."

"Sounds like it would be a great move for him to go to the CFL."

"No, it's not, actually." Daisy dragged her suitcase through the exit doors towards the short-term parking lot. ""The rules are mostly the same, but they don't pay their players as well as the NFL does. Besides, I don't want to live in Saskatchewan."

"Daisy, I know it's out in the prairies, but Regina is a bustling city, and Saskatoon is a big city, too. There's lots to do, and cool stuff for Lance to explore. Superman and I can come visit—"

"The winters suck out there.", Daisy huffed. "I'd be miserable…and I don't speak French."

Jessica nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, I know. but the winters suck here, too, and while Canada is bilingual, it's only Quebec that primarily French speaking. The rest of the country speaks English most of the time. However, Beau will make some good money and that will help you with paying off your student loans."

"But what am I supposed to do for a job? I checked into the RCMP Forensic Laboratory and the closest position for an anthropologist is in Montreal. There was an opening for a CSI in the Regina Police Service. However, according to Commander Winters, hiring preference is always given to candidates who have at least a Bachelor's in Forensic Science. However, he seemed impressed when I told him of my education and my work with Dr. Brennan."

"Hey, that's a positive, Dais…"

Daisy rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Yeah, I suppose...but since I don't have the Forensic Science degree, I would start at the bottom, salary wise, instead of where a person with my education should be. So, I reminded him of my close relationship with Dr. Temperance Brennan and how my qualifications and my experience should put me above the average on the pay scale. I was confident in my position, like Dr. Brennan would be if she were low balled. His response? He would keep me in mind if I applied."

_'I'm thinking that might not have gone over well, Daisy.'_  Jessica kept her thoughts to herself, trying to be polite. "Well, if the RCMP doesn't work out, since Beau would be making that much money, maybe you could take a year or two off from work, and be a stay at home mom." Seeing Daisy's scowl at that suggestion, Jessica exhaled quietly. "As the head of the NFL's Anthropology division, maybe you could do four 10 hour days each week, or something like that, and go to Canada each weekend during the on season. Off season, Beau could come back to DC and you two can use your home in Regina as a vacation home or something. I bet Christmas there would be beautiful with all that snow. Or even something like-"

The ladies got into Jessica's SUV. "Jessica…I have to be available whenever I'm needed, so working only Monday - Thursday isn't going to cut it and I can't work some cockeyed schedule just so I can fly back and forth to Saskatchewan every weekend. That's why I came back to DC today. My other two anthropologists on staff need someone to around to supervise, and with Liza out with the flu, I had no choice but to come home."

Jessica pulled out of the lot and headed back towards DC. "So, your bosses at the NFL didn't ask you to come back home?"

"No. Dr. Anderson, my boss who runs the NFL, said they were fine and told me to enjoy my vacation. However, I'm the head of the anthropology division. I can't have it go to poop when my assistant is sick and I'm gone with my husband, who's trying to play for some Canadian football team. Dr. Brennan always said you have to stay involved when you run a department. When I was her intern, she was always available if something came up and that included holidays and any vacations she took. She and I left the Maluku Islands when they needed us back at the lab when Dr. Saroyan almost got fired years ago."

_'No, they needed her, Booth, and the rest of the group back, from what Curly and Angela told me about that time. The interns came back when Dr. B did. Also, on her last couple of vacations with Booth and the kids, she was cool with Clark being in charge unless there was an emergency.'_  Jessica thought, biting her lip to keep from saying too much.

The redhead knew that Dr. B's life had been dramatically different when Daisy started her internship compared to how it was now. Back then, she was a single workaholic. From what Wendell and Arastoo had told her, Dr. B was very business-like...almost detached...when they started with Daisy as part of the first group of interns under the then new internship partner program with American University in the fall of 2009. Over time, their mentor had seemed to relax and she grew to be more flexible. She still held them accountable and she could still be harsh, but she had also learned to adapt to each intern's learning style as she passed on her knowledge for them to forge their own careers.

Jessica recalled that when she started in early 2014, she had clashed with Dr. B as her creative approach to science didn't mesh with her graduate advisor even though she found her science soulmate in Hodgins, who became her second mentor. However, over time, she learned from the forensic anthropologist how to appreciate the minutiae of their shared vocation and that sometimes, creativity could hide the truth.

She secretly thought that maybe her creative genius may have influenced her teacher on occasion, but she would never say that out loud. By the time she'd started three years prior, the woman Daisy had looked up to when she'd started years earlier had been replaced with a woman who was married to her soul mate and had begun a family with him.

The redhead knew that a lot had changed for her also in the last three years. When she began at the lab, she'd embarked on a fling with Sweets because she was dead set on marriage and kids. However, seeing Dr. B balance that work and home life, and watching her overcome obstacles with Booth had given Jessica hope that maybe having love and work was possible...and she now had the perfect partner to have all that with.

Realizing that she was tuning out her friend, Jessica put her focus back on Daisy, who was nattering on about what had happened with her husband.

"I told Beau that I was requested to return, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him. I was really bored, anyhow. The team honchos were nice and I did like the wining and dining at all the fancy restaurants in Regina, but…Canada is not for me. When Beau asked me last night what I thought about the team and the offer, I told him that re-signing with the Redskins was the best option for all of us."

Jessica exhaled. "How did Beau feel about that?"

"He was upset. I know he is really excited about this opportunity but it's not a given. He would still have to attend their training camp in May to even be considered and...it would devastate him if they cut him after he moved our lives to Regina. That would leave both of us without a job...I can land on my feet, but Beau doesn't think of much past football. He's got a business degree but he doesn't give two craps about it."

Daisy saw Jessica's concern, nervously playing with her scarf as she gazed out of the passenger window. "He'll come around, Jessica. I've also told him that if he signs with the Redskins, I may even reconsider my stance on waiting to start trying for another baby because everyone I love is here, and they could help with the new little one….not right away, of course, but soon. I need time to carve my niche out at the NFL with the idea of possibly taking Dr. B's place at the Jeffersonian lab someday. They'll need me there in the future to carry on her guidance."

' _Wow...already lining up for that office? Dr. B isn't leaving for a long time, Dais, so don't get your hopes up.'_ Jessica thought. "Is your father in law still pushing Beau to either sign with another or go to the CFL?"

"Yeah, Martin is, but he needs to butt out. I don't get why he's pushing us to leave DC all of a sudden. Until recently, they were always so big on us being close and together, but now it's like  _'good luck don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out',_  you know? Now my mother-in-law is on it, too. I mean, what the hell?"

"Well, Daisy, maybe they just want to be supportive of their son, that's all.", Jessica offered. "They want him to accomplish his dreams."

"Well, I'm his wife and I have a great job. I don't want to leave that behind, or my friends, to go live in the sticks where I'll freeze my ass off most of the year. I love my husband, but I can't go…I won't leave everyone...I can't.", Daisy said with a catch in her voice. "I made online reservations at Old Ebbitt Grill for dinner. Is that okay?"

Jessica had hoped to eat in Annandale near Daisy's condo, but she decided that it wasn't that big of a deal. "Yeah, that's fine. Aubrey has leftover soup to eat for dinner tonight. I'll order him their meatloaf to go so he has something to eat later as a snack."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

At 9:00, Aubrey had on a t-shirt and flannel pajama pants as he sat with Skinner on the couch, watching an old movie. Hearing the door unlock, he turned the movie off and saw Jessica walking in while holding up a tipsy Daisy.

"Hey, it's Aubrey and Skinny...Skinner...hey Aubrey…how is Aubrey...", Daisy slurred. "Hey, did you know there's two of you? I didn't know you were twins…"

Already tipped off from Jessica on what to expect, the agent kept his attitude light. "I'm good. How was Saskatchewan?"

He caught Jessica's head shake too late and Daisy's pleasant demeanor changed. "That place fucking sucks!"

Not expecting the outburst, Aubrey nodded his head in surprise. "Okay, no more questions about the Great White North. Now, Daisy I have a couple of rooms to choose from. There's-"

"I'll use...that one room by the kitchen...the one with the bed...what is it called…" Daisy squinted as she tried to remember through her alcoholic haze.

"The downstairs bedroom?", Aubrey asked patiently.

"Yeah, the downstairs one. I'm sure you want me far away so you can have sex with Jessica…she says you are…hung like a stud...horse...and..." Daisy struggled for a moment before gesturing towards Aubrey. "...you…fuck really good and are always up for fucking...like all the time...and you guys do everything….when you fuck...she really likes...grabbing your...nice, tight ass..."

"Oh, my God, Daisy...shut up…", Jessica retorted in embarrassment.

Aubrey's ears turned red, although he secretly enjoyed the praise. "Thanks for that, Daisy...from the bottom of my heart."

"It's a comparison...no...compliment, Aubrey. Comp...liment.", Daisy replied, wearing a silly grin. "Jessica brags about how you make her scream and that she has tons of orgasms. You keep my best friend...sexually...sasified...no...satis..satisfied...yeah...I think that's great..."

"Really?", Aubrey's mortification turned to curiosity. "What else does Jessica say?"

"Aubrey...don't encourage her. She's wasted.", Jessica hissed back, but it was too late.

"That you're a wall banger, okay? That you're real noisy during sex. Beau…doesn't do that with me...he likes it quiet so we don't disturb the neighbors. It's hard, though, when he goes down on me…oh yeah, he's so good with his tongue…oh, and when he plowed me doggy style on the couch last week after we put Lance to bed...his dick fills me up and feels so good...he fucks like a stallion...I hate being quiet..."

_'Oh, I did not need to know that.'_ Aubrey made a face, deciding that a change of topic would be prudent. "So…do you two need help with anything?"

"I have some leftovers….they were so good...until dinner was ruined...", Daisy mumbled.

"Our leftovers are still in my Jeep if you don't mind getting them, Superman. I picked you up some of their meatloaf, too, since I know how much you like it.", Jessica interrupted her friend's upcoming rant. "I'll go put Daisy in the bedroom and get her something to sleep in tonight."

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow….gotta go in and clean up everyone's messes at the NFL…because I'm the head bone lady…the head bitch of the bones division." The anthropologist suddenly groaned. "Jessica…I don't feel so good…I think I'm..."

_'Maybe polishing off almost an entire bottle of Merlot and then drinking a couple of glasses of champagne wasn't the smartest thing.'_  Jessica thought as she briskly walked her friend to the bathroom. "Okay, to the bathroom we go…we don't want to make a mess on Aubrey's nice wooden floors."

"Meatloaf sounds pretty good right now." Grabbing his jacket, Aubrey slipped on his sneakers, grabbed Jessica's keys from her purse, and headed out towards the back door. As he passed the bathroom, he heard loud retching.

_"Daisy! Damn it! Just stay there…I'll be right back."_

"Maybe not…" Aubrey said to himself as Jessica came out with a dark smear of what was unmistakably vomit on her top.

"So not happy right now, Superman."

The agent made a face, trying to avoid the smell of the Merlot tinged vomit. "I now understand when you said on the phone that it would be better for her to stay here tonight. She would have puked all over your Jeep by the time you got her home."

"I was almost hoping she would puke at Old Ebbitt's Grill. I wasn't that lucky, but I'm glad she made it back here. With the traffic it would have been way longer to get her to her condo."

"Do you need help with Daisy, Jess?", Aubrey asked, feeling like a coward for hoping that she would say no.

Jessica grimaced as she held her hand up, obviously fighting to remain calm. "No, I've got it. While we got some in the toilet, the rest is on the bathroom floor, her hair, and my shirt...and it stinks." Jessica scrunched her nose. "Sorry, Aubrey. I have to get her clothes off and get her cleaned up in the shower before she can sleep it off."

"Why did she get so wasted?", Aubrey asked.

_"Because men are fucking son of a bitch fucking assholes!",_ Daisy yelled from the bathroom.

Aubrey's eyebrows arched, but Jessica merely rolled her eyes. "I'll explain later when I come to bed. It's going to be a while so you might as well go up after grabbing the food. I need to get this shirt off and soak it. I hope it isn't ruined...I love this shirt."

"Here, I'll take it. The food can wait for five minutes, but whatever she drank probably won't. I love her, Jess, but I don't want her vomit all over our bathroom."

Jessica took off her shirt and gave it to her boyfriend, who quickly took it to the laundry room. Filling the sink part way, he soaked the shirt before running outside. Grabbing the food, he locked the door and secured the garage. He came back into the kitchen as Jessica headed into the bathroom with a spare set of pajamas for Daisy. As he put the items in the fridge, he heard voices.

_"That bitch thinks she's better than me because she works at Georgetown, but that's not true because…they're snobs. She's a fucking snob..."_

_"Daisy, she was nice to you at the restaur—"_

_"No, she's a fucking bitch! She's making me look bad, Jessica…she's trying to take my place with him. I won't let that slut get away with it, you hear me…I'm going to kick her fucking ass...she's going to rue to the day she messed with me...nobody fucks with Daisy Wicks..."_

The shower started in the background.  _"I know, Daisy...now get up so I can get you in the shower. You can't sleep with vomit in your hair…come on, Honey...let's get you cleaned up..."_

After making sure Skinner's dish had some food, Aubrey went upstairs to wait for Jessica.  _'This should be an very interesting story…'_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Aubrey had just finished brushing his teeth when Jessica entered the bathroom wearing a look of pure frustration. He watched as she quickly put her hair back and wiped off her makeup.

"Is she sleeping?"

"Yes…now I can finally clean myself up. God, I feel so gross right now." Jessica stripped and started the shower before getting in. "I put the trash can next to the bed with a Kroger's bag in it in case she got sick again. I've also propped her up on her side and left some Motrin with a bottle of water. Daisy is going to have a hard morning tomorrow."

Aubrey leaned against the double sink. "Jess, what the hell happened tonight? You two were supposed to have dinner and catch up before taking her home. Better yet, where's Lance? I thought he was coming home with her."

"Beau talked her into letting him keep Lance until he came home next week. As for dinner, you're right...we were going to eat and have drinks before I took her home. We were going to catch up and relax. However, there were complications.", Jessica said.

"What kind of complications?"

"Oliver and Rani showed up at the restaurant while we were there.", Jessica said over the water. "Shit, Aubrey can you get me another bar of soap?"

Quickly he pulled one out of the master cabinet. Opening the shower door, he handed it to her. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Superman. I'll be out in a minute."

"You're fine." Aubrey turned on the fan and leaned back against the sink. "So Oliver comes into the picture. He's always a barrel of laughs...what happened next?"

The water shut off and Jessica emerged. Grabbing her towel, she dried off before putting on her MSU pajamas. "We had just ordered appetizers and a bottle of Merlot when they arrived. They were going to the bar for a drink while they waited for a table, but Daisy invited them to join us."

Needing to relieve himself, Aubrey put the seat up and did his nightly constitutional. "That seems a bit rude since you and Daisy were going to catch up. Okay, that aside…Oliver is a blowhard and annoying, but so far I'm not seeing the issue."

Jessica pulled out her toothbrush. "Well, there was no issue at first...everything was fine. Oliver and Rani ordered a bottle of champagne and we all talked shop over our appetizers and drinks. Oliver made a toast to Rani and the progress they have made over their prototype. He also toasted to them having future projects together."

Aubrey sighed. "Uh oh…"

"Yep. Daisy looked...pissed, so she talked about how much fun she had with Beau and Lance in Regina." Jessica exhaled heavily. "Oliver countered that it was fitting that her husband would go work in the sticks. Daisy shot back with how wonderful, romantic, and supportive Beau was. After that, Oliver was snippy with Daisy and vice versa. However, he was also super flirty with Rani the rest of the time, always touching her hand, putting his arm around her...even kissing her at one point. I think he embarrassed Rani with all that PDA."

Finishing up, Aubrey washed his hands. "Oliver…PDA?"

"Not upset stomach inducing like with Steve and Mitzi, but for him…majorly weird. Of course, Daisy got more upset and by the time I was ready for a second glass of wine, our bottle of Merlot became her bottle of Merlot because she had chugged almost all of it, and then she had some of their champagne on top of it." Jessica finished brushing her teeth and spit. "I had to order a second glass separately. I mean, it's not like I was going to have more than that because I was driving, but…I did like the wine...and I wanted some with my steak."

"She drank that entire bottle by herself...plus champagne?", Aubrey replied. "She's tiny, Jess. No wonder she's completely shitfaced right now."

"Yeah…it was like Daisy and Oliver were competing with each other in some weird…" Jessica gestured with her toothbrush. "...mind foreplay…I can't think of another way to describe it."

Aubrey scratched his foot. "Did Rani pick up on their...vibe?"

"I made it a point to distract her by talking about her projects. I didn't mind, because I do really enjoy talking to her. She's super smart and I like her theories as much as Hodgins and Dr. B do regarding her discipline as it pertains to forensics."

"You think it worked?"

"I think so...at least I hope so." Taking her hair down, she threw the scrunchie in the corner on her side of the sinks. "Ready for bed, Aubrey?"

"Yeah…" Aubrey shut the light off before following his girlfriend into their bedroom. Getting under the covers, he watched her get settled in while Skinner laid at the end of the bed. "Is she going to be able to work tomorrow?"

"I hope so...I have to work so I can't babysit her tomorrow. Thankfully, she called Beau before we got to the restaurant, so he didn't get her a drunken mess. I pulled her phone from her purse when she wasn't looking so she wouldn't drunk dial him. I put it back in her purse before coming up."

"Smart move, Mensa girl."

"Yeah, that's me." Jessica pulled the blankets over her. "I just hope she and Oliver get their heads straight, Superman. They're playing a game that isn't going to end well for anyone."

"You've got that right." Aubrey took Jessica in his arms. As she snuggled with her head on his chest, he reached for the bedside lamp and shut the light off. They cuddled together in the dark before the agent asked a very important question.

"Jess, do you really brag about how good I am in bed and that I'm hung like a horse?"

"Go to sleep, Aubrey."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Daisy woke up several hours later with a monster headache, nausea, and dehydration. It took her a minute before she realized she was in one of Aubrey's guest rooms. "My head is going to explode...OMG...I need relief..."

Looking at the small bedside table, she saw the medication and bottle of water and sighed with relief. Swallowing the pills, she guzzled the water down to make the bad stuff go away. Realizing that she wasn't going to go back to sleep, she decided to get up for work.

Standing up, she closed her eyes as a wave of nausea hit her. Sitting back down, she took a few deep breaths before trying again slowly. When a quick wave of nausea passed, she stood up and clutched her head. "Oh…I feel so poopy…it's Dr. B's bachelorette party all over again…"

Stumbling out to the kitchen she saw the time on the kitchen radio and groaned. "4:39...crap…I want to crawl into a hole and die…I need some of Oliver's liquid hate..."

Then it hit her that she didn't have a vehicle to go to work because it was back home in Virginia. "Shit…I need to get home…the NFL needs me..."

Finding her way around the living room, she tiptoed upstairs to the massive master bedroom. Peeking inside, she spotted her friend and her boyfriend asleep with Aubrey spooning her and groaned. Before she could go any further, Skinner woke up from his spot in front of Jessica and startled her.

"Skinner quit looking at me like that.", Daisy whispered as the cat focused his green eyes on her. Ignoring the probing stare, she crept in and gently shaking her best friend's arm. "Jessica…I'm sorry to wake you..."

Getting only a loud snort from the redhead in response, she shook her friend more. "Jessica, I need you to wake up…"

"Curly...Dr. B needs me to clean the bones...", the redhead mumbled in her sleep.

Daisy groaned, know her friend's penchant for being a deep sleeper. "Jessica, you're talking in your sleep again. Come on, honey...wake up…"

The redhead remained in dreamland, but Aubrey woke up from his blanket cocoon, hair in several different directions. "Daisy…what's wrong?"

"Someone has to take me to my condo so I can go to work."

Aubrey saw the time on Jessica's side of the bed and couldn't hold back the sarcasm. "Now? The NFL really needs you there at 4:48 in the morning?"

Daisy rubbed her face. "Yes, Aubrey. I'm the head...ugh...forensic anthropologist…"

"My keys are in my purse, Dais. Should be by the front door.", Jessica mumbled sleepily as Aubrey closed his eyes to go back to sleep. "Superman will take me to work later."

Daisy had a confused look. "I can't take your Jeep to work…my NFL badge is in my Fusion."

"Take it to your condo and switch to your car, Daisy. We'll pick her Jeep up tonight...", An annoyed Aubrey grumbled sleepily.

"That's a good idea."

"Fantastic...glad you approve. See you later…". Aubrey muttered.

Daisy felt guilty for her next request. "Um…"

"What, Daisy?", an annoyed Aubrey puffed out.

"Well...I need some coffee really bad before going to work. I feel like crap and I know you have that fancy super complicated coffee bean grinder that Hodgins and Angela got you two for Christmas." Jessica shook her friend's arm again. "Jessica, please wake up. I need help with the coffee grinder."

_'Really? She can't fucking stop at Starbucks on the way?'_  Irritated, Aubrey opened his eyes and got out of bed. "Come on…"

Daisy followed as the tired FBI agent led the way downstairs followed by Skinner. Grabbing his beans from the cupboard, he quickly grinded a bunch, put them in the machine, filled it with a carafe of filtered water, and started it before pouring Skinner some food.

"Thank you, Aubrey."

"Don't mention it.", he replied before heading back up to bed.

"Wait, do you have skim milk? I don't use creamer…", Daisy asked but when she was greeted with Aubrey's irritated face, she gulped. "…you know, I'm sure whatever creamer Jessica has is fine. I'm going to take a quick shower before I go if that's okay?"

"Towels are in the cupboard by the bathroom. Lock up when you leave.", Aubrey grumbled before heading back upstairs. Getting into bed, he snuggled up to Jessica.

Just as he finally fell asleep, the front door slammed, waking him up again. Reaching for his phone, he saw that it was 5:22. Realizing that he wasn't going back to sleep, he got out of bed, deciding to start his day.

"Superman, where are you going? You're warm…", Jessica mumbled.

Coming out of his closet with a suit, tie, and shirt, he walked towards the bathroom. "I'm not going back to sleep, Jess. I'm just going to get in the shower and get ready for work."

"Okay…" Jessica closed her eyes but found herself awake as well. Suddenly she got an idea. Smiling as she got out of bed, she was meowed at by Skinner.

"Sorry buddy, I'll give you some attention a little bit. Right now, Aunt Jessica needs some time with your daddy…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Aubrey had just dipped his head underneath the largest of the three shower heads when he heard the door open. Looking up, he smiled as his girlfriend joined him. "This is an unexpected surprise."

"Well, I'm up…and you're up…and it's been three days, Superman…", Jessica said slyly before her hands moved down Aubrey's wet skin and then down his treasure trail before pushing him into the wall. "…three long days…"

Aubrey could feel himself start to stir when he saw the look in her eyes. God, he loved it when she got aggressive and initiated sex. He knew how lucky he was to have someone who wasn't afraid to ask first.

"We could have had sex last night but…oh Christ…", Aubrey countered before he felt her hands stroking him gently just the way he liked it. "Oh yeah…"

Jessica kissed her lover along his jawline as she felt his hands knead her rear end. "You were a good sport when Daisy spent the night…"

"Yes…oh wow…", Aubrey groaned as she cupped his balls.

"You kept your cool when she woke us up almost an hour ago for coffee and my car keys…" Jessica got on her knees and kissed around his navel.

Aubrey wove his hands into her hair. He groaned loudly as he felt her lips tease him until he reached his breaking point. "Jessica, I love you so much, but quit screwing around and get your mouth on me...please…"

"I guess I could do that…", she replied before her tongue caressed him, followed next by her warm lips. "It's just like licking a candy cane…"

"Oh yeah….oh fuck!", he yelled as she took in his length and pleasured him. "Oh…so good…oh yeah...oh wow..." His hands tangled further into her hair and he moved his hips towards her with each stroke. He was caught up in the extreme pleasure that it was a shock when she stopped. "Noooo...don't stop…come on, woman...it feels so good..."

"I know...", Jessica replied as she kissed up his skin and put her arms around his neck. "...but I want your hands and other parts of you on me now…"

Shifting gears, Aubrey picked her up, being careful not to slip on the floor. Feeling her long legs wrapped around his trim waist, the agent turned around, and held her up against the shower wall. Her moans were addictive as his lips trailed down her wet skin. When his mouth found her breast, he felt her nails lightly scratch his back and became even more turned on.

"Don't stop…", Jessica groaned.

' _I want her to beg…it's so hot when she does…'_ He was so hard and all his brain could focus on was his need to pile drive her into the wall. "What do you want, Jessica…", Aubrey said huskily, his hand kneading her rear end as he suckled her left breast.

"I want you to fuck me, Aubrey…now…", the anthropologist said desperately. "Right...now…"

Without hesitation, the agent positioned himself and pushed hard inside her. He pistoned quickly as the water from the shower beat down on them. Moans permeated the bathroom as they got closer to their climaxes. Aubrey could feel her nails dig into his back and knew she was getting close.

"Come on, baby…almost there…I love you..."

"I love you, too….."

When Jessica crested, it only took a couple more strokes before Aubrey joined her. They held each other as their bodies slowly began to come back down from their high.

"Sorry about your back.", Jessica whispered into his neck.

"I don't care...that was...amazing…", Aubrey responded as he continued to hold her. "I need to thank Daisy for waking me up."

They both chuckled for a moment. After they regained their faculties, Aubrey put her down and kissed her. Jessica responded and they held in a tight embrace. "Damn…I forgot the most important thing, Superman…"

The agent's eyes got big as he thought about what she meant. "Jessica…please tell you didn't forget to take your pill last night…I mean I love you so much…I love kids...I'll really love them with you someday...but…"

"Aubrey!" Jessica laughed before kissing him again. "I love you, too…and I also love kids, but I'm not ready for little Aubreys…"

Confused, he cocked an eyebrow at his lover. "But you said…"

Jessica caressed his face. "I took my birth control pill last night…right before I came into the bathroom…that is not something I will ever forget…"

' _Yes! I really hate condoms! Oh boy...she's going to think I don't trust her…'_ Aubrey thought. "I'm sorry…I know that…um…I didn't mean to…crap...am I just digging myself a hole?"

"Yes, you are, but I still love you." Jessica kissed him once more. "What I forgot was this… _'Good morning, Aubrey…_ '"

Aubrey laughed with her before squirting some of her shampoo in his hands so he could wash her hair. "Oh, I think you said,  _'Good morning, Aubrey'_  multiple times already this morning, Jess."


	68. A Surprising Turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another wrinkle in the story for our characters. What is Gerald up to now? Read on to find out...

Aubrey arrived at work at 7:30, carrying a box of a dozen donuts as he whistled a cheerful tune. He was tired as hell, and he knew he would probably crash tonight as soon as he got home. Of that he had no doubt, but he knew it was worth it as he remembered the morning delight he'd received from Jessica in the shower and then the pancakes she'd made for breakfast. Yawning as he got off the elevator, he chuckled to himself.  _Yeah, I might crash hard this evening...but I'll crash with Jessica in my arms...and I'm looking forward to that..she makes it all worthwhile..._

Walking into the break room, he greeted a couple agents who were in early like he was. Arriving in the bullpen, he was surprised to see Steve Bower typing on the computer.

"Steve? A bit early for you, isn't it?"

Sipping his coffee, the other man nodded. "Yeah, but I got an anonymous tip at 3:00 this morning about the phone that was used in last week's bomb threat. Mitzi's working the graveyard shift this weekend, and I was up anyway, so I checked it out as soon as I could."

"Was it legit?"

"Yeah, it was, Boss." Steve yawned and stretched a bit as he glanced up at Aubrey. "I got down to Ashley Anders' apartment building about 4:30-"

"Did you say Ashley Anders? The Jeffersonian Intern?" When Steve nodded, Aubrey knew he had to tread carefully. "Sorry...go ahead."

"So, I left Casper to continue Gerald's surveillance while Agent Bell and I went dumpster diving until we found all of Ms. Anders' trash bags. I got ahold of Dr. Hodgins, and he met me at the Jeffersonian about 6:30 this morning and took possession of the bags. He, myself, and some new pathologist lady searched through them until we found a phone inside." Steve rubbed his face as he grimaced in disgust. "Apparently she's a vegan and the food scraps she had in there stunk to high heaven…"

Aubrey gestured to move things along. "Did you find anything else?"

"Just the usual girl stuff, Boss, along with a few empty bottles of Langatun Whiskey."

"Fancy tastes...no surprise.", Aubrey cracked. "But what I meant was...did you find anything relevant to the case?"

"Maybe...I mean, nothing that screamed  _'mad bomber'_ , but we found a couple single use ice packs that had been used...you know, like the ones people put on bruises? Dr. Hodgins is still going through the trash, so who knows what else they'll find." Steve yawned again. "I ran home, took a quick shower, saw my Mitzi Muffin, and came into work. She was pissed about my smelly clothes…"

"Yeah...I'm sure she was, Steve.", Aubrey replied. "Keep me and Agent Shaw posted, okay?"

"You got it, Boss…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Jessica had finally finished her examination of a set of remains in Limbo. Confirming her report in her tablet, she emailed the report to Dr. B. After putting the bones away carefully, she went back upstairs to the main lab.

Passing by the Ookey Room, she saw Hodgins and Dr. Thompson, the new interim pathologist, hard at work searching what looked like a pile of garbage. She felt bad that he was without an intern today, as Ashley was going to Harold Maxwell's wake. However, when she had checked in earlier that morning, Hodgins had immediately sent her to work with Dr. B. He had been rather abrupt about it, but she chalked it up to exhaustion, since Angela had told her in passing he had been called in to work around 6:30. Whatever the reason, it must have been important.

Arriving at her mentor's office, she knocked and came in when given permission. "Dr. B, would you like me to continue in Limbo after my break?"

"Actually, the Maryland State Police are sending in a set of remains that were found outside Baltimore on the construction side of a new federal building. We will need your assistance with the examination when it arrives."

"Okay. Would you like anything from the coffee cart, Dr. B?"

"No, thank you, Ms. Warren."

Jessica left and Brennan made a call. "Hodgins, are you almost done with your examination...good...those remains should be here soon and then you can use Ms. Warren after that." Brennan paused as she listened. "Yes, I agree with your assessment that Ms. Warren was not to assist you this morning...I'll let you know when they get here. Good bye."

Brennan hung up the phone and returned to the manuscript for her latest book. If things turned out like they predicted, they might have one more piece of evidence that could be used in the Gerald Maxwell case in order put him away for good...at least she hoped so.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Two hours later, Jessica finished setting up specimens in the MSGC in the Ookey Room. Setting the parameters, she started the machine. "How else can I help you, Curly?"

Hodgins looked up from the item he was examining with a magnifying glass. "That should be it, Jessica. I'll be fine until Ashley gets here."

"Are you sure, Curly? I'm sorry that Dr. B needed me right away in Limbo when I came in this morning, but she said I could help you now until Ashley gets here..."

"That's okay, Jessica, and yes, I'm good. Harold Maxwell's wake ended about 30 minutes ago. I told Ashley to grab a quick lunch before coming in, so she'll be here anytime."

Jessica's curiosity finally got the best of her. "When is Harold Maxwell's funeral?"

Hodgins typed notes into the computer and began examining another piece of evidence. "10:00 tomorrow at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Great Falls."

The redhead shrugged as she removed her gloves. "I didn't know the Maxwells were religious."

"They were when it counted, I guess.", Hodgins said with a tinge of bitterness. "That's something that has never changed over the years. They went to church on Easter and Christmas for sure, and maybe another Sunday or two during the year...enough to keep their standing as church members..."

"Well, I'm truly sorry for the family, but…not that sorry. I'm hoping that the process server has enough taste at least to serve Gerald regarding my lawsuit after the viewing.", Jessica replied while washing her hands. Hearing her phone buzz, she pulled it out of her pocket and read it. "Aubrey's just pulled in. He's having lunch with me here today since we're short handed...unless you need me to wait until Ashley gets here."

Hodgins laughed as he looked up from his computer. "Jessica, I worked for several years without an intern and did just fine. Really, I'm good. Go have lunch with your boyfriend. Dr. B is with Booth at the diner, so I'll email her that you're taking your lunch break."

"Okay." Seeing the petri dishes, she pointed to them. "Do you want me to run these to Angela for you quick since it's on my way?"

"Actually, yeah, if you could." Hodgins wheeled over to the dishes to check their contents. "She may be napping, so if she is, can you wake her up? She just wanted to lay down for an hour. I just need to finish what I'm doing here so we can go to lunch."

"Is the pregnancy wearing her out?", Jessica asked.

Hodgins nodded. "Yeah, but I know better than to tell her to take it easy, though."

Jessica picked up the small tray. "I'll be right back."

Jessica walked to her friend's office, where she was indeed napping on the couch. In the background there was a scan commencing on the Angelatron and what looked like a phone hooked up to something else. Setting the tray with the dishes down, she gently shook the woman. "Angela, Hodgins wanted me to wake you up."

Opening her eyes, Angela stretched and grinned up at her friend. "Thanks, Jessica. This little guy is wearing me out a lot these days. I love being pregnant, but being knocked up at 38 is different than at 31…just saying…"

Jessica smiled as she put the three petri dishes on the table. "I'm going to return the tray to Hodgins and then have lunch with Aubrey…"

"Yes, go have lunch with your cute agent, Jessica.", Angela said playfully. "Perhaps you two sneak away for another round of what brought you here in such a cheerful mood this morning."

Jessica turned beet red. "Angela…we're at work…"

"Never stopped Hodgins and me…and I was right." Angela pointed at the intern and chuckled. "You and Aubrey did have some  _'before work'_ morning nookie…what a great way to start the day, right?"

"I'll talk to you later.", the redhead said with a smirk before walking out with the tray. Seeing Aubrey walk in with a large bag, she got his attention and he walked over to her.

"Hey there, beautiful…the reason for my good morning...", Aubrey smiled widely.

Giving her boyfriend a peck on the cheek, Jessica agreed. "Yes, it has been a good morning…I'll meet you up in the break area in a minute. I just need to return this tray to Curly."

"Sounds great…I have to check in with Angela when we're done with lunch to see if she found anything on the phone Steve brought in this morning. It might be connected to the asshole who called in last week's bomb threat.", Aubrey's voice trailed off when he saw an angry woman stomp towards the Ookey Room. "Um, tread carefully, Jess. Ashley looks pissed."

"I'll be quick." Jessica walked briskly, wanted to get in and out. When she got to the doorway, she heard the reason for the woman's irritation.

"…he got served as we were walking out of the church! Dr. Hodgins…that's so distasteful and disgusting! Between his siblings and his mother giving him the cold shoulder and two of his ex-girlfriends trying to flirt with him at his father's wake…it's been a trying day for Gerald."

Hodgins nodded as he hung up his blue lab coat. "Sounds like it, Ashley. Flirting with an ex at his father's service is pretty gauche."

"He even had to take one of them aside in the back of the sanctuary to talk some sense into her. They were gone over twenty minutes. When they came out, his shirt and her skirt were rumpled and he said it was because she jumped him. Ugh."

"Well, Ashley, I'm sure it was a…trying day for him.", Hodgins replied in a very polite tone as he noticed Jessica in the doorway. "Now, I need you to check on all the arachnids in the group study next door. Then we'll go over your assignments today before I take Angie to lunch."

When the other intern was gone, Hodgins waved Jessica in. Setting the tray down, she mouthed, "Thank you" to Hodgins, who nodded before she walked back out.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"He actually had sex with another woman during his father's wake…with his girlfriend there?" A disgusted Aubrey sipped his chocolate shake. "Jess, that is…beyond despicable, even for Gerald."

"I know…Ashley believed him when he said the other woman jumped him and he had to fight her off, but…I can't worry about that anymore.", the intern replied, biting into her salad.

"And you shouldn't. You have enough to deal with." Aubrey noticed a couple of older women he recognized as lab technicians giving haughty looks to his girlfriend. "Don't you ladies have something better to do than staring at an intern that can run circles around you?"

Offended, the two women grabbed their coffee and stormed away. Jessica tried to hold in her giggle, but it burst out. "Superman…you're a dick…"

"And they're judgmental and snotty. What's your point?" Aubrey smirked before dipping a French fry into his garlic mayo-ketchup mix. "Consider it yet another thank you for making my very early morning a better one. Hear back from Daisy at all since she left the house at the butt crack of dawn?"

"I sent her a text earlier asking how she was feeling. She replied with,  _'not as poopy as this morning...hiding in office today.'"_

"Well, maybe next time she won't chug a bottle of red wine and then champagne when she's pissed off...of course, that didn't stop her when we had dinner with her and Beau back in November." Aubrey bit into his triple bacon cheeseburger and chewed thoughtfully. "She's putting her marriage in jeopardy, Jess. Not just with the Oliver thing, but also with her complete obstinacy in not compromising with Beau in regards to his career. It sounds like the deal he would get with the CFL if he passes their training camp would be much better than with the Redskins."

"I agree."

Aubrey paused slightly, choosing his words carefully as he continued. "I know she loves her job, but it wouldn't hurt her to put Beau first for a change. Yeah, there's a lot I don't like about him, but you can't deny that he's tried to consider Daisy's needs lately...when he's not being a pain in the ass, that is."

"It's weird, though, because when I first suggested last week that maybe he could commute back to DC in the off season, she said that when she proposed that idea to him, he turned her down flat, saying they needed to stay together and be a family unit. When I brought it up again after picking her up from the airport yesterday, this time she didn't even want to consider it."

Aubrey made a face. "That's weird. Why the change?"

"She said that since her schedule is so erratic at the NFL that even going to see him some weekends in Canada during the season would not be possible in any way. She also needs to set an example for her staff like Dr. B used to. However, from what Wendell, Angela, and Curly have told me, even Dr. B would make exceptions for her family and Booth back in the day. I don't understand it." Jessica took a sip of her pop, deciding to change the subject. "So did Booth hear back about Harold Maxwell's autopsy?"

"Yep, we heard this morning. It was a stroke. The medical examiner's report stated that there was a 90% blockage in one of the arteries leading to his heart as well as a small one in his brain. The pathologist found about what you had suggested...the clot broke off from the larger blockage and lodged in his brain. With his wife's testimony of symptoms he presented with several days beforehand, it looks like he was a time bomb waiting to go off. While there are other possibilities, the pathologist says it was likely that the screaming match he got into with Gerald is probably what triggered the stroke and that Harold Maxwell was probably dead before he hit the floor. The head injury was just incidental."

"It's good that Gerald didn't kill his father, like the rumors going around suggested…", Jessica said quietly. "So you said that Steve might have found a phone that the idiot who called here last week may have used?"

"Yeah, uh, Angela was going to do a trace on it..." Aubrey trailed off when the woman in question came up to the break area. "Hey, your ears must have been burning…"

"I'm glad you're still here. I've already called Bower to let him know, but I've traced the phone he found this morning back to the store where it was purchased. From there, I got the information about the owner of the credit card that used to pay for it. He's on his way to pick her up now."

"Who's was it?"

Before she could answer, Ashley arrived in the break area. Seeing the redhead, the young woman walked up to her, ignoring the others. "I can't believe you would be so cold to have Gerald served with a lawsuit during his father's wake. I never thought you would stoop so low."

Taking a breath, Jessica turned to her fellow intern. "Ashley, I put the paperwork in before Harold Maxwell collapsed and died. I have no control on when they served Gerald with the papers. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to enjoy lunch with my boyfriend without you jumping on your Poor Gerald soapbox."

Ashley registered surprise at Jessica's words before her anger came back. Her jaw tightened before she stormed back downstairs to the lab floor.

Aubrey gasped quietly. "Jess…that was…cold…not your usual manner…"

The redhead stabbed her Caesar salad. "I'm fed up with being nice, Aubrey. I just want this shit over with so we can get back to a somewhat normal life."

"Wow...you go, girl…", Angela said, impressed. "She must still have that cold though. Her voice has sounded like shit for over a week."

Aubrey turned back to the artist. "You said  _'her',_  Angela. Who did it belong to?"

"Yeah, the credit card belonged to-" Hearing commotion downstairs, the three moved to the railing to see Steve and Ashley on the lab floor.

"You can either come with me voluntarily, or I can arrest you right here, Ms. Anders. I would prefer not to do that." Agent Bower stood with his hands on his hips. "It's your choice, ma'am."

"I would never call in a bomb threat…you're mistaken.", Ashley stammered. "I don't know what you're talking about…"

Steve pointed towards Angela's office. "We found the phone that was used to make the call in your trash this morning. Using the serial number, Ms. Montenegro traced it back to the store where it was purchased last Thursday. The credit card that was used to pay for it is in your name. Now, come with me quietly, please, or else I'm going to have to arrest you in front of everyone."

The young woman could feel all eyes on her and she became nauseated. "Let me just go tell Dr. Hodgins where I'm going."

Back upstairs, Angela stood there, shaking her head in surprise. "I called him ten minutes ago and he's already here. Damn, he's quick."

"Aubrey, how did Steve find the phone?", Jessica asked

"Steve got an anonymous tip that the phone used to make the call would be found in Ashley's trash.", Aubrey said. "Since you don't need a search warrant to dig through trash…"

"Steve Bower actually dug through trash?"

Aubrey nodded. "Yep, with the help of Agent Bell, who was assigned to Gerald's surveillance. After some trial and error, they found Ashley's trash bags in the dumpster outside her apartment and Steve ran them over to Hodgins before you came in this morning."

Obviously surprised by Aubrey's remark, Jessica told Aubrey what had happened earlier in the day. "Hodgins never said a word to me. I saw he was examining stuff with Dr. Thompson, who's really cool, by the way, when I came in to say good morning. He immediately told me to go find Dr. B. It was a bit abrupt, but I figured the two were engrossed in something good…"

"Yeah, it was something good all right. The smell didn't do my office any favors, though." Angela cringed as she patted her baby bump. "My little guy was not happy."

"I bet." Aubrey turned to Jessica. "With the rule of two people examining all evidence from the Maxwell cases, Hodgins used Dr. Thompson because she's not connected to either of the cases, and she was probably the first available. He's also making sure that Janis Jergins cannot create reasonable doubt by stating you recruited Hodgins to gang up on Gerald."

Jessica was horrified. "Wait, do they really think Ashley put in a bomb threat?"

"I don't think she did it. However, with it being traced back to her credit card, Steve has to follow the trail until he find another lead."

Jessica made another realization. "A bomb threat here is a federal offense…Ashley could go to prison for that. Superman, we can't let that happen…"

"Jess…all I can promise is if we can somehow prove she didn't know what was going to happen, maybe she can help us nail who did it."

"We all know who did it...that piece of shit…setting her up like that...", Angela muttered.

"I agree, but if we can't find any other evidence, then she's going down for it." Aubrey shook his head, knowing who was actually guilty. "What a prick…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

An hour later, Aubrey and Booth watch Ashley's interrogation through the two way mirror.

"Okay, let's go through this again, Ms. Anders.", Steve said, fidgeting with a folder. "You say that you couldn't have purchased the phone and made the bomb threat because your credit card is always in your purse."

"Yes, that's correct. However, I loaned it to my boyfriend Friday to pay his lawyer's retainer so he could start his defamation lawsuit against Jessica Warren."

"Why were you paying the retainer?", Steve asked in surprise. "The Maxwells are loaded."

"Mr. Maxwell cut him off with all this stuff going on with Jessica Warren, saying that Gerald was destroying the family name by defending himself instead of settling it quietly. His mother gave him ten thousand on the side, but he needed that to repair a dent in his Alfa Romeo and to live on since the Jefferson fired him for no good reason."

"According to his former supervisor at the Jeffersonian, Dr. David Miller, your boyfriend was fired from his internship because it was proven that he committed vandalism and theft-"

"Nothing but lies Jessica Warren created. My boyfriend...had a moment of weakness with her, but then he realized his mistake. She wanted to use him to make Agent Aubrey jealous and Gerald refused to go along with her, so she set him up as revenge."

"What about the other women who say he sexually harassed them?"

"Gerald told me about how Jessica's family is wealthy and they are paying those women off to cover for her BS. She's told the lies about Mr. Maxwell to deflect attention from her family's crimes."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"The Warrens are financially comfortable but they're not mega millionaires." Aubrey shook his head in frustration. "Why do people keep saying that?"

"Just listen, Aubrey…", Booth replied.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"So explain to me why your credit card was traced back to this phone…" Steve pointed to the picture of the phone. "...that we found in your trash after an anonymous tip. The phone records prove that someone made a call to the Jeffersonian Security Office at 1:52 PM on January 6th. The number dialed is not a published number, Ms. Anders. Only an employee would know that direct extension."

"Gerald lost my card by accident. He didn't want to upset me, so he tried finding it first. Luckily, it was found on Friday by the law firm, and he picked it up while everyone was at the Governing Board hearing. At the time, I was glad that I didn't have to cancel the account, but now I wish I had. As for calling the direct line, they're either mistaken or someone is setting me up because I'm supporting Gerald against these vicious lies."

"Or you disguised your voice to make that threat so that the Governing Board hearing would either be delayed or canceled.", Steve replied, testing the young woman's reaction. "You would do anything for Gerald Maxwell, wouldn't you, Ashley?"

Biting her lip anxiously, the young woman sighed softly. "Yes, I would, most of the time, but I would never do that. I've worked hard to get my internship under Dr. Hodgins and I would never do anything so crazy for any reason. Gerald wouldn't, either. He knows he and his father were innocent. There was no need to call in a bomb threat. It's just a travesty that Mr. Maxwell lost his seat on the board...a seat that his family had held for multiple generations...all because a woman couldn't take rejection."

"You're lying, Ms. Anders. Either you made the call or you know who made the call…"

"No, I don't. Just talk to Gerald and he'll tell you what happened with my credit card."

Steve sat back. "I hope he does, or you're in a mess of trouble, young lady."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"That asshole is setting her up, Booth.", Aubrey muttered. "She's just the patsy…"

"I know he is, Aubrey. Angela is trying to track down any security footage from the store the card was used at. Hopefully it will prove her innocence."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Ashley shifted in her chair, causing part of her heavy turtleneck to fall down her neck. Immediately, Steve paused as he saw something suspicious. "Ms. Anders, you have some ugly bruises on your neck. What happened?"

Pushing the fabric up around her throat, the young woman looked at the table. "I fell yesterday."

Steve Bower knew he had messed up a lot as an agent over the years, but getting his life together and marrying Mitzi had made him determined to get something right. Remembering a conversation he'd had with her this morning as she got home about what happened during her shift, one thing in particular stood out in his mind as he looked at the woman.

"Your voice sounds...hoarse. That must have been some fall…and anyway, that's kind of a weird place to be bruised, isn't it? Where exactly did you fall?"

"On some stairs." Feeling uncomfortable with the direction of the questions, Ashley put her hand over the turtleneck to hold it up. "I fell forward going up a flight of stairs, and I hit the steps pretty hard. It hurts to talk."

"That's not true. Those aren't fresh bruises." Narrowing his eyes at Ashley, Bower shook his head at her. "You didn't fall yesterday, Ms. Anders. I know it and you know it. Now...what really happened?"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"Son of a bitch…", Aubrey replied in a voice of suppressed rage. "He's beating on her, too? Jess said her voice has been gravelly since last week but everything thinks it's because of a cold..."

"Get out of here, Aubrey.", Booth said abruptly, pushing his friend out of the interrogation booth.

"What the hell are you-"

"You can't be involved in Gerald's case or with any case that he may be involved in, Aubrey. You need to recuse yourself immediately from this case and put Genny in charge."

"Bower is my agent. I'm not-"

"Aubrey...we're skirting into dangerous territory for you. We both know that this shit has Gerald Maxwell written all over it. However, if they find out you may have even been sniffing around and didn't recuse yourself immediately, Janis Jergins can use it as a way to introduce reasonable doubt...possibly even getting Jessica's case thrown out." Booth softened as he shook his head. "You know I'm right, Aubrey. Do this for Jessica…"

Aubrey knew he could never forgive himself if his pride caused him to get Jessica's case thrown out of court. "Fine...you're right…"

"I know. Go work on some admin stuff. I'm going to talk to Genny right now and let her know that you've recused yourself and that she's the point person for Steve when he finishes his interrogation. She was going through Jill's case file earlier on Harold to see if there was anything that could be used for her case. Maybe she found something tangible." Booth put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Besides, you're going to have a shitty morning tomorrow."

"Don't remind me…", Aubrey sighed. "Okay, I'm going."

Aubrey walked away, angry that once again he had to step aside because of Gerald Maxwell. However, he knew that Booth was right and he wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize Jessica's case.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

An hour later, Aubrey was returning to Major Crimes with a cup of coffee when he saw Steve lead a crying Ashley out of the interrogation room in handcuffs. Genny followed him out but then headed to her office.

Determined to get some information if at all possible, Aubrey knocked on her door. "Hey…"

Genny had an idea about why he was there, but she knew she couldn't cave in. "Hey, Boss.", she said quietly. "Listen...about this case…"

"Yeah...the case." Aubrey put his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the door frame. "What am I allowed to know?"

"Not much." The ASAC turned to her friend and boss. She felt bad, but they both knew her hands were tied. "She's been arrested for making a bomb threat against a federal establishment. She's going to be arraigned in night court, then she can arrange bail. That's all I can tell you, Aubrey."

He pursed his lips, thinking over what he'd heard while he was still in the booth. "Do you think she did it?"

Genny put her file aside. "No, I don't, Boss, and neither does Steve. However, until Angela can find more information, we're stuck. The evidence is circumstantial, but it's enough to hold her…"

"I understand." Slowly turning to walk away, Aubrey shook his head.  _This has Gerald Maxwell written all over it..._

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"Do I still get a phone call?", Ashley asked as she rode the elevator with Steve.

_'Poor dumb girl.'_ Steve thought. "Yeah, you do. There's a phone in booking you can use, but then you're being held until your arraignment. I recommend calling a good lawyer."

Getting off the elevator, he led her to an office and a phone. Ashley immediately called the person she knew would help her. However, it kept ringing until she got Gerald's voice mail. Crying, she waited for the prompt.

"Gerald, it's Ashley...I need your help. I'm in jail. They arrested me for that bomb threat and...I'm really scared...I know you're probably with your family but I'll need you to bail me out...I'm going to night court at 8:00. Please be there. I love you. Bye."

Ashley hung up the phone. "He must be with his family. His father's funeral is tomorrow…"

Steve knew better. "I'm sure that's it. Come on Ashley...it's time to fingerprint and book you…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

At Ashley's apartment, Gerald's phone buzzed as a brunette and Gerald were having sex. "Whoever called left a voicemail…"

"I don't give a fuck...I just...want to fuck...you Amanda...yeah…", Gerald spit out as he pushed harder inside of his partner. "It's nobody important…"

"Are you sure your...girlfriend won't...be home…"

Gerald didn't want to hear anything except Amanda's moans. "Trust me, she won't be home. Now be quiet so I can concentrate…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"So she's still in jail?", Jessica asked as she got under the covers in their bed.

Aubrey pulled the sheets back and crawled under them as well. "Yeah. She was supposed to go to night court, but with the water main bursting due to the cold, all arraignments were delayed until tomorrow morning."

"Has Gerald even called Hodgins to look for her?", Jessica asked. "He has to know by now that she's not home and something is up."

Aubrey shook his head. "Nope. Hodgins said he would let me know as a courtesy, but as of now, we've heard nothing from him. I've checked around and there have been no police reports called in, either. Genny did let me know a while ago that his surveillance team reported a female visitor entered the apartment building with Gerald this afternoon. My guess, he not only was having sex with another woman while his girlfriend was in jail, he knows where Ashley is but he doesn't care."

"Hodgins is going to her arraignment in the morning and plans to post her bail. Do you think Gerald will show up tomorrow?"

"He could...but probably not. Gerald will use the funeral as an excuse, but I'm sure he plans to leave her in jail to take the fall. With his father gone, Ashley's usefulness is wearing off for him."

"I hope Angela finds something clearing Ashley. No way would she would do that...not even for Gerald." The redhead settled down under the covers. "She loves her internship too much."

"I hope so, Jess. I really do.", Aubrey said, staring at the ceiling.

Jessica realized why Aubrey's mood was subdued. "You're thinking about your meeting with Karen tomorrow, aren't you?"

Aubrey nodded. "I really don't want to be there, but I don't have a choice. Booth is right when he says I should be there to refute any teary eyed denials she tries to tell Jake. I just don't...get her."

"I know Karen has had several failed relationships. I also know that she has feelings for you, but...it's like she doesn't see you as a partner anymore, but as some prize to be won. I…" Jessica put her palm on her chest. "...don't like what she does to you. She makes you angry."

"Yeah, she makes me angry, Jessica, because for the last several months, she has messed with both of us since, in her mind, you're the obstacle keeping her and me apart. She feels like you are conspiring to destroy her life. I've tried being nice...I've tried ignoring her...and I've tried to be an asshole and nothing works. I was raised to be respectful, but I'm sick of her shit. Just thinking about her makes my blood pressure go up."

Jessica touched his shoulder. "I know, Aubrey."

"I didn't want to go to Jake Tanner, but I'm done. I could deal if it was just me but it's affecting you...it's affecting everyone at the lab...hell, if my suspicions are correct, it's even affected Gerald Maxwell and his family. She's toxic...and until she gets her shit together...I can't deal with her."

"You still think she had something to do with Gerald's stuff with me, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. I think she wanted you fired and out of my life, but I don't think she solicited him to attack you because I can't see even her going that far. Obviously, she had no way of knowing how much of a perv Gerald was, but whatever Karen said or did has pushed him to take it further with you than with any other woman. I just can't prove it, but even if I could, if she didn't solicit criminal activity, she can't be fired. However, I can get an asterisk by her name, and not only will her FBI career stall but that note in her file will follow her wherever she goes outside of us."

"You'll prove it, Aubrey. I know you will." Jessica took his hand and squeezed it gently. "I trust you…"

"What really scares the hell out of me is that you're different somehow to Gerald." Aubrey turned to his girlfriend and gently caressed her shoulder and arm. "Something about you has...stirred something vile in him. I know you're fearless, Jessica, but my gut is telling me that he's out for blood…just don't take any unnecessary risks, okay?

"James Aubrey, I'm not a child-"

"Jessica, I know you're not a child. You're an independent woman who can take care of herself, but this guy has several screws loose. He's got a plan for injuring you...and it's more than just hurting you physically. If I could be at your side 24 hours a day, I would...that's how much I'm worried about what's going to happen."

"I know, but you can't...and I promise you, I'll be careful. Now, let's go to bed. I'm off tomorrow but you have your meeting at Quantico in the morning."

"Good idea." Aubrey laid down and faced Jessica. "You're working this weekend, right?"

"8 to 3. Oliver will be there, too. Should be fun." Jessica kissed her boyfriend. "Good night, Superman. I love you."

"Good night, Jess." He reached up to turn off the bedside lamp before pulling her into his embrace. "I love you, too."


	69. Laying Down the Law

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Aubrey and Jessica to let Karen know how things stand. How will she react?

Aubrey woke up at 5:00 AM, too restless to sleep any more. He dreaded what he had to do in three hours, but it needed to be done if he ever wanted peace of mind. Looking over to his left, he saw Jessica lying next to him in the middle of the bed, snoring softly as she slept.

 _'Wow…I'm only in the middle of the bed this morning, instead of hanging off of the edge…hopefully I didn't keep her up.'_ Aubrey moved his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling, mentally going through his agenda for the day.

_'I have that meeting at Quantico at 8:00, then a budget meeting with Stark at 10:30. Jess is bringing me lunch today, and after that Genny and I are going to tag team on some case audits so she gets some more practice. Then I have to go over expense reports...'_

Looking at his girlfriend again, he smiled _. 'The only thing I want to do tonight is have a nice evening with Jessica and some half price appetizers at Founding Fathers, and then come home for a quiet night with Skinner. She's working this weekend, but maybe tomorrow night we can go out somewhere nice like the Blue Duck Tavern…a nice early romantic dinner…then a nice romantic night at home…_

Hearing a snort, he looked at his girlfriend and chuckled quietly before returning to his musings. '... _maybe she'll wear her crotchless panties…now that would be a great appetizer...and we could have some extra dessert later...maybe with some whipped cream on top...'_

Aubrey's smile turned into a wide grin as he anticipated their fun.  _'Yeah, I'm a horn dog, but my girlfriend is hot…and she's good in bed…but most of all, she's my best friend and I love her.'_

Deciding it was time to face his day, the agent got out of bed, but the movement jolted Jessica, who groaned softly as she rolled over to face him. "Aubrey…it's cold…come back to bed."

Aubrey shrugged as he opened his closet door. "I'm too keyed up for my meeting with Karen and Jake, so I'm just going to get around for work."

The redhead squinted at the digital clock on Aubrey's nightstand. "Superman, it's only 5:08. Your meeting isn't until 8:00."

"I'm going to stop at the office first and get some work done." Aubrey said from the closet. "Don't worry about feeding Skinner. I'll do it when I go downstairs."

Jessica rubbed her eyes as she sat up and yawned. "I don't want you just mowing on donuts on the way there, so I'll make you breakfast…"

Aubrey came out of the closet with a suit, shirt, and tie. "No, I'll grab something from the diner. Donuts will be my morning snack." Aubrey kissed her cheek. "Go back to sleep. It's your day off."

Aubrey went into the bathroom and closed the door. Opening her eyes, Jessica considered her options for a moment before getting out of bed. Putting on her slippers, she quickly went downstairs to put her plan in motion.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Thirty minutes later, a freshly shaved Aubrey came out of his bathroom, tucking his shirt into his pants. He grabbed a belt from his closet and was looping it around his waist when he finally realized that their bed was empty. Feeling a sense of déjà vu, he quickly finished getting ready, grabbing his badge, watch, and sidearm before heading downstairs. As he arrived in the foyer, he detected a wonderful aroma filling the house.

"Oh...I smell something good…", Aubrey muttered as he followed the trail of delight.

Entering through the open living room, he saw his girlfriend wearing her Star Wars pajamas and matching fuzzy slippers. Her hair was pinned up in a messy bun and she was singing Elle King's  _'Ex's and Oh's'_  in an adorably off-key voice while cooking at the stove.

God...she was beautiful.

He watched for a moment until she looked up and caught him staring at her. "Aubrey, were you spying on me just now?"

"Guilty as charged." The agent walked over to girlfriend until he was standing near her. "I mean, you're cute and you're cooking me breakfast…plus you have a nice ass and those nice, perky, perfect handful boobs that I get to play with...I was just appreciating what a lucky guy I am, okay?"

Chuckling, Jessica flipped the bacon. "Smooth talker, you. Well, breakfast is almost ready. Your cup is by the coffee machine."

Walking over to the appliance, Aubrey poured himself some much needed brew and added the cinnamon his girlfriend had been nice enough to set out for him. "You're supposed to be sleeping in, Jessica. It's your day off today."

"Yeah, but I work this weekend, so it will be easier to wake up tomorrow if I keep a schedule...as long as someone lets me sleep tonight.", the redhead replied with a sly grin.

"You didn't have to cook me breakfast, although that bacon smells good…" Aubrey peeked into the skillet that Jessica was working on. "Is that a ham, spinach, and habanero cheese omelet?"

"A five egg one…your favorite and a smaller one for me. I just need to put the toast in." Jessica flipped both omelets. "You need fortification for your meeting with you know who this morning."

Aubrey came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. "I remember you doing something similar a few months ago, except you were just in my t-shirt and socks because your panties were so conveniently on the hallway floor of your apartment until I picked them up."

"Well, the Redskins had won the night before...and we were both pretty horny." Jessica laughed before kissing his cheek. "I cooked you breakfast to fortify you then, and I'm doing it now. As for the attire, since you love and adore me...you get all of me...even my sexy Star Wars PJs."

"I'll take you anyway I can, Jessica Warren...and those PJs you're wearing are sexy because one, it's Star Wars, and two, you're wearing them." Aubrey returned the sentiment with a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you for breakfast."

"You're welcome, Superman. Now pour me some coffee please, then feed Skinner. He's over there…" Jessica gestured towards the center island with her spatula, where the cat sat, swishing his tail. "…and he wants his breakfast."

Aubrey gave her a contented smile as he poured his girlfriend some coffee before feeding his cat. It was a very domestic scene, simple…no excitement…just a typical day. He nodded happily to himself, hoping to have many more mornings like this in the future.  _Me and Jess...spending our mornings together...I can't imagine my life being any other way now..._

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"I'm sorry I had to come to you with this issue, Jake, especially right after you've just returned from paternity leave. I tried to handle it off the record, but...every attempt I've made hasn't worked. I just didn't see any other way to deal with this except to go through channels."

The other SAC shrugged as he sipped his coffee. "It's alright, Aubrey. This is our second baby, so we've got the routine down pat at home, although our older son has had a little trouble getting used to sharing his mom's attention with his new little sister. Anyway, it's not a big deal. That's what I'm here for, right?"

"Your wife is an agent, too, right?", Aubrey asked. "Agent Peyton Perotta…used to work with Booth in Homicide."

"Yep, after transferring to the Jackson field office, she moved back in 2013 to be a Supervisory Special Agent in Charlie Burns' division and I had just transferred from the Seattle field office. We met when I was the profiler for her first case there."

"I met Jessica on the job, too. Isn't it how it usually works?" The two men chuckled for a minute. "Anyway, I know the timing's bad with the BRIU spread thin on profilers right now."

Jake sat back in his chair. "My biggest issue right now is I have a profiler who started maternity leave right before Christmas, and two profilers who will be going on maternity leave at the Anchorage field office, one in five months, and then the second two months after that. There's another profiler in the Baltimore field office who will be out for six weeks after knee replacement surgery in May. Yeah, it's tight right now, but I just have to do some shuffling around...nothing we can't handle."

"Good luck to you." Aubrey sipped his coffee and ate the last bite of his donut. "I know that stuff like this is a pain in the ass…especially on top of all that..."

"Thanks…but that's why I get the big bucks for being the Director of the BRIU for the FBI.", Jake said before his phone rang. Winking at Aubrey, he answered it. "Yes, Delia…she is, huh...yeah, thanks for the heads up."

Jake hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. "That was Delia, who runs the gate leading into Quantico. Karen just pulled through and should be up here shortly."

Aubrey groaned softly as his stomach roiled. "This'll be fun, right?" Gulping down his coffee, he shook his head. "I've been dreading this…"

"Yeah…she's one of my best profilers, but I can't have this shit going on in my office. We work too closely with other agencies for me to tolerate inappropriate behavior, you know? I talked to Booth yesterday, and he's confirmed what you said. In fact, he also said that he was surprised you waited as long as you did...that you've been really patient with her."

"Booth said you two were both Army Rangers?"

"Yeah, we attended boot camp together. We were in different battalions, but we've kept in touch. I know Booth, and I know his word is good. He had good things to say about you, too." Jake didn't notice Aubrey's reddened ears as he looked through his windowed office into the bullpen. "Here she comes now."

Aubrey took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm himself. He couldn't lose his temper no matter what Karen threw out. "Good…I want to get this over with."

Hearing a knock at the door, Jake gave the okay to enter, and Karen walked in wearing a big smile. "Hey, Jake. I'm so glad to see you back from paternity leave. I just want to say that I learned a lot from that task force…"

The profiler stopped suddenly when she saw the visitor. "Aubrey? What are you doing at Quantico? Need my superior expertise on a case for Major Crimes? You know I'm always glad to help...but you could've just called..."

"Shut the door, Karen and have a seat.", Jake instructed in a matter of fact tone. When she was seated, he continued. "Agent Aubrey has come to me with some concerns regarding your behavior towards his colleagues at the Jeffersonian lab and a couple of the agents in his division."

Karen smiled sheepishly. "All a big misunderstanding, Jake. I can't be liked by everyone, but I always try to maintain my professionalism. I'm just sorry that some people can't do the same. I'm even more sorry Aubrey got dragged into the situation. He has more important things to deal with than people who can't be professional."

 _'Wow...pot...meet kettle…'_ Aubrey thought, fighting to keep a straight face.

Jake merely nodded. "Karen, he also has concerns about your behavior towards himself and his girlfriend, who works at the Jeffersonian lab."

 _'What has that little bitch done now?'_  Karen thought, struggling to appear unconcerned. "Boss, I tried to keep this out of the workplace, but Agent Aubrey's girlfriend has issues with me because after their initial breakup in August, he and I started dating—"

Aubrey was quick to set the record straight. "You and I were never dating. We had dinner a few times, Karen, where I asked you for advice about getting back together with Jessica. I ended up reconciling with her two months later, no thanks to you."

"Aubrey, Jessica isn't here to bust your balls, so you can be honest." Karen turned to smile at her boss as Aubrey seethed quietly. "Jake, he and I had lunch together at his office almost every day—"

"It was never by invitation after the first couple of times, and then you started a rumor that we were having sex in my office every day during lunch." Aubrey grimaced as he remembered the situation. "I didn't know how to make you stop coming around without being as ass...I know I should've just been more straightforward..."

Karen gave him a pouty glance. "We also went to Daisy and Beau's wedding together—"

 _'God, it's going to be like that meeting after my birthday again…but I'm not going to be suckered into forgiveness this time.',_ Aubrey lamented to himself. "Only because I thought you were invited, and then I foolishly let you talk me into going with you because you said that Jessica was going to be there with a date. I didn't want to go, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I gave in, which was a bad mistake. Not only did you piss off all my friends with your backhanded comments about Jessica, you also kissed me without permission. The worst part was while I was driving you home. Not only were you quite blatant about your interest in coming home with me for sex, but you also tried to grope my genitals when my polite refusals were not enough to convince you that I wasn't interested."

"I was getting mixed signals from you at the wedding.", Karen whined softly.

"I don't know how, Karen. What part of  _'Don't kiss me ever again, Karen.'_ or  _'I don't want to make love to you because I'm not interested in you that way',_  did you not understand? I was very clear that I didn't want to be intimate with you under any circumstances. You were the one with the problem listening to me when I said no." Glancing at Jake, Aubrey grimaced slightly. "Look, I want to keep this discussion professional, okay, but she crossed the line that night…"

Determined to get the upper hand, Karen kept her voice low. "But when you said you weren't interested in sex, I didn't touch you again. I left you alone."

"No, then your actions went from overbearing to creepy.", Aubrey remarked, trying to stay calm. "I tried to explain the way things had to be between us...that it was strictly a work relationship...it was never going to be anything romantic. However, you refused to listen to me every time I tried to talk to you about it…you treated me like a child."

"That's a harsh thing to say after all I did for you.", Karen complained. "After all, I was concerned about you…I knew you weren't making good choices..."

"But they were my choices to make, Karen. Instead of respecting my choices, you ignored all my concerns because it wasn't what you wanted."

Jake cleared his throat softly, trying to get the meeting back on track. "Agent Aubrey, would you please clarify your statement? What sorts of 'creepy' incidents are you talking about?"

"Two weeks after we attended the wedding, I came home from running errands to find Karen in my apartment, without my consent, cooking lunch for the two of us. Apparently, when I didn't answer the door earlier, instead of calling or leaving a note, she had talked my landlady into letting her into my apartment. As a federal agent, I take my security very seriously, and I was very upset to say the least. When I had expressed my discomfort at her actions, Dr. Delfs blew off my concerns. Because I was afraid of her doing this again, I moved into a house in another part of town with a video doorbell, gate at the end of the driveway, and a state of the art security system."

"Booth's old house?", Jake asked.

As Aubrey nodded, the profiler rolled her eyes. "I've already told you that I had Mrs. Hall let me in because when you didn't answer the door, I didn't know if you were injured. I waited until you came home to make sure you were all right. You are very paranoid. Do you get this way when Booth or any of your other so called friends show concern for your welfare?""

Aubrey ignored Karen as he exhaled slowly. "She repeatedly called both my ASAC and Booth the weekend I took off to move because I didn't answer my phone right away when she called me."

"Would it have killed you to answer and let me know you were alright?" Karen said, thinking she would sway Jake with her apparent concern.

Aubrey's irritation grew as he ticked off all that Karen had done. "That same day, after you demanded to know where I was and when I was coming back to work, you refused to give Agent Shaw cases to review even though she was Acting SAC of Major Crimes until she threatened to call Jake-"

"Genevieve really needs to get over that. How was I supposed to know she was taking over for you while you were gone? It was simply a misunderstanding..."

"I don't know, Karen...maybe because she told you that I was off for the weekend? When I'm gone, as ASAC of the division, she is in charge, as you should know already know from working at the FBI.", Aubrey retorted sharply before turning back to Jake. "After I moved, Karen tried to trick my elderly former landlady into giving her my new address...the address that I didn't want to advertise...so she could invade my privacy…"

Karen pretended to be surprised. "Aubrey...how can you be like that? I overheard Jessica and Booth discussing how they were going to ditch you on your birthday. I just wanted your address because I figured you'd rather celebrate with a friend instead of being alone."

"Well, why didn't you just call me and invite me out or even email me if you were so concerned? That is what most people would do, right?" Her calm and rational reasons were grating on Aubrey's nerves. He knew that she was using her knowledge to wear him down and to make him seem unreasonable, but he was determined to not lose his cool. "But as you found out on my birthday, I wasn't alone, because Jess planned a surprise party for me that she did not invite you to because she knew that I wouldn't want you there."

Aubrey turned back to Jake. "Not wanting to embarrass Karen by asking her to leave, I let her stay. That turned out to be a mistake, because she gave me a G-string for a birthday present…it was wrapped in a package that I opened in front of all my guests, including several small children. Then she insulted my guests, the decor of my house, and the gifts my friends had brought, among other things. It was embarrassing to be surprised with that in front of my friends."

Karen sighed loudly. "Are you still upset about that G-String? I know you love the Cubs and I thought you would appreciate that as a gift. If I had known that you were such a prude about underwear, I wouldn't have got it for you. Now, I've already said I'm sorry. You really need to get past that little faux pas, Aubrey...so does Jessica...her jealousy has caused so many issues in our friendship."

"No, I won't, Karen, because you and I both know that it was a very inappropriate gift, Karen." Aubrey refused to take the bait. "I could keep going, you know...but I think you get the idea, Jake...I feel like Karen has been harassing me in a sexual manner...I know I should have filed a complaint before now, but I felt like I needed to be understanding, because I had inadvertently led her on. That was a mistake I won't make again."

Karen was obviously shocked at the allegation of harassment. "Aubrey...I just wanted to be your friend. You were such a mess after Jessica broke up with you...I just wanted to help you...but you led me on so you could make Jessica jealous and hurt. Instead of appreciating my friendship, you're...I can't believe you would do this to me..."

"Oh, please…" Aubrey rolled his eyes. "Your _'poor pitiful, put out me'_  act is getting old, Karen."

Jake's face was blank as he continued to prod. "Karen, tell me about the confrontation you had with Ms. Warren at the lab back in October. Dr. Hodgins was quite adamant about not allowing you back into the lab."

Karen rolled her eyes in disgust. "It was no big deal, really. I just wanted some advice about Aubrey. I thought that as his friend Jessica could give me suggestions on what to wear for a future date with him. She didn't answer my text message so I decided to stop on my lunch hour. I had no idea she'd go off the deep end about a simple question..."

"You didn't ask her a simple question, Karen. You asked her what type of panties you should wear to arouse me on a date we never had planned because I had already told you that I wasn't interested in you romantically."

"Well...I was planning ahead...you were still single..."

"After Jessica didn't respond the first time to your tasteless question, you visited the lab and asked her in front of several other employees. When you didn't get the reaction you wanted from her, you went further by describing some sex acts we'd never engaged in, using tasteless and vulgar terms until Jess called you out on your bullshit because she knew you were lying. Do you know how she knew?" Now angry, Aubrey didn't wait for Karen's answer. "It was because Jess and I were together the night you and I supposedly did all those disgusting and nasty things together...and you were in Seattle."

"But you two were broken up...you had no reason to be together...you ignored my phone calls that weekend to be with your ex-girlfriend?" Stung by Aubrey's statement, Karen hung her head. "You make it seem that making love to me would be revolting…"

"It would be for me, Karen, because at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will never be interested in you romantically...or even as a hook up...ever.", Aubrey sputtered angrily, ignoring the profiler's stricken reaction. "Because I was an ass who unintentionally led you on, I've gone above and beyond to be understanding with you all these months because I felt guilty. However, your behavior and your actions are affecting not just me, but also the people that I care about, and I can't have that."

"Aubrey, I didn't meant to hurt Jessica-"

He held up his hand to interrupt her. "Yes, you did. You knew how I felt about her...and how she felt about me. I wouldn't enter a romantic relationship with you, so you lied about the two of us being together so you could hurt and humiliate Jessica. You wanted to provoke her into jealousy to the point where she would ditch me for good. How could you be that cruel to her? What kind of person are you?"

"Oh my God...you act like I'm this evil person hurting poor, innocent Jessica. She's 28 years old, Aubrey. If she can't handle being an adult, she needs to go back to that commune she grew up in." Karen offered a sheepish smile to her boss. "It wasn't as bad as Aubrey makes it sound. It was just a little spat between friends...you know, a girl fight…"

"I'm sure it was hard for Jessica to practice good manners when you grabbed her arm and twisted her around rather violently, spewing garbage about how she was never going to have me and that  _'it was your turn._ ' That was no little spat, Karen. That was assault. You're lucky Hodgins only banned you from the lab."

"Jessica blew it way out of proportion, Aubrey. I didn't intend to hurt her, and she knows that." Karen crossed her arms across her chest. "Anyway, it's no big deal…"

Aubrey vehemently disagreed, trying to remain calm as he glared at the profiler. "Actually, it was a big deal...a very big deal. Dr. Hodgins, Ms. Montenegro, and Dr. Brennan were all horrified when they, along with half the lab, overheard your loud voice booming across the lab floor as you shouted vulgarities, so you can imagine how they felt when they realized you'd laid your hands on her as well. They take the safety of all their employees, including interns, very seriously."

"They butted into something that didn't concern them." Karen turned to to her boss, pleading with him to understand. "Dr. Brennan was particularly vicious when she threatened to use her husband's friendship with you, Jake, to get me into trouble, as well as threatening to go to Deputy Director Stark. They're going to do anything to back up Jessica, because she's their pet intern, and they resented the fact that Aubrey had feelings for me-"

"That's not true.", Aubrey disagreed. "At that point, the only feelings I had for you were anger and frustration, Karen...that's it."

"Their feelings about whether or not you were dating Aubrey aren't what's important, Karen." Jake was grim as he made some notes on her file. "I find it very disturbing that you accosted Ms. Warren at her workplace. Agent Aubrey is correct...that is considered simple assault. You're lucky Ms. Warren or Dr. Hodgins didn't press charges."

"Anyway, I think it was more like you resented the fact that they preferred Jessica's company over yours, Karen.", Aubrey commented in an even tone. "I know you don't want to believe this, but the fact that they are not friends with you has nothing to do with anything Jessica has done or said. Rather, it's because your overbearing nature and your sense of entitlement makes it hard for them to tolerate you, but they've always treated you in a professional manner."

"Dr. Brennan was particularly vile to me at your birthday party.", Karen sniffed. "That was uncalled for…"

"You insulted their children, Karen! You had been making snide comments all evening and she got fed up and finally said what was on everyone's mind." Aubrey took a deep breath. "As for my supposed feelings for you, when you bitched to each of them multiple times about how Jessica took me away from you, that was pure crap. You never actually had me to begin with. I know it pissed you off that I chose to spend the night with Jessica after my party, instead of with you."

"Yes, I was upset that you chose to reconcile with Jessica, but I moved on with Steve.", Karen replied with a shrug as she tried to downplay her sadness at Aubrey's contempt of her. "You're a catch, Aubrey, but not so much that I can't move on with my life. Lots of men find me desirable."

Jake turned a page in the folder, reading for a few seconds before asking his next question. "Would that be Agent Steven Bower of Major Crimes?"

Karen smiled sweetly. "Yes, Jake. We'd been dancing around another for a while and first got together the Monday after Aubrey's party."

"The same Monday when I confronted you over your unprofessional conduct with me and Jessica and told you to leave us alone or I would file sexual harassment charges against you. When Agent Shaw said your apology was bullshit, I should have taken her more seriously."

Karen exhaled and smiled faintly. "Agent Bower and I had fun, but we weren't ever serious...we had an open relationship until last month when his then fiancee assaulted me viciously at the Hoover, a week before they got married. If anyone needs to be banned from someplace, it's her from the Hoover. She's obviously dangerous and prone to violence."

Jake pursed his lips while nodding. "Ah yes, I remember. The row that caused all that property damage to the Major Crimes conference room when I was gone...that was on my daughter's birthday."

Karen held back a chuckle as her boss's sarcastic comment. "Jake, I'm sorry about all that..."

"I'm sure you were, especially when the restitution was taken out of your next paycheck." Tanner threw his pen down on the desk. "I'll tell you what, Karen...I was not happy when the Deputy Director called me on my first day back at work to inform me that one of my senior profilers got into a fight with a civilian and tore up a conference room at the Hoover, causing thousands of dollars of damage. You also almost injured Special Agent Jill Haggarty when the chair you heaved went out the window as she walked by. I'm sure Agent Aubrey felt the same way I did since it happened on his first day back at work coming off medical leave."

Aubrey merely nodded in agreement as an annoyed Agent Tanner continued to speak. "Seems like for being content in an open relationship with Agent Bower, you were provoked rather easily when you saw him and Ms. Nilsson together, right, Karen?"

"I admit that I was blindsided by Steve's engagement, because I'd had no indication that they were that serious...", Karen said mildly, "…but she attacked me and I had to defend myself. Should I have let that 6'5" Amazon beat the crap out of me?"

"No, self defense is always a consideration, Karen." Jake sighed as he read the report. "However, eyewitnesses, including two credible FBI agents, are telling a different story about the incident, saying that you jumped Agent Bower first and Ms. Nilsson moved to defend him. Why would they say that if it wasn't true?"

"Because Jessica Warren has made friends with his ASAC, Agent Genevieve Shaw, and with all the other agents in his division. They love her…" Karen made air quotes as she sighed in disgust. "…and they probably pretend to be on her side to kiss up to Aubrey. They'll do anything to make me look bad."

"Apparently a lot of people are making it their mission to make you look less than honorable, Karen.", the BRIU SAC said drolly. "Why do you think that happens so often?"

"I don't know why people do that. Maybe it's jealousy because I'm so highly regarded in the FBI.", Karen sighed. "Look, Jake, I do my job…and I do it well...my yearly JPRs reflect that. The fact that I have some disagreements with people doesn't keep me from being successful. If anything, it gives me experience in solving conflicts."

"I see." Jake turned a page and then looked up at Karen. "So is it that experience in solving conflicts why you almost got into another physical altercation with Agent Bower's wife at the FBI Gala honoring Agents Aubrey, Booth, and Shaw a couple weeks back? Something about you two wearing the same dress?"

"No...Mitzi got in my face and accused me of copying her dress to make her look bad, Jake, and she said the vilest things…I wasn't going to let her talk to me like that...", Karen said desperately, but she was interrupted by her supervisor.

"Right." Jake glared at her before he continued. "Let's move on, shall we? When I talked to Dr. Hodgins Wednesday afternoon, he also described a confrontation you had with Ms. Warren at the hospital's ER waiting room the day Agents Aubrey and Booth were shot."

Karen was thrown by the abrupt change in topic. "I was distraught, Jake. Aubrey…is my friend, and I was afraid he was going to die. Jessica was busy playing her  _'woe is me…my boyfriend got shot, feel sorry for me'_ schtick. It was annoying to hear her whine to anyone who'd listen, and it wasn't fair to the others there for Aubrey or Agent Booth to have to put up with that crap. I simply said what others wanted to say but were too afraid to, you know? I can't help it if I'm an honest person."

"The words Dr. Hodgins used to describe your behavior on November 30th were, let me see…" Jake looked up another sheet of paper. "'Loud...belligerent…accusatory…obnoxious…vindictive…among a few others. According to several agents who were also there, Dr. Brennan had to call security to get you to leave because you were making a nuisance of yourself, Dr. Delfs."

"Jake…I was provoked…I was under stress..."

Jake leafed through the folder to find another page. "Agent Aubrey tells me that he had two discussions with you regarding your behavior towards him and his girlfriend. The first was the aforementioned October 24th meeting and the second one was on December 22nd. In the last meeting, he told you in no uncertain terms that you were to leave Ms. Warren alone. You were to have no contact with her unless it was work related, and if you tried to instigate one more argument with her, he would encourage her to file a harassment report with me."

"Oh, my God…she's such a petite little flower…a delicate angel.", Karen sputtered. "I didn't do anything to her, Jake. I'm just not fooled by her cutesy vocabulary and the short dresses she wears so that she can flash her hoo ha since she's always open for business—"

"Hey!" Aubrey had finally had enough of Karen. Raising his voice, he turned to the profiler, halfway rising out of his chair. "Not one more word about Jess, you hear me? That's way over the line...totally uncalled for..."

"Okay, Aubrey...just a minute." Jake gave him a pointed look, and Aubrey sat back in his chair. "According to Ms. Warren, whom I spoke with a few days ago, even though Agent Aubrey gave you a final warning to stay away from her, you confronted her at the FBI Gala. She specified that you commented on her attire as well as how she would negatively affect Agent Aubrey's career. She stated that when she ignored what she termed as your 'bitchy and rude' comments, you used her current case against Gerald Maxwell in what she termed as,  _'she was crude and obnoxious…she obviously was spoiling for a fight with me, but after a few choice words, I walked away from her. She wasn't worth embarrassing myself or Aubrey."_

Karen huffed in exasperation. "I just told her that she was making Aubrey look bad at the FBI with her flirtatious manner and by leading Gerald Maxwell on, that's all. I don't have to like Jessica Warren, Jake. I'm allowed to hate the little tramp. I don't have kiss her ass all the time."

"You're right, Karen...you don't have to like her, but you do have to remain professional...at all times, even outside of the Hoover, when you're at FBI events. It's obvious that you have a very acrimonious relationship with Agent Aubrey's girlfriend. From what I've heard after talking to several people, Ms. Warren and others have tried to avoid conflicts with you. However, you always seem determined to instigate a problem."

"Jake…" Karen's voice shook as she moved to sway things her way. "I don't make people mad at me intentionally. I can't help it if people resent me...I don't know what I do…"

Jake pulled up an email. "That's also what Agent April Stevenson, the Special Agent in Charge of the Cincinnati Field Office, had to say about your time when you were assisting in that joint task force with the city's police department. It was a very stressful case, Dr. Delfs, but SAC Stevenson described you as a person who felt she was always right and, and evidently you were not tactful about it. She states that you were also highly critical of the performance of the Cincinnati police officers who were working with the task force as well, and that you were quite vocal in your disdain for their skills..."

"They had tunnel vision and were ignorant of how lucky they were to have the FBI assist them-"

"Trust me, Karen...the FBI doesn't need you to stand up for them. Being cordial is how we form partnerships, not taking the stance that we are better than them.", Jake snarked. "You're also in a relationship with Special Agent John Thomas from my understand, who was also working that task force. SAC Stevenson noted that you were also witnessed being belligerent with him while on company time."

"I saw a woman flirting with him, and he was too nice to say anything about the unwanted attention from that cougar. He's 31 years old, for crying out loud.", Karen shot back angrily. "Sometimes he needs to get a backbone. I was just helping him out. He thanked me later..."

"Karen…enough.", Agent Tanner said, holding his hand up to stop her excuses. "This is what we're going to do. You currently have three cases involving the Major Crimes division, so you are free to work them with the Agent on file. However, you will only go to that division when your presence is requested by that agent, ASAC Shaw, or SAC Aubrey. After that, any Major Crimes cases in which the BRIU's assistance is requested will be dispersed among the other profilers here unless your expertise is absolutely necessary for the success of the case."

Karen was genuinely shocked at her supervisor's decision. "You're banning me from Major Crimes cases..."

"Dr. Delfs, you are a valuable member of this division. However, it's obvious from your demeanor, inability to control yourself when Agent Aubrey presents his issues in a professional manner, and your own comments that your personal feelings for Agent Aubrey, his girlfriend, and for Agent Bower have spilled over into the workplace, and I can't have that. I need my profilers to always be professional."

"So I can't socialize with anyone in the FBI in my off time?", Karen said petulantly. "I'm just supposed to break up with John?"

"No, Dr. Delfs, I didn't say that. I have no issues with profilers engaging in personal relationships with other FBI personnel off the clock, but it will not spill over into your professional relationships. I'm trying to prevent you being written up or going in front of a review panel for your behavior in the last few months. I don't want to lose your expertise, especially since we are running short handed across the country. However, the Bureau comes first, and if you can't conduct yourself professionally with all our agents and contractors, no matter the circumstances, we will revisit your employment here in our organization. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Jake." Karen pursed her lips, obviously holding back her opinion as she turned to Aubrey. "My apologies for any misunderstandings in our previous engagements."

 _'Bullshit…'_ Aubrey bit back his retort. "Accepted, Karen."

Jake closed the folder and leaned back in his chair. "You will also prepare a written apology to send to Dr. Hodgins at the Jeffersonian. Your conduct with the scientists and other personnel there is not representative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. My hope is that he and Dr. Saroyan will consider lifting the ban on your presence there in the future. It doesn't make the BRIU look good when one of our senior profilers is not allowed at a major contractor's site without prior authorization."

Karen knew when not to argue. "Yes, Jake. I will have it sent by the end of the day."

"Good. Karen, don't make me regret this. One more complaint about any of your conduct affecting Jessica Warren or anyone else in a negative fashion will result in a suspension without pay…and not just a two day suspension either. You'd be looking at several weeks...and/or possibly a review panel."

Seeing that he got his point across, Jake sent an email. "Now, I'm forwarding you a request from the Charleston office. There was a body found about 15 miles away from the city, and they are requesting a profiler. I've got you on the 11:00 flight from Reagan. You may want to pack an overnight bag just in case because the weather is not good up north. The case file should be open to you now."

"Of course. I'll check my email then run home and get packed." Karen stood up and smoothed her skirt. "I won't let you down, Jake. I promise...I'll do better."

"That's all I ask, Karen. Goodbye." Jake waved as Karen stepped toward the door. "Safe travels."

Watching the profiler leave, Aubrey felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had hated bothering her supervisor, but he'd felt like he had no choice. "Thank you, Jake."

"No problem. Keep me posted, Aubrey. Oh, tell Booth that I scored a couple of tickets to the Flyers game next month when they play LA in Philly if he's interested in going with me...although LA will smear the Eagles."

"I will, Jake. Thanks."

Aubrey grabbed his coat and walked out of the SAC's office. Looking to his right, he saw Karen in her large cubicle reading her email. He really hoped he was wrong about her involvement with Gerald Maxwell because he just wanted her out of his life.

Getting into his vehicle, he left Quantico and headed back to DC, looking forward to seeing his girlfriend when she brought him lunch later that day.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Jessica walked up to the entrance of the Royal Diner. Turning when she heard her name called, she saw Angela and Hodgins coming up to the entrance. "Hey, Curly…Angela."

"Hey there, Sweetie. Want to join us for lunch?", Angela asked.

Holding the door, Jessica let Hodgins wheel himself in first before letting Angela in, then followed them in herself. "I can't. I promised Superman I would bring him lunch today. I'm a little early picking it up and I was just going to grab a tea while I wait, but I can keep you company."

"Sounds great, Jessica. Hey Ange, our favorite table is free."

The three gathered together and sat down before Joanne helped push the extra chair to the side of the table. "Jessica, Frankie said your order should be about ten minutes. He wants to make sure Aubrey's onion rings are as crispy as he likes them."

"That's fine. Thanks."

After Joanne took the couple's order, the three settled in and Jessica asked what was on her mind. "So, did Ashley get bail?"

"Yeah. $50,000 and a court date of February 15th." Angela mixed some sugar into her her iced tea and took a drink. "Of course, Gerald wasn't there, so we bailed her out."

"What a prick." Jessica sipped her catnip tea. "Curly, did he even call you to ask where she was last night?"

"Nope. Didn't this morning either. It was so sad…" Hodgins played with his straw as he remembered what had happened. "She was looking for him...the poor girl was desperate. At one point, the door opened and she turned, looking hopeful, but it was just the bailiff. She reached him by text after I bailed her out. He sent this long winded text apologizing for not being there because he was with his mom and she's taking his father's death badly. He was also so upset about his father's service today that he got wasted last night and took a cab back to the apartment. He said he would be home at some point today, but he didn't know when."

"She must have been scared to death when she was in jail overnight.", Jessica said quietly. "What a chode…"

"I'm still trying to finish that algorithm for the voice recognition software.", Angela lamented. "Ever since my computer upgrade a few days ago, something isn't right. Something must be off with the formula. That's my project for today."

"Can't the store give you the security footage of when the phone was purchased?"

"They're  _'trying to find it'._  I guess they had a computer upgrade the night before the phone was purchased and that day's footage is MIA. I need to get that software to work to do a voice comparison. I have a sample of Gerald ready to go and I managed to get one of his brother from an interview he did on TV, along with Harold Maxwell as well."

"That SOB set her up, plain and simple.", Hodgins commented bitterly. "He was probably with another woman last night."

"You think he would be that nasty to have another woman in Ashley's bed?", Angela responded but then reconsidered. "It is Gerald…probably nailed one of his society babes. What a pig."

"I know I have to stay away from any Maxwell case, but if there's anything I can do please let me know, Curly.", Jessica said as Joanne brought a large paper bag to the table along with a drink carrier holding a large chocolate shake and two pops.

"Here you go, Jessica. Frankie threw in some extra garlic mayo and ketchup for Aubrey's onion rings. He didn't order his pie a la mode, but he put a small amount of ice cream in a Styrofoam cup for him today."

"He'll appreciate that. What is the pie today?"

"Triple berry. Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. Did you want me to get you a piece?"

"I wish I could, but I'm allergic to strawberries. However, Aubrey will love it. Thanks, Joanne." When the waitress left the table, Jessica turned to her friends. "Well, time to feed Superman. I'll see you two on Monday."

"Tell Aubrey we said hi.", Hodgins replied with a wave.

"I will." Jessica picked up the food, but as she turned around she was greeted with an unpleasant sight. "Karen…"

The profiler stood stiffly. "Hello, Jessica."

"Fancy meeting you here."

"Well, I was supposed to be on a plane to West Virginia, but there's a snowstorm and my flight was delayed until tomorrow. I came here to get some lunch and study the case file, but it seems my time is better spent back in Quantico. I wouldn't want to offend you, Jessica, especially after that humiliating meeting I had with Jake and Aubrey this morning."

"Whatever, Karen.", Jessica wearily said. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Of course." Karen replied with mock politeness, pausing when she saw the other couple at the table. "Dr. Hodgins, did you receive my email with the attachment?"

"I did…thank you, Dr. Delfs."

Karen walked closer. "So you will talk to Dr. Saroyan about that ban—"

"I will. However, the final decision will be hers since she returns March 1st. Don't press your luck, Karen."

"Of course…", the profiler replied before picking up her order and leaving the diner.

Perplexed, Jessica watched her leave before turning back to her friends. "What is she talking about, Curly?"

Hodgins pointed to the bag in her hands. "Take that to Aubrey and he'll explain everything. I'm sure after his meeting about Karen he needs to do some emotional eating."

"Yeah, I'm sure he will." Jessica took the bags and drinks and walked out the door.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"So she had to apologize to Curly? Wow...I bet she hated that.", Jessica commented before biting into her club sandwich.

"Yep.", Aubrey replied, his mouth full of a triple cheeseburger. Swallowing, he continued. "He's going to talk to Cam this weekend, but I get the sense that the ban on her being able to visit will remain in place."

"Good." Jessica sipped her pop. "So…this morning went okay?"

"It went as well as can be expected." Aubrey bit into his burger again and ketchup squirted onto his tie. "Son of a bitch…"

Jessica grabbed a napkin, but stopped when she saw Aubrey clean his tie with an onion ring. "Aubrey...seriously…"

"Ketchup is too good a condiment to waste, Jess." Aubrey took the napkin when done chewing but there was still a stain. "Shit...at least I've already had my meeting with Stark."

"Should I run home and get you another one?", the redhead said with an indulgent smile. "It's not the best example for the Special Agent in Charge to work with ketchup all over his tie...especially if he catches a bad guy later today."

Aubrey pulled a Shout wipe out of his drawer. "Nope, got it covered."

 _'Oh Superman…'_  Jessica thought. "Okay, now tell me about your morning meeting with Karen."

Aubrey tossed the wipe in the garbage. "She downplayed everything but Jake laid down the law. After she finishes her cases she currently has here, she won't have any more in the foreseeable future unless absolutely necessary."

"I'm sorry it had to get to that."

"Me too, Jess. It was like we were back in high school, sitting in the principal's office. I graduated sixteen years ago and I don't want to go back. Anyway, I don't want to talk about that anymore." Munching on another onion ring, he winked at his girlfriend. "So I was thinking…"

"Yes…" Jessica stole one of Aubrey's onion rings and chewed.

"What about a nice, romantic dinner tomorrow night?", Aubrey asked. "I know you're working, but we can make it early...say 6:00. Perhaps even...some time alone…with you wearing one of your...nicer...apparel items..."

"Is this your way of asking me if I'll wear my crotchless panties on a night out, Aubrey?", Jessica smirked. "You naughty boy…"

The SAC turned red as a beet. "No….it doesn't have to be those...per se...but...well..."

"Yes, you do meant those panties…I know how your mind works, James Aubrey...", Jessica interrupted with a knowing tone. "...but it sounds nice."

Aubrey bit his lip in that way Jessica found endearing. "To...a romantic dinner?"

The redhead smirked. "To dinner...and to the panties…"

"Yes!" Aubrey pumped his fist to Jessica's laughs.

"Superman, you're so cute when you're horny." Jessica sipped her pop. "However, how about dinner tonight instead?"

"Tonight?", Aubrey questioned. "But tonight is half priced appetizers at Founding Fathers…we go every Friday...it's our thing..."

"I know, but we went there on Monday, remember? Come on, Aubrey...once in a while it's good to change up our routine. I'll bring you a change of clothes later and we can go have an early dinner. I'll even make the reservations."

The agent considered what his girlfriend said. "If I leave early today...I'll need to come in and get some work done this weekend. However, if you're working at the lab it won't be a big deal…"

"See, Aubrey...change can be a good thing. I know you love your routines…"

Aubrey sat back in his chair. "Woman, you're the one who always washes her panties on the third Sunday of each month. Furthermore, when you hang them to dry, you organize them on hangers according to size and color."

"I just like my stuff neat, Aubrey…and that way I don't run out and have to go to work with no underwear. I don't think Dr. B would appreciate that, Superman.", the anthropologist retorted, her eyes narrowing. "When it comes to routines, who's the one who has to organize his boxer shorts in his drawer by color, number in the Star Wars trilogy, and which Marvel or DC Comic movie came out first?"

"Don't get cocky about my organization system for my boxers, Jess. You have no room to talk."

"Nice double entendre, James, but I've won this argument." Jessica bit into her club sandwich, feeling victorious.

"Well, I do know that you're wearing one of your sets of cheeky panties with the lace trim that you wear every Friday. If I had to hazard on a guess on which ones you're wearing now...I would say...the purple ones because you're wearing a lovely purple sweater. You do like to match..."

Jessica's mouth formed into an 'O'. "I do not wear my lace cheekies every Friday…nor do I match them to my sweaters..."

"Oh yeah?", Aubrey replied confidently as he pointed towards the exit. "Shut my office door, close the blinds, and drop your pants, Jessica."

The redhead knew she was caught. "Fuck you, Aubrey."

"As long as you're riding me later tonight, sure." Aubrey smirked as he bit into his cheeseburger.

Jessica chuckled at her boyfriend. "What am I going to do with you, James Aubrey?"

Aubrey wiped his mouth. "Love me...love my cat...always wear panties that come off easily...make passionate love with me like…all the time..."

"Fine." Jessica shook her head. "Now, about having dinner out tonight instead of tomorrow...think of it as a way for both of us to break out of our routines."

The agent considered his girlfriend's request. "Wear your black crotchless panties and that black push up bra with the lace on top and you have a deal."

"Only if you wear your blue silk boxers tonight…"

"I'm not wearing those right now…"

Jessica saw that Aubrey's tie still had a conspicuous ketchup stain. "I'll run home and bring them back here with a change of clothes and a clean tie when we're done eating. I'll make the reservations for 5:30 and I'll take the Metro back here so you don't have to drive home and get me."

"Take a cab, Jess. You're going to look be too beautiful to be taking the subway."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll take a cab to meet you here around 5:00. Deal?"

Aubrey smirked. "Deal."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Six hours later, Aubrey and Jessica enjoyed each other's company at the Blue Duck Tavern while they waited for their appetizers.

"So, Superman...how are you doing with breaking our Friday night routine so far?", Jessica asked, sipping her Chardonnay.

"I say...I'm doing very nicely, especially since you're wearing the dress that you were wearing the last time we came here a few months ago. You look very beautiful tonight, Jess."

"Thank you, Aubrey." Jessica admired the dark blue shirt and black sports jacket she picked out for her boyfriend to wear. "You look very handsome yourself. I did a good job."

"Thank you…and yes you did." The waiter brought their appetizers and set them on the table discreetly before leaving again. "Yeah...oysters...let's dig in."

Jessica laughed until she saw who walked in. "Hey, Karen is here with her boy toy tonight."

Chewing, Aubrey looked over and saw the profiler and Agent Thomas follow the hostess to a table. It didn't escape his notice that the agent was being led by Karen. "Well, I hope they enjoy their evening. I'm too busy enjoying mine. Dinner with a beautiful woman...then a night of...possibilities."

"I'm getting a vibe that I'll be a tired girl tomorrow morning, Aubrey."

Aubrey nodded. "Your vibe is right...but you'll sleep well...the little you do get. Now, have an oyster, Jess. The protein is important...you'll need your strength."

"But of course."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Later on that evening, Jessica excused herself to use the ladies room. Completing her business, she washed her hands before pulling a small bottle of cherry vanilla body spray out of her bag. After spritzing her wrists, she sprayed between her breasts and after looking around, lifted her skirt slightly and sprayed underneath while giggling to herself.

Putting it away, she grabbed her compact as a toilet flushed in another stall. The door opening, she was greeted by Karen. As Jessica concentrated on her task so she could leave, Karen wordlessly washed her hands, dried them, and freshened up her lipstick. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. It was quiet until the profiler was halfway out the door.

"You needling Aubrey to get me in trouble with my SAC so he could try to ruin my career? It's going to bite you in the ass, little girl."

"I didn't do anything Karen. Aubrey is his own man and not even I can make him do something unless he feels it's the right thing to do. Have a nice night.", Jessica said as she put her makeup away.

"You're going to regret messing with me."

"That should be the other way around, Karen...especially once everyone finds out how you pushed Gerald into messing with my life.", Jessica shot back quietly, silently laughing as the woman's eyes widened. "You were desperate to get me away from Aubrey and when your charm wasn't enough, you decided to go another way. Remembering how Gerald pissed himself at the Halloween Gala, you decided to use him by spewing some BS to get him angry. You figured that he would be angry enough to run to his father so Harold Maxwell could use his influence to get me canned from the Jeffersonian and in theory, kicked out of school and out of town. It didn't work, so you tried again, but this time you pushed him a little further. However, whatever you said to push his buttons the second time around pushed him beyond what he had done in the past...someone told him things that led him to vandalize my Jeep...to break into my apartment...to masturbate on my clothes...to mess with my financial future…"

That bad feeling that had crept in Karen's stomach came back. "You can create a nice fairy tale-maybe you should write stories like Dr. Brennan..."

"Someone pushed him into threatening my family and Aubrey...and I've realized it was you, Karen. That is not something I will tolerate from anyone. No one threatens the people I love and gets away with it."

' _He threatened Aubrey? Never mind...Jessica needs to get off her soapbox. I'm not the one who did all those things...and she started it anyways.'_ Karen told herself. Jessica's words hit a nerve, but she pushed them aside. "Hey, we shared some drinks and we fucked one night. That's all. If he threatened you, he was probably frustrated at all the crap you've done with him."

"Bullshit. You wouldn't have cheated on your Steevie Weevie, no matter how much booze you had, Karen. No way. You did this shit cold sober...and you had to have done it more than once."

Karen kept herself calm, desperately trying to ignore any feelings of guilt. "I didn't tell him to break into your apartment and get...all pervy. You are the one who has teased him for over two years while you strung Aubrey along. A man like that expects to collect at some point, Jessica. You just can't be a tease who steals other women's boyfriends, you know..."

"So you're not denying you went to him multiple times to get me out of the picture?" As Karen stammered, Jessica continued. "Your petty anger has led to me living in constant fear of Gerald, but I can take care of myself, and I have a wonderful support system. However, your issues with me may have also led to a woman being put in jail for something she didn't do, and maybe even Harold Maxwell's death."

"I did not cause Harold Maxwell to have a stroke. If you would have quit flirting and kept your panties on at the lab, you wouldn't be in trouble now."

"Still obsessed with my underwear, it seems. Since you're so interested with them, I'll tell you that what I have on are crotchless...and Aubrey can't wait to get into them later." Jessica straightened her shoulders. "Now, keep telling yourself that it was all me, Karen, and not whatever crap you told Gerald because you're bitter since Aubrey didn't want to see you with your panties down. As you're living in denial, remember this."

Jessica took one step closer. "If something happens to anyone Aubrey and I care about, or to me because of Gerald, all the gods and all the sense of decency in this world won't stop Aubrey from taking you down...because he loves me...and I would do the same for him. That's what truly being in love is like, Karen...not just a slap and a tickle with bragging rights. Think about that."

Jessica turned and left the women's restroom, leaving Karen to stand there alone with a sense of dread.  _'I didn't do this...it was Gerald...if only that bitch let me have my chance with Aubrey, none of this would have happened.'_


	70. Oops, Daisy Did It Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this will be an action packed weekend for our couple and their friends. A lot happens and it going to affect everyone in some way. Sit tight, get comfy, and enjoy the ride.
> 
> Michelle (mphs95)

Karen drove her vehicle through a cold and rainy Washington DC Sunday evening, her anger increasing the closer she got to her destination.

"First I'm humiliated on Friday, and now Shaw is ordering me down to the Hoover…on my day off? This better be good, Genevieve."

Pulling into the garage, she found an open spot and parked. Getting out, she barely noted the larger than usual amount of cars in the lot as she stormed into the building and up to Major Crimes. When she entered the bullpen, she noted Steve and a few more agents were there working, much to her surprise. What surprised her even more was the dirty looks she was receiving from all of them.

Seeing her former lover standing by the duty roster, she walked up to him. "What's the matter with everyone, Steve? You all look like someone has died."

"No one died, Karen." Steve barely held his contempt in check. "We're just working a case."

"All of you? Must be something big. Now, Genevieve ordered me down here like some minion. Where is she so she can get her panties out of the wad she has them in?" Karen pulled up her purse on her shoulder and smirked. "I have a night of hot sex with John to look forward to when I get home."

"Special Agent Shaw is in her office.", Steve said brusquely, pointing towards the door. "Excuse me, I have to call Mitzi and tell her I'll be working late tonight."

"Keeps you on a short leash, doesn't she?", Karen muttered, not happy that her comment didn't get any sort of response. She saw the angry stares of the handful of agents working and shuddered before walking to Genny's office, where she saw the agent looking at a file.

"I'm here, Genevieve. Now why the hell did you demand I come down here? This better be important. I was busy."

"Neutering your boy toy, probably.", Genny cracked before getting up and gathering some folders. "Come with me, Karen. We need to have a chat in the conference room."

Genny led the way while trying to keep herself composed. Turning on the light, she gestured for Karen to enter and then shut the door behind them. "Sit there."

"What is going on here?", Karen asked in irritation.

Genny walked up to the taller woman. "Sit the hell down, Karen. I won't ask you again."

Surprised at the woman's ferocity, Karen sat down and watched as Genny opened one of the folders and started laying down photographs. Seeing what was in some of them, her blood ran cold. "What the hell are these? Why are you showing them to me?"

Genny remained silent until she was done. Crossing her arms, she glared at the woman in front of her. "Take a good look at them Karen, because we're going to have a chat…a nice long one…and I'm going to do the best that I can to remain professional so I don't smack that holier than thou look off your fat face."

"Excuse me, that was uncalled for-"

"Oh, it's more than called for, Dr. Delfs. Now, you're going to answer my questions...fully...we'll stay here all night if we have to."

**[*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*]**

**48 HOURS EARLIER**

Jessica collapsed against the bed, exhausted from her exertion. "Whew...just when I think I've seen all you can do, James Aubrey…"

Aubrey laid on the other end, panting as he recouped from their exertion. "What can I say...I am a man of many talents…"

"That you are...must have been the oysters you ate at dinner.", Jessica panted before grabbing his toes affectionately. "Good work, Agent."

"Thanks.", Aubrey exhaled before sitting up. "So...a fancy dinner at the Blue Duck Tavern and some pretty amazing sex with yours truly. Did you enjoy your night of romance, Ms. Warren?"

"I sure did...and my panties even stayed on…", Jessica laughed. "You really love these crotchless ones, don't you?"

"Uh yeah...saves time...and they look sexy as hell on you. An investment well spent. I may have to go back to Karine's and get you more if they have new colors."

Jessica held herself up by her elbows and chuckled. "You...are a major hornball...but I still love you, James Aubrey."

"I'm a major hornball because you always make me horny, Jessica Warren...and I love you, too.", Aubrey replied before moving towards the head of the bed where he could sit by his girlfriend. "I'm glad you had a good time tonight, you know who excluded."

"I was going to be good and ignore her, I swear. However, she got snarky about how I pushed you into reporting her to Agent Tanner and how I was going to regret messing with her and I couldn't stop myself. I know getting up in her face wasn't the most mature way to deal with her, but it really good to see that satisfied smirk fall when I told her I knew she'd pushed Gerald into all the shit he's done."

"Unfortunately, in regards to your case, it's only hearsay.", Aubrey lamented. "However, you should give Genny a heads up. Perhaps she can do some digging. I know you weren't too sure about my idea regarding Karen when I brought it up originally."

"It wasn't that I didn't believe you, but it seemed out there. However, I keep thinking about what you said at New Years Eve and really...it makes sense, Superman." Jessica played with her nails over the covers. "She knew about Antiquities' joint project with Anthropology from Thrace back in October, and that was something that wasn't made public. They both called me ' _Firecrotch',_  a term I had never heard come out of Karen's mouth until Gerald called me that. Some of the things Gerald or Karen have accused me of are almost identical in verbiage and content. Plus…"

Aubrey saw her hesitate. "Jess, what?"

"Remember when you wondered how Gerald knew we'd had a disagreement of sorts that Monday...you know...before everything happened?" When her boyfriend nodded, she continued. "Besides Steve, Karen was the only one who knew, unless you talked to someone else besides Booth. Who else would have known about what happened at the Hoover? Steve had no reason to talk to Gerald and Booth was with you in West Virginia."

Aubrey nodded. "I agree...I just don't get what possessed her…"

"Obviously, she was pissed after Thanksgiving, but that night we had it out in the hospital...she was so angry, Aubrey. I even think that…" She paused, looking away from his intent gaze.

"Jess...talk to me…"

The redhead took a deep breath. "I think she told the truth when she told Genny that she hadn't met up with Gerald after that one time...she's not stupid. However, after Thanksgiving and especially after the night in the hospital, she really wanted me just...gone. However, since she didn't get anywhere with Gerald, I think she went to his father. It could be that Gerald just happened to be with him at the time, I don't know. I have no idea what the hell she told those men...but it must be really bad for him to do this to me..."

Aubrey took her in his arms and held her in the darkness. They sat in the quiet, the only noise being the blowing snow outside. "Is this ever going to end, Superman? This...shit with Gerald…I want my fucking life back…"

"It will, Jess. I promise.", he said while combing her hair with his fingers. "We're going to get you through the trial. I know it's going to get ugly, but I have faith that no matter what he dredges up from your past, from you urinating at the Lincoln Memorial...doing drugs with Phish...or any of that other stuff you did when you were younger...people are going to see that piece of shit for what he really is...a predator. Karen will get what's coming to her, too. Some way...somehow...they're both going to get what they deserve."

Jessica smiled and kissed him. "If you say it, Aubrey, I believe you."

"Good." Aubrey smirked as he ran his hand down her bare back. "Now...there's half a cheesecake in the fridge…"

"Yes, there is…" Jessica was interrupted by her phone buzzing. Turning around, she saw a text from Daisy.

_**OMG...I need 2 talk 2 u now! Did something stupid…** _

Jessica exhaled before putting her phone back on the nightstand. "Tomorrow, Daisy…"

Aubrey sat up. "Jess, what's up?"

"Daisy has another crisis, but I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow." Jessica rubbed Aubrey's chest. "Now, you were discussing cheesecake?"

"Yes…", Aubrey replied before he rubbed her butt under the covers. "There's a cheesecake downstairs that needs to be finished since it was purchased on Monday."

"Hmmm...we just made passionate love and you're hungry. Sounds like someone wants naughty food sex." The redhead smiled slyly. "Why am I not surprised?"

Aubrey smirked. "Well, we were going to have it on Monday..."

"It's on, Aubrey…" Jessica jumped out of bed and ran out of the bedroom. "...but you have to get my panties off me first!"

A naked Aubrey did the same. "Don't you worry, Jessica...I'll get those panties off…I'm a FBI Special Agent in Charge. Remember...I'm a man of many talents."

"Oh shit….", Jessica giggled while running down the stairs with Aubrey right behind her.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

The next morning, Jessica's phone alarm went off loudly. Groaning, she shut it off. "Too damn early."

Before she could get out of bed, her phone buzzed again. Checking it, she saw the frantic message from Daisy.

_**Jessica…please call me ASAP. Did something really stupid last night. Need your advice soon.** _

Groaning softly, Jessica shook her head in irritation. ' _Knowing Daisy, it could be anything. Too early...I can't get into it with her at six in the morning.'_

Getting up, she shivered in the early morning chill while tiptoeing naked toward the bathroom. Kicking into Aubrey's boxers, which were laying on the floor, she picked them up and tossed them at the end of the bed, knowing he wouldn't want to stumble downstairs in the nude to feed Skinner. Starting the shower, she giggled as she recalled their late night escapades.

To their joint delight, Aubrey had caught her by the couch and very efficiently helped her take off her panties before tossing them somewhere in the living room. Then they enjoyed themselves in the kitchen, starting with him applying the treat to her nipples. After that, the couple graduated to enjoying the dessert on each other's erogenous areas before her very aroused boyfriend bent her over the kitchen counter and did her again, knocking various items on the floor in the process.

As her drunken friend had mentioned Wednesday night, Aubrey was quite vocal as always. However, so was she, as her by-the-book FBI agent did things to her with food and his long appendages that were probably illegal in several states. After cleaning up their mess in the kitchen, they'd made it to the shower to wash off the dessert and whipped cream from their escapades.

" _Jess, I'm really sorry I kept you up so late…it's just that you make me want to do naughty things…super naughty things...and you're really good at them..."_

" _You do the same to me, Superman...and you're equally proficient at them.", Jessica giggled but was surprised when Aubrey hugged her from behind._

" _I've never felt...this comfortable with anyone else...I always felt weird, asking someone to do things like that. However, I only want to do them with you. Never with anyone else."_

" _Me, too. No one else but you will ever get to eat dessert off my butt…"_

_He held her closer and kissed her shoulder. "I love you, Jessica...I'll never love anyone else like I love you…"_

_Realizing that their playful time turned serious, she leaned back and enjoyed feeling his body against hers. "I love you, too, James. I'll never, ever be able to love anyone else...and I don't want to."_

That was the sum of all the parts. Yes, they had a very enjoyable…and creative...sex life. They did it about four nights a week on average, sometimes more if the mood struck them. However, it wasn't just because they just wanted to fuck each other all the time...although they did.

It was because they were best friends…and they loved each other…madly. They trusted each other, genuinely liked each other, and felt comfortable sharing not only what some might consider kinky and weird fantasies like eating food off each other's bodies, but also parts of themselves no one else got to see. While she highly enjoyed sex with Aubrey when they committed debauchery with dessert in their kitchen, it wasn't always wild, kinky, and insane.

Sometimes, it was the quickie, like the night they'd returned from the cabin, when he'd lifted her onto the washer in the laundry room while his work shirts were on the spin cycle. Other times, it was naughty fun like in his office after the Gala or in the intern locker room at the Jeffersonian at Halloween.

Then again, it could be frantic like it was the first time on Christmas Eve after a month long dry spell or when she returned from Scotland last summer after being gone three weeks. If it wasn't for the fact they would have been caught by security, she was certain that Aubrey would have nailed her in the back of his SUV in the Dulles Airport parking lot.

There was when they made the final step towards being together, like the first time they made love...or Aubrey's birthday in October when they recommitted to each other.

However, her favorite type of sex was those quiet times when they just craved each other…an escape from the world around them, like on New Year's Eve or a Sunday morning with no plans. They would wrap themselves around the other like vines and give each other what no one else could…or ever would. Those times usually involved making love more than once. If they came together during the evening, sleep was a luxury...but she didn't care...and neither did Aubrey.

Jessica knew she would never have that bliss with anyone else but James Aubrey…and she relished the idea that the feeling was mutual. She never knew how much she needed that affection until she found it and then almost let it go due to fear.

That was a mistake that would never be repeated.

She got ready for work quietly, not wanting to disturb her boyfriend, who was dead to the world. Coming out of the bathroom, she saw Aubrey's head protruding from under the covers, his hair sticking up in several different directions. Next to him was the pillow he clung to, which Jessica found adorable. Next to Aubrey and the pillow was Skinner stretched out on her side. Giving her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, she moved quietly out of the bedroom.

She drove to work as always, arriving about 7:45. Taking extra precautions like she promised Aubrey, after arming her vehicle, she held her keys in her hand and walked quickly. Like always, she made sure of her surroundings when she walked through the garage. Quickly, she went around the dumpster to the employee entrance.

She hated this entrance, but it was what was available so employees wouldn't have to go through the main museum and it led to a back hallway that led to several areas, including the intern locker room. She didn't mind it during the week as it was used by all employees. However, on the weekends, there were only a small handful of employees and interns that worked there. There was no parking attendant and even while brightly lit, the area was desolate and gave her the creeps. Quickly scanning her badge in, she exhaled as she made it through and walked down the halls to the back entrance of the intern locker room.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Gathering her tablet and lab coat from her locker, Jessica badged into the lab and headed to the computer on the platform. Reading her work email, she was disappointed to see a message from Curly stating that due to being called to cover at a conference, Rani had been called out of town and Oliver Wells would be working with her in Limbo all weekend instead.

Jessica groaned to herself. He could be so annoying, but ever since the recent stuff with Daisy, she found him more insufferable. While Oliver did have his human moments, he was mostly an asshole.

"At least Aubrey will be bringing me some lunch today. I'll get a short break from that arrogant blowhard. This will be a long seven hours."

Grabbing her tablet, Jessica went down to Limbo where of course, her fellow intern was already waiting. "Good morning, Oliver.", she said politely.

"Good morning, Jessica.", he sniffed.

Jessica rolled her eyes before putting her earbuds in and starting her music. They worked in silence, each identifying a set of remains in Limbo for the next 30 minutes. As the redhead listened to Kelly Clarkson's  _Stronger,_ she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Taking it out, she saw it was Daisy again.

_**Are u up? We need 2 talk. I did something really stupid.** _

Jessica shot back a text.  _ **What's up? R u all rite?**_

_**Yes. How abt lunch? My treat.** _

Jessica sent a message back.  _ **Aubrey bringing me lunch 2 the lab but I can call him. Can u pick up order from RD & come here? Working 8 - 3 2day.**_

Expecting an order request, the next text surprised her.  _ **R u working w/ Oliver?**_

Jessica groaned _. 'Great…more weirdo mind foreplay. At least Rani isn't here this time.'_ Typing fast, she sent a message.

_**Yes. Rani had last min trip OOT so Oliver w/ me 2day. Did u need 2 talk 2 him?** _

_**No. Just want 2 talk 2 u. Forget lunch. How abt dinner tonite?** _

"Dais…what is your deal?", Jessica muttered to herself.

"What about Daisy?", Oliver said over her shoulder, peering down at the phone.

"Hey!" Jessica turned around and stared down the lanky man. "Quit snooping. If you want to talk to Daisy so bad, do it on your own phone."

"I was not snooping. I heard Daisy's name…and wondered…how she was." He bit his lip nervously. "I was just curious, that's all…"

"Fine…now mind your own business, please, Oliver." Jessica turned to send another message.

"Well then, Jessica, please don't talk to yourself. It's distracting to me while I'm trying to finish my work." Oliver's eyebrows rose at the redhead's response to his complaint. "Giving me the middle finger is not a very mature way to respond to a reasonable request, Ms. Warren."

Jessica stuck out her tongue at her fellow intern when his back was turned. Putting her attention back to the phone, she debated on what to say. Tonight, she and Aubrey were going to Booth and Brennan's house for dinner, a plan that had been set up by the guys a few days ago. However, she hesitated to tell her friend, recalling how put out Daisy was the last time Aubrey and herself were invited over for dinner and she and Beau weren't. Jessica knew she wasn't doing anything wrong, but she didn't want to deal with a petulant Daisy, either.

Deciding what to say, she typed,  _ **Plans w Aubrey tonite. How abt coffee after work? Say 3:30 at RD?**_

_**Sounds good. CYL.** _

Jessica sent a message to her boyfriend.  _ **Meeting D 4 coffee after lab. Will b home by 5P 2 get ready 4 B & B dinner.**_

Aubrey responded with ,  _ **Cool. Will come w/ lunch at 11:30. Love u.**_

_**Love u 2,**_ Jessica texted back. She smiled as she looked at the message, happy that she had someone has thoughtful as James Aubrey in her life.

"Those remains won't be identified by themselves, Jessica."

Putting her phone in her pocket, she changed her gloves and went back to work. "Your remains won't be identified by themselves, either, Oliver. Perhaps concentrating on your own work instead of snooping into my time may help."

Out of the corner of her eye, Jessica saw Oliver's scowl before returning to his task. Smiling, she went back to her own work.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

3:30 on the dot, Jessica walked into the Royal Diner and saw her friend at the counter sipping coffee. Walking over, she called out to her, but Daisy was still lost in her thoughts. Gently tapping her on the shoulder, the petite woman almost jumped out of her seat.

"Ah! Jessica…you startled me. I'm sorry."

Startled herself, Jessica rubbed Daisy's shoulder. "Are you okay, Dais? You look really distracted."

Daisy blinked back some tears. "Yeah…I am…and I don't know what to do. Jessica, I messed up big time…Beau will never forgive me..."

Sitting down next to her friend, Jessica ordered a cup of green tea. When Joanne returned with it a few minutes later, Jessica sipped from her cup before turning to her friend. "Daisy…I'm sure that whatever it was…I mean, it can't be that bad, right? Shit happens, you know. Beau will understand.

"No…Beau will not understand…I still don't understand…I mean…" Daisy stammered.

"Daisy…Honey…what's wrong? What happened?" Jessica took her friend's trembling hand. "C'mon...tell me. You're scaring me now."

"Okay…" She exhaled slowly to calm herself. "Well, last night, I was working late. Figured I would catch up on some administrative stuff from when I was gone, since Lance is with Beau. I called Beau about 8:00 to check in and things were good. Feeling better, I was going through time reports when I decided to have a cup of coffee…because it sounded really good…and it was cold…and it was late and it sounded really good…"

Jessica saw her friend was struggling but she said nothing, letting her process her thoughts.

"When I came into the break room, I saw Oliver and Rani, laughing about something they'd done earlier with their prototype. Maybe I'm wrong, but I could swear he took her hand and snuggled close to her as soon as I walked in the room. Of course, the coffee was gone, so I had to brew a new pot…and I had to listen to him get all cutesy with her…talking about how much like loved her projects and how smart she was…it was…really nauseating."

Jessica sipped her tea, waiting for Daisy to continue.

"I couldn't deal with the yucky cuteness anymore, so I stuck my coffee cup under the spout halfway, desperate to get out of there. Of course, the coffee was hot, so I burned myself, and I cried out. Rani came over to see if I was all right, but I didn't want her sympathy. Then Oliver said to her, '… _she's fine, Rani. Daisy's usually a drama queen anyway.'_ "

"You burned your hand and he didn't even ask if you were all right?", Jessica exclaimed. "What a fuckstick! Are you all right now?"

"Yeah…just stings a little." Daisy sipped her coffee and placed the cup back on its saucer. "I wasn't going to let him get away with saying that about me, so I said, "Thank you, Rani, but I'm fine. Your douchebag, asshole boyfriend, on the other hand, needs more help than anyone can give him."

'Whoa…that's harsh..."

"Oliver stood up to protest, but I told him that he was an insecure asshole who needs to learn how to respect women instead of using them as a trophy to display. I then called him a selfish dick and I stormed out, but I didn't miss hearing Rani yell at him in what I'm assuming is Hindi. I think she chewed his ass for what he said to me..."

"I'm sorry, Daisy. I know you and Oliver are friends."

Daisy shook her head from left to right. "That's not the worst part of it, Jessica."

"Really?" Confused, Jessica leaned against the counter. "Dais, talk to me. I want to help you."

Sipping her coffee, Daisy signaled Joanne for a refill and Jessica also got more hot water and a new Green Tea bag. "So I go back to my office to get work done. I wanted to leave, but I was so angry and I didn't want to drive angry...I didn't want to cause an accident. Imagine my surprise when Oliver stormed into my office a few minutes later, asking what my problem was."

"Of course he would…" Jessica quietly sipped her tea. "So what did you say?"

"I told him my problem was the fact he ran hot and cold on me, talked down to me like I was a child whenever Rani was around, and that he was an ass about my husband. He responded by saying that I was the one with the problem, because I married a man child who couldn't speak in complete sentences. He also said I was jealous of his mature relationship with Rani, and of how successful they were...that I resented the fact that he could find someone smart enough to be with him...someone who wasn't me..."

Jessica made a disbelieving look. "Okay…wow..."

"So then I told him that it was obvious that Rani was just using him as a way to be able to work with the Jeffersonian or at least stay in the United States. Before he could open his fat mouth, I yelled back that at least I'd found love, and that I knew no one would ever love him because he was a coward..." Daisy sipped her drink again. "He was stunned and then asked me to clarify…so I did. I told him that he treated people like dirt because he's insecure and afraid of failure. It was those two things that rendered him incapable of settling on a discipline to study, instead of bouncing between physics, law, anthropology, and all the other stuff he had done while he was in school."

"Ouch!" Jessica pictured the tenseness of the scene. "Wow…what did he do?"

"He then called  _me_  a coward, saying I was hiding behind my husband and my son because I wanted a fairy tale life instead of what was real and actually in front of me. He said it must be tiring for me to always act like my life is perfect when it's actually shit…he actually said my life is ' _shit.'"_ Daisy took a breath. "He said I'll never be happy until I accept my life as it is, which includes realizing that I married the wrong man."

' _Uh oh…'_  Jessica thought but kept it to herself. "Oliver said that?"

"He did. I told him that whatever opinion he had about my marriage and my life were no longer welcome, since he didn't know what he might have had with me until it was gone, because he was too much of a chicken shit. I went on to say that he can't pretend to be some perfect fucking robot who has no feelings which can be hurt…because as much as he denies it, I know that he does care about what people thought of him. I told him that he was pathetic, and had no business being with a woman like me or like Rani, because he didn't know how to treat them...that he will never love a woman like she deserves to be loved."

Picturing the tense scene, Jessica gently prodded her friend. "So…what happened next?"

Daisy played with her engagement and wedding rings. "He said I was wrong…dead wrong, and that I would never understand the truth until I opened my eyes…then he grabbed me and kissed me…hard..."

Jessica's eyes got large. "What? He did what?"

Daisy gave Jessica a face. "I said, he kissed me—"

"I heard that he kissed you, Daisy. You smacked him and told him off, right?", Jessica said in disgust. "Oliver got a swift kick in the dick for that, right?"

The other woman didn't look Jessica in the eye. "No…not exactly."

Jessica waited for a different waitress to refill Daisy's coffee. Putting her hand on her cup, she shook her head. When the woman left, she turned to her friend. "Daisy…what do you mean, ' _no, not exactly?'_  When a man who is not your husband or boyfriend kisses you like that, you nail him in the nuts or in the jaw…or both if a man other than Aubrey did that to me...except when I almost broke Steve Bower's hand...but never mind. We're talking about you...what happened next?"

"Well, I was in shock…and then the way he looked at me…he hadn't looked at me like that since the last time we slept together several months ago, before I married Beau." Daisy's eyes lit up as she continued. "There was this kind of raw, primal urge flowing between us last night..."

The redhead hung her head, running her hand across her eyes. "Daisy, remember what else happened when you slept together that last time? The next morning, he was a douchebag who said it was a mistake to be beholden to another person. You got pissed and told him you were sick of his attitude and that you were going to move on with your life, including finding a man who ' _wasn't full of himself'_ , because you deserved a happily ever after…and then you came over to my apartment and cried for an hour. It was that same day that Oliver started to work the Frank Kwiakowski case and he did that shitty thing with Christine's report card. After Dr. Saroyan suspended him for theft, you two decided it was better to be friends…or friendly at least."

Daisy's demeanor returned to somber as she remembered what happened in May. "I know…but he was really upset when I started seeing Beau."

"Who fucking cares?" Jessica whispered. "Oliver was the one who screwed up, not you."

"I know, but remember when he saw me that night before my wedding and said that marrying Beau was a mistake? When he couldn't say anything else, I told him he blew his chance and that he needed to move on. I was so happy when I got married…but, now…sometimes I'm not."

"Daisy, what happened after he kissed you?" Jessica dreaded the answer. "You cooled off...you walked away and went home, right?"

The anthropologist took a deep breath. "No…we were…we just stared at each other…then…we kissed again…and did more…"

"Oh, Daisy…you didn't…" Jessica was horrified. "Please tell me you didn't…"

"No, but we might have…we had our shirts off and were on my desk…his hand was up my skirt tugging on my underwear but…then my cell rang with ' _Hail To The Redskins…"_

"Beau's ringtone…", Jessica said quietly.

Daisy nodded. "I answered the phone...Beau called because Lance would be going to bed after his bath and he wanted to say good night to his Mommy…"

"Oh boy…"

"Oliver just stood there as I talked to my baby…then I talked to Beau for a few minutes. He wanted me to stay safe since it was snowing pretty bad. He said that he missed me, and he and Lance couldn't wait to see me when they came home next week. I was trying to stay composed, but Beau must have heard the stress in my voice, because he asked if I was alright. I told him yes, and that it was because I missed them both, too. He then said he loved me, and he said my boys would call me on Sunday. I told him goodbye and hung up."

Jessica didn't say a word as she took her friend's hand. "What happened after that, Dais?"

"I don't know…it's all a blur. I remember fixing my panties and putting my blouse back on. I remember Oliver saying my name and something else…what, I don't remember. I didn't even straighten up my desk before I grabbed my purse and left. I was shaking, and I couldn't drive right away, so I tried calling you but you didn't answer…"

' _I'm sorry, Daisy…'_  Jessica thought. "I was with Aubrey, but I'm here now. Do you know what you're going to do?"

The brunette looked at her friend with a frown. "Figure out what I'm going to do, of course. That's what Dr. B would do. I love Beau…but what am I going to do about Oliver? I can't work with him after that…but I'm so drawn to him…"

Jessica shook her head. "Daisy…you're married. Before you do anything rash with Oliver, you need to consider the consequences. First thing…stay the hell away from the guy. If he shows up, you walk away or you get someone to be there with you. Don't let yourself be caught alone with him, okay? Next, when Beau and Lance get home, you two need to talk about your future if he stays here in DC."

"I know…I'll figure it out. I'm just so tied up in knots right now." Daisy sipped her cooling coffee. "I never thought I would say this, but I'm glad my son isn't around. I need to think…and process…"

"Well, let me know if there's anything I can do, okay?" Jessica rubbed her friend's arm.

"Want to hang out tonight? Like have a girls night?"

' _Oh crap…'_ Jessica thought. "I wish I could, but I have plans with Aubrey tonight, remember?"

"Of course. Aubrey comes first…", Daisy said quietly.

Sensing that Daisy was irritated, Jessica had an idea. "I'm sorry. We should go out, though, before Beau gets back. He's coming back next Sunday, right?"

"Yeah…it was going to be Saturday to avoid the Inauguration, but we're going to the Women's March, so I told him they could wait until Sunday. I know he wanted to look at houses in Regina, but I'm not understanding why he wants to do that or stay another week there since he's going to take the Redskins' offer like I suggested."

Jessica had a suspicion but kept it to herself. "Well, how about on Inauguration night? The city is going to be nuts with all the balls and crap and I would prefer to not see Donald Trump celebrated. We can do munchies…chocolate…girl movies…"

"Maybe we can get Andie and Dr. B?"

"Sure." Finishing her tea, Jessica squeezed Daisy's arm. "Call me if you need me, all right?"

"I will, I promise."

Jessica waved to her friend, keeping her face pleasant. However, as soon as she left the diner, her countenance changed to one of extreme irritation.

' _So Rani probably didn't work today because she's pissed at Oliver. That asshole had the cajones to asked about Daisy after what went down last night? He better not piss me off tomorrow or my foot is going into his ass. No one hurts my friend and gets away with it.'_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

At 8:30, Booth and Brennan were watching  _Florence Foster Jenkins_ with Aubrey and Jessica at the Mighty Hut II. Booth had a look of pure boredom while Aubrey cringed at the music. Brennan and Jessica, on the other hand, giggled at a scene.

"Oh...she sounds...so way ass flat…", Aubrey lamented until he was smacked by his girlfriend. "What, Jess...she is….she sounds like Skinner if I step on his tail."

"She's doing her best…", Jessica sighed. "Her husband gave up his career so she could succeed."

Booth shifted on the couch. "Bones...I'm not trying to put her down...but…"

"Yes, Booth, I will concede that her voice was not...as gifted as some. However, she is making some audiences very happy.", Brennan said. "Florence Foster Jenkins was a lucky woman to be ahead of her time."

"Plus, she got Meryl Streep to play her." Jessica sipped her beer while looking at her boyfriend and his friend. "Are you guys still frustrated that we won the coin toss for what movie to watch?"

"Nah….", Booth said in mock disgust.

"Of course, not...", Aubrey joined in before drinking his beer.

"...even though we have the  _Magnificent Seven_  on Blu Ray, too...and I just got  _Enter The Dragon_.", Booth murmured. "Just saying."

"Booth, while those movies are fascinating, I don't think either of them is the best choice for a date night with another couple." Brennan sipped her wine and raised an eyebrow at her husband. "Besides, this movie will make you more culturally aware…"

"Booth, wanna come over tomorrow afternoon and watch them while Jess is at the lab?", Aubrey asked. "I'm going to the Hoover in the morning but I'll be back by lunch time."

"Sounds good. I'll drop the kids off here and head over after Mass." Hearing the doorbell, Booth got up. "I wonder who that is."

Walking to the door, he looked out the Judas Hole, sighed, and opened it. "Daisy, come on in."

"I see that you have company, but I hope you don't mind that I dropped over. I've been so busy and I figured Dr. B would want to hear about my trip with Beau-" Daisy had her coat halfway off when she saw who was there. "Jessica...you didn't tell me that you were coming over tonight."

' _Shit…',_ Jessica groaned internally. "Yeah, we came over for dinner and we're watching  _Florence Foster Jenkins_  right now."

"You said you had plans with Aubrey tonight when I asked if you wanted to have a girls night. You didn't mention you were coming over here."

"We came over for dinner and are now watching a movie before heading home.", Aubrey jumped in, sensing the other woman's irritation. "Booth and I set this up a few days ago."

"Beau will be back next week, so you and Jessica can get together with us at our condo.", Daisy said before squeezing herself between Jessica and Brennan. "Dr. Brennan, we should get together for drinks. Jessica is going to be busy next week…"

Jessica, Aubrey, and Booth exchanged a look before the redhead sipped her beer. ' _Here we go…'_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

When the movie ended, Daisy sipped her glass of wine. "What do you all want to watch now?"

"We're taking off, Daisy. Jess has to work at the lab in the morning.", Aubrey said as the they stood up to leave.

"I'll grab those leftovers for you, Aubrey.", Brennan said as she stretched.

"Thanks, Dr. B. Tonight was fun...especially when we had that pasta with your whore s…." Aubrey caught the withering looks from Jessica and Dr. B. "Puttanesca sauce. Amazing stuff."

Brennan brought the Tupperware container with her and gave it to Aubrey. "You're welcome. Ms. Warren, that wine from your family's winery went very well with it."

"Thanks. Wendell and Andie liked it too, when we had it with our dinner at the cabin a few weeks ago.", Jessica said. "I'll let Jack and Greg know. I'm sure they'll be pleased."

"It is good.", Daisy replied from the kitchen as she went to get more. "It's gone? Damn…"

Booth shared a look with Aubrey, who'd told him earlier, when they were by themselves, about Daisy's night at his house. Both were secretly glad there was no more.

"Daisy my brother and Greg should have it at the Bethesda tasting room by summer unless you and Beau make a trip to the winery before then."

"I may have to do that. Wine tasting isn't Beau's thing...unless it was fruit wine. Maybe you can get me the friend discount."

"Daisy, do you want me to follow you home?", Aubrey asked, trying to avoid an awkward moment. "There's a lot of deer out this time of year."

"No, I'm just going to visit with Dr. B for a while.", Daisy said. "Thanks, though."

"Actually, Daisy...Booth and I have to be up early tomorrow. We're having breakfast together. After that, he's picking up Hank and Christine from Hodgins and Angela's house to take them to church while I work on my manuscript."

"Okay, well I guess I'll just go home and enjoy the peace and quiet." Daisy rinsed her glass and put it in the sink.

The three guests put on their coats. After saying their good nights, they walked out of Booth and Brennan's house and into the chilly night.

"I figured that you two would have hot plans tonight. You usually spend your weekends alone together having sex or watching cheesy movies. I didn't expect to see you here with Booth and Dr. B."

Aubrey took a deep breath to hold back a biting comment as the three got to their vehicles. "Well, Booth is my best friend besides Jess, Daisy, and since I work in Major Crimes now instead of Homicide, we don't get to hang out like we used to."

"Of course, I figured with you as her intern, Jessica, you and Dr. B wouldn't see each other socially. When Lancelot and I were together, the four of us rarely hung out together.", Daisy commented.

Aubrey didn't miss a beat. "Dr. B and Jessica spent part of the night going over lesson plans since she is the TA for her Wednesday afternoon class while Booth showed me some new Flyer stuff he got last week on Amazon. Anyway, Daisy, with Booth and I good friends, it's inevitable our significant others would see each other socially from time to time. Dr. B and Jessica keep it professional at the lab."

"She even asked you to go with her to the Science Department luncheon next Wednesday.", Daisy commented. "That's a pretty fancy affair. Dr. B doesn't even invite Booth to it because that stuff bores him to tears."

"Well, she's been wanting me to network with some of the faculty since she knows of my desire to teach someday.", Jessica said as Aubrey opened the SUV door for her. "This way I can meet some people who may be helpful with reaching that goal."

"Of course. However, like I said earlier, if you can't go, just let me know and I can go with her instead." Daisy got into her Ford. "I'll see you soon. Next Friday, right?"

"Next Friday at your condo. I'm sorry Dr. B can't go. Did you text Andie?", Jessica asked as she got her seat belt on and Aubrey got in on the driver's side.

"She's good to go." Daisy shut her door and rolled the window down. "Good night."

"Good night…", Jessica responded but Daisy had already rolled up the window and began backing out.

Aubrey nodded before putting his SUV into gear. "Fun night for the most part."

"Yeah, I had a good time."

"Jessica, she's fine. It wasn't a slight that she wasn't invited tonight. She'll get over it." Aubrey stopped at the end of the long winding driveway.

"I know that, Aubrey. I'm ready to go home, though. Tomorrow is going to be hard to get through without sucker punching Oliver for what happened with Daisy."

"Well, if you do...I'll bail you out, Jess.", Aubrey said with a smile.

"Thank you, Superman."


	71. SNAFU At the Jeffersonian Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The action in the next few chapters all takes place on the same day. Read on to find out what's in store for our favorite characters.
> 
> Some spicy bits in this chapter...it may not be suitable for work reading.

Early Sunday morning, Jessica was in the shower when she was surprised by Aubrey joining her. "Superman, it's 6:30. Why are you up?"

"I'm going in to catch up some paperwork at the office, remember?". Aubrey smirked as he eyed his nude girlfriend. "Plus, I like looking at you naked."

"Thank you." Jessica grinned as she massaged shampoo into her hair. "You're not so bad yourself, Agent. Using that Total Gym in our basement looks good on you."

"Hey...I have to set an example for my agents, you know.", Aubrey stated while his girlfriend rinsed her hair. "Are you still worried about Daisy being mad at you for hanging out at Booth and Dr. B's with me last night?"

"I wouldn't say mad...but she gets irritated and almost...territorial sometimes if I mention something that I did with Dr. B, like when she went dress shopping with me for the Gala. I think me being invited as Dr. B's guest to AmU's College of Arts and Sciences luncheon Wednesday instead of her got her nose slightly out of joint."

Aubrey shook his head in annoyance. "Dr. B didn't ask you to slight Daisy. You're her teaching assistant and it makes sense to invite you, especially since, like you said, it will help you network and meet people that could help you get into teaching someday."

"I know…Dr. B could only have one guest, though. Wendell told me a while ago that she is particular about which interns she takes to things like this, so it's...an honor. She does it because, like you said, we have connections towards our future careers when we graduate. He said Booth has no problem with it because they bore him. Daisy probably just felt left out, Superman."

"So what? Her monopolizing conversation with Dr. B as well as giving her an invite to go out without you as you're sitting there is pretty rude, Jess. Besides, doesn't Daisy have to work? Isn't that why she left Beau in Canada? Because the NFL was in dire need without her, right?"

"Yes, Aubrey, I know. Anyway, while Arastoo, Clark, and Wendell have gone with Dr. B to things in the past, Daisy was never asked to do anything like that with her…and it must have bugged her that I was." Jessica pushed her damp hair away from her face. "And you're also right in the fact that she does have to work, although it seems like she has some flexibility if she needs it…"

"She certainly recouped fast from what happened on Friday." Aubrey dipped his head under the water and quickly washed his hair. "Jess...Daisy really needs to get over this pissing contest she has with you over Dr. B. It's childish."

Jessica exhaled. "She's getting better, Aubrey. Daisy is a good friend...she just has a lot on her plate right now, that's all."

_'Daisy needs to get a grip on her feelings. It's not fair to you to always be her defender.'_ Aubrey bit back a comment before moving onto his next thought. "She also needs to stay away from Oliver, because if she continues to flirt with temptation, they may not stop themselves before they...go even further next time."

"Listen, please don't tell her I told you, Superman.", Jessica said quietly. "If Beau gets wind of what happened…"

"Don't worry...I won't tell her...or anyone. It's not my place." Aubrey rinsed his hair before pouring some of Jessica's body wash in his hands. Rubbing her shoulders, he continued to speak. "However, things like this tend to come out eventually, so Daisy needs to get her shit together and figure things out. Gossip like that spreads like wildfire. I would be surprised if rumors about those two aren't already going around at the NFL."

"I know." Jessica turned around and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and kissed him. "Thank you, Superman."

"You're welcome." Aubrey pulled her close and caressed her back and posterior. "You feel very nice…especially when you're all soapy."

Jessica groaned as he started nipping on her neck. "Oh, shit...Aubrey...we don't have time for sex...ohhhh…" She moaned softly as he gently pinched her nipple. "I can't be late…"

Aubrey's face got serious. "We're not going to do it in here."

Surprised, Jessica looked up at Aubrey. "We aren't?"

Gently the lanky man backed his girlfriend up against the wall and traced his finger down her breast and abdomen. "No...I'm not always going to have sex with you, Jess. You need to quit expecting that from me all the time. I'm just one man, you know...I'm not around just to be your love slave..."

"You're right, I'm sorry." Jessica chuckled before moaning as Aubrey's finger traced down past her pubic bone. Wrapping her leg around his, she couldn't stop herself from rubbing his calf. "If you're not going to have sex with me, what do you have up your sleeve, Special Agent Aubrey?"

Aubrey's blue eyes sparkled as he gave her a dimpled smile. "Just this, Jessica…"

"Ohhhhh….", the redhead moaned as her boyfriend's fingers traced through her folds and found her bundle of nerves. "Ohhhh…oh shit...why did you stop…."

Aubrey grabbed her leg and wrapped it around his waist as his girlfriend pulled him closer. Going back to what he was doing, he smirked as his lover's appreciation for his machinations. "I'm thinking that...if you have to work with Oliver Wells on a Sunday, it's my job as your love slave to make sure that you go to work with a smile…

"I thought you weren't my love slave...oooooohhhh, James….yes….don't stop..." Jessica groaned as she grasped his muscular posterior.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Driving into the parking garage of the Jeffersonian, Jessica found a spot and pulled in. After arming the vehicle, she grabbed her lunch, purse, and badge and walked up to the entrance. "God, it's cold. Thank God we can wear jeans now on the weekends if we donate $2.00 to Adopt A Family."

As she neared the dumpster that blocked the employee entrance, she saw that the light was out. Stopping in her tracks, she debated on her course of action when she heard her name. Turning around, she saw Angela walking up to her wearing leggings and a baggy University of Texas sweatshirt.

"Angela, what are you doing here today?"

"I think I know what the problem is with my voice recognition algorithm. It hit me during the night, and I'm going to fix it right now while it's on my mind. That new upgrade can kiss my pregnant butt." Angela looked over by the dumpster. "Great...the light is out."

"I know…and it's super creepy when the door's in the shadows like that." Jessica scrunched up her nose as she looked again. "I'm thinking of hiking to the front entrance, but can you?"

The artist pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight. After a quick look around, she made an announcement. "If there's a perv waiting for us, listen up. I'm pregnant, I'm grouchy, and I grew up in Texas with a fierce daddy. My friend here knows self-defense, has five older brothers and we both have guns. Don't fuck with us or we'll both pump your ass full of lead."

After waiting thirty seconds, Angela directed the light ahead. "Okay, let's go to work. I'll send in a maintenance order to fix the light when I get to my computer."

Angela pressed her badge to the reader and both ladies walked in. Walking down the hallway, they both finally relaxed. Angela chuckled as she patted her baby bump. "Well, if the Boogey Man was out there, and if he doesn't have a badge to get in, he's freezing his ass off outside."

"Well, I'm sure the announcement by the pregnant lady that she would put a cap in his ass probably scared him off." Jessica stopped at the entrance to the intern locker room. "I'll see you soon, Angela. Good luck."

"The same to you. Oh, just to give you a heads up, if Oliver was pissy with you yesterday and again today, it's because he and Rani had a fight, although he didn't admit it. Hodgins felt bad for him, so he approved him to work in Limbo with you."

Knowing she couldn't tell Angela what Daisy had said or that she already knew, Jessica nodded. "If he didn't tell you outright, how did you find out about the fight?"

"Rani called to let us know she wouldn't be there due to some conference she got called to at the last minute in Mumbai. Oliver called an hour later and asked to work because Rani was sick, not realizing she already called Hodgins. It wasn't hard to put together. "

Jessica nodded. "Yeah, it doesn't surprise me."

"If his douchiness gets to be too much, tell me. I can use pregnancy as an excuse to hurt him."

Jessica kept her thoughts to herself as she scanned the badge reader for the intern locker room. "I'll keep that in mind."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Aubrey arrived at the Hoover right before 8:00 with his weekly dozen donuts minus the two he'd eaten on the way to work. He shivered as he walked through the cold parking garage towards the entrance into the old building. The weather was warmer than last week, but it was still cold.

Of course, usually he wouldn't normally be here, as Sunday was supposed to a day of rest, but not today.

_'If Jess didn't have to work today, we would keeping each other warm for the rest of the morning…but shit happens. At least I'll get a little work done before lunch. Then Booth and I can watch kick ass movies at my house before she comes home.'_

Aubrey put his box down in the break room and refilled his coffee mug. Looking down at his right hand, his fingers still tingled as he recalled how he had given Jessica an orgasm in the shower this morning. He loved how he could make her warm and soft in his arms after she would scream at her peak. He loved to touch her...and how she touched him in the shower almost made him try to tempt her into sex, but she didn't want to be late for work and he respected that.

They had all the time in the world for all that, Aubrey thought as he headed into the bullpen. Thinking he would be the only one there, he was surprised to see Genny in her office.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Genny looked up. "Going over Gerald Maxwell's case again. Steve left here frustrated Friday night, so I'm hoping I can find something in here that could help him clear Ashley Anders. Angela is heading over to the lab right now to see if she can fix her voice recognition program. She thinks she knows what the problem is."

"Good. So, I know I can't be involved, but anything major on the surveillance front?"

Genny put her pen down and shrugged. "No…Bell noted that after his father's funeral Gerald spent Friday at his mother's house until leaving to spend the night at someone else's apartment."

"I'm going to assume that _'someone'_  is an attractive female.", Aubrey said sarcastically.

Yeah. Bell ran the building and the only single woman was on the top floor." Genny looked at the name. "Amanda Winters. 23 years old. Student at Northern Virginia Community College. Works as a barista at the coffee booth at the Jeffersonian. Bell recognized her as the woman who spent the night with Gerald on Thursday."

"The night his girlfriend was being held for arraignment." Aubrey sipped his coffee. "Asshole."

"Yeah, pretty much. He didn't leave the other apartment until yesterday afternoon, arriving back at Ashley's around 5:00 and there's been no movement since then. Probably sexing her into believing whatever BS story he has for why he ditched her in jail."

"Prick…well, I thought I would get some stuff done since I left early Friday, and Jess is working at the lab this weekend. I'm heading home in a few hours."

"Anything I can help you with, Boss?"

Aubrey shook his head before walking down the hall. "No…it seems you have enough on your plate. Thanks, though."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Jessica and Oliver worked side by side in Limbo with the redhead making it a point to not speak to him for fear of punching his face in. She listened to her  _'Aubrey'_ mix on her Amazon Prime through her earbuds, wanting to get through the next several hours as quickly as possible. All she wanted to do tonight was have a quiet dinner with her Superman and Skinner before they watched  _The Man with the X-Ray Eyes_ on Comet.

She actually wanted this last week before the trial to be as quiet as possible, because once next Monday came, her life would be in an even bigger bubble.

Finishing her exam of the remains, she made her notes and removed her gloves as her phone buzzed. Seeing the message, she relaxed.

_**Sorry I was all touchy last nite. I just didn't want to b alone & was surprised ** _ _**2 c u Booth & Dr. B's** _ _**.** _

Jessica exhaled in relief.  _ **U were fine. I still want 2 do girl night. How r u feeling?**_

_**I'm mixed up...confused...need 2 decide what 2 do. Feel so stupid 4 what happened.** _

"Don't feel stupid, Daisy.", Jessica muttered to herself. "Just deal with the problem…"

"Something wrong with Daisy?", Oliver asked as he tried to look at her phone.

Anger churned up in Jessica. Turning around, she gave Oliver her nastiest look and felt a sense of satisfaction when he flinched. "Daisy is fine, no thanks to you, jackass. Go back to your bones."

"You have no reason to be rude to me, Jessica. I've left you alone to work this last hour. What's wrong? You and Agent Aubrey have a little tiff about something he ate? Or did he cheat at  _Aerial Attack_  again? He's good at that."

Unable to stop herself, she took five steps towards Oliver and shoved him hard. Barely balancing himself to keep from falling backwards, he looked shocked at the strength of the smaller woman as she expressed her anger. "Jessica, what is your problem?"

"My problem is you, asshole." Jessica shoved him again. "You're a real piece of work, you know that? You really are."

Oliver pointed at his fellow intern. "Don't touch me again, Jessica. Go apologize to Aubrey or take some Midol if your issues are of the menstrual kind. I need to concentrate on my work."

"Sure, Oliver...wouldn't want your guilt over being an asshole to Daisy take away from your daily to do list...go fuck yourself."

Oliver crossed his arms and looked down at her. "Jessica...as much respect as I have for you as a fellow genius, I'm not going to tolerate your childish antics or your vulgar language. Now, whatever tiff you and Aubrey got into, you need to get over it and not involve Daisy."

"I'm not mad at Aubrey, Oliver. Actually, he gave me one hell of an orgasm in the shower this morning. My issue is with you, dickhead.", Jessica yelled before punching him in the arm.

Oliver clutched his arm, not wanting to show how much it really hurt. "Ow! Enough. One more time and I'm calling security-"

"I barely touched you, you crybaby. It's only a small bit of what you deserve for the shit you've been pulling with Daisy lately."

The lanky man stiffened for a moment before taking on an arrogant pose. "I don't know what you're talking about…I care about her..."

"Fuck you, Oliver!", Jessica raged. "How the hell can you say that you care for Daisy after what you did to her Friday night?"

Oliver paled. "I didn't-"

"You did!" Jessica shoved him again. "For months now, you've fucked with Daisy because she chose herself and her son instead of kissing your indecisive ass. Then, like a little child, when you don't get your way, you get a girlfriend and shove Rani in her face while you degrade her."

"I did no such-"

"You did, you selfish bastard!" Jessica couldn't stop herself from standing toe to toe with the taller man. "You want her...hell, I think you might even have genuine feelings for her...but you want to keep her at a distance because you can't handle strong emotions like love..."

"I can-", he sputtered angrily. "I'm quite capable…"

"You can't...and your immaturity while messing with her shows that. You wanted her to wait around, pining for you until you decided you were ready. However, this isn't just about you, Oliver. She has a son to think about, too...a son who needs a father figure. Everything she does has to revolve around him. Do you think it's good for Lance to have a man in his mom's life who runs hot and cold? Who has such a disregard for her feelings? Are you so selfish that you can't see that?"

"You don't know what you're talking about-"

"I do, Oliver, because I was the one, besides Andie, that Daisy would come to after dealing with you. I was the one she ran to after you two slept together and then you freaked out on her the next morning. What the hell was she supposed to do? Wait until you got a grip? She's already been through hell and back after losing Sweets like she did. She has a right to live her life, Oliver...including choosing someone who will appreciate her."

He glared down at Jessica, shaking in anger. "Beau is the wrong man for her-she deserves someone better."

"Like you? Do you really think you're the right man for her? A selfish prick who, instead of either fighting for the woman he cares about or stepping aside to let her be happy with someone else, tries to sabotage her marriage and also flaunts his new girlfriend in her face. Daisy deserves better than that. If you really loved her, you would see that."

"You don't know how I feel-"

"Yes, I do. I've seen the way you watch her when you think no one is looking...when you see her with Beau. I see it every time you see Daisy refuse to come crawling back to you. You thought she would wait around for you, but she chose to move on and to be happy with someone new. You didn't like that, so you pushed her buttons to make her second guess Beau and her life. It's not her fault you couldn't handle your feelings for her. You pushed her away...you hurt her, but she was able to find someone who could maybe give her what she...and Lance need. Instead of being happy for her, you're still messing with her and trying to wreck her marriage. That's not love, Oliver...that's selfishness."

"You don't know what you're talking about-"

"I know why Rani is heading to Mumbai...and I know what happened at the NFL on Friday, asshole." Jessica saw Oliver go pale, but didn't wait for a response. "If you really loved Daisy, you would be happy for her and be content with Rani. Instead, you're using your new girlfriend to poke at Daisy, and that's so cruel. Tell me something, if Daisy actually takes Lance and leaves Beau, are you doing to stand up and be there for her? Are you going to be ready to be her boyfriend and the man she truly needs? And even if you do, what happens to Rani? Will you just dump her like she never meant anything to you?"

Oliver gulped, but no words came out, causing Jessica to snort. "Well, there's a surprise. Oliver Wells is all hot air and no balls."

"I beg your pardon-"

"Get off your damn high horse and listen up!" Jessica poked Oliver in the chest with her finger. "You need to either let Rani go and be all in with Daisy to be the man she needs, or you need to step aside and let Beau be the husband she deserves. He wants to be there for her, and he wants to be a parent to Lance. Do you?"

Oliver stood shocked for a moment before he blurted out what he was thinking. "I love her, Jessica. I really do."

_'God, he sounds just like Karen...only without the psychoness.'_ Jessica thought. "No, you don't...not really. You think of her as a goal to attain...a prize to be won...not someone to cherish. You're a selfish prick who would rather hurt Daisy than love her. Go fuck yourself."

The usually erudite Oliver Wells snapped. "You don't know what you're talking about, Jessica. This from a woman who broke up with her  _'true love'_ Agent Aubrey because she was afraid of commitment. You have no room to lecture me."

"Yeah...you're right. I left my fear of commitment push me into doing the stupidest thing I've ever done, but Aubrey messed up, too. At least we had the balls to say to each other what needed to be said and confront the issues that broke us up the first time. It wasn't pretty...some of it was really ugly and we even got ugly with each other, actually...but we did what we had to do….we fought through all of our fears because we wanted to have a future together. Can you say the same? Can you really say that you love Daisy like that? I don't think you do..she and Rani both deserve better than that."

"I'm done with this subject, Jessica." Oliver didn't like the truth in Jessica's words. Taking several deep breaths, he picked up a bone from his set of remains. "I'm going to make a Mikrosil cast of this tibia. Maybe by the time I get back you will have pulled yourself together."

Jessica watched Oliver storm off upstairs with the bone. Shaking her head, she grabbed her phone and sent a text to her boyfriend.

_**I**_ _ **messed up big time.**_   _ **Oliver**_ _ **pushed me too far & I t**_ _ **old him off abt Daisy. Lost my temper.**_

The response was quick.  _ **Need me 2 beat him up? Know cool FBI self D that can knock him on his ass if you don**_ _ **'t**_ _ **.**_

Jessica chuckled.  _ **No, but ty Superman. Just need 2 finish shift. Can ignore him.**_

_**Want 2 invite D over 4 dinner? Skinner & I can hide in den later if ** _ _**girl time needed** _ _**.** _

The redhead swooned. Her Superman was such a sweetheart.  _ **I may do that. She**_ _ **'**_ _ **s lonely w/o B & L. I'll text her in a while. How is work? Getting paperwork done?**_

_**Yeah. Admin stuff sux. Genny also here 2 going thru Gerald's case. Have enough** _ _**4 lunch?** _

_'I think he's lonely, too.'_ Jessica thought.  _ **Have**_ _ **enough leftovers from BDT 4 2 of us**_ _ **.**_ _ **Come by here 4 lunch**_ _ **?"**_

Jessica didn't wait long for a response.  _ **Will b there. How abt DiAngelo's tonite if Daisy doesn**_ _ **'t come over**_ _ **?**_

_**Sounds good. TTYL. Love u.** _

_**Love u 2 Jess.** _

Jessica put her phone back in her pocket and went back to work. She was a lucky girl to get a man like James Aubrey...and she wasn't letting him go.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Angela sat at her computer, working in frustration. "Come on...come on. I need this to work so I can upload it onto the Angelatron. People are counting on me, damn it!"

"I minored in computer science. I've been nominated for a McCarthy award. People fear my mad computer skills, but I can't get a damn algorithm to cooperate." She attempted another change to the algorithm but was unsuccessful. "Ugh! I need my coffee...I didn't get my cup before I left for the lab this morning..."

The artist got up and walked out of her office to head to the break area. However, she was surprised to not see either security guard in their normal spots. Concerned, she looked around until she saw one of them coming from a back hallway looking quite sick.

"Tom...are you all right?"

"Yes, Ms. Montenegro." He grimaced as he patted his abdomen. "Something is not agreeing with me this morning."

Glancing back over near the platform, she looked around. "Where's Dan?"

"He's doing his hourly rounds."

Angela looked at the older man, concerned with his ashen color. "Do you think it's maybe something you ate?"

"All I had today was an egg sandwich in a drive thru and coffee from the carafe we get every morning from the stand out front. It's upstairs if you want some." He saw the pregnant woman's worry and waved it off. "I'll be fine, ma'am. I've called in someone to cover me and he'll be here in an hour."

"Okay…coffee sounds good." She took two steps to the break area before changing her mind. "Maybe I'll hit the coffee stand instead. I could use some exercise."

Angela walked across the museum to the public area and saw that the early birds were already there. Turning the corner, she was happy to see there was no line at the coffee booth. Walking up, she greeted the barista. "Hi, Amanda. How are you?"

The barista turned around, surprised but she quickly recovered. "Angela...I didn't expect to see you here today. You don't work weekends."

"No, but I'm close to a breakthrough on one of our cases, so Hodgins is home with Michael Vincent today. I just need a cup of coffee and a ginger ale, please?"

"Ginger ale? Are you nauseated", the girl asked as she snagged a Canada Dry from the cooler.

"No. One of our security guards is sicker than a dog...intestinal issues, I guess...so I want to help him a little bit until his replacement comes. That should help settle his stomach..."

Amanda poured the coffee and gave it to the artist. "Hopefully it wasn't something he ate."

Angela took her badge off to scan for her purchases. "He ate breakfast on the way and he had a cup of coffee from that carafe you made up for them. It was probably some bad eggs...and, you know, those fast food sandwiches can be really greasy. I almost got a cup of coffee from the carafe but-"

"But you didn't, right?", Amanda asked quickly. "Too much caffeine isn't good for your baby."

Shocked at the woman's panic, Angela tried to diffuse the situation. "I'm sure it isn't the coffee that made him sick, but if it makes you feel better, I'll dump it out when I get there. Jessica and Oliver are working today, too."

"But they didn't drink any of the coffee, right? If some are getting sick, you don't want to take a chance the guards may have contaminated the coffee. You never know anymore."

_'Maybe she needs to lay off the coffee.'_  Angela said to herself. "I don't know if they drank any but neither has come to me sick. I'm sure they're fine, Amanda."

"Okay...but don't drink it. If people are sick, you shouldn't drink it just in case.", Amanda pleaded. "Promise me...you don't want to risk your baby."

Feeling weird, Angela decided to retreat. "Got it. Have a good one, Amanda."

Puzzled at the young woman's sudden fearful demeanor, Angela put it out of her mind as she walked back through the museum and entered the employee area. Right as she got to the empty sign in desk by the lab, she stopped suddenly as she had an epiphany.

"Son of a bitch! That's it!"

Moving as quickly as she could, Angela badged back into the lab. Rushing over to Tom's deserted post, she figured he'd headed to the restroom because he felt sick again. Setting the pop down on a nearby table, she rushed back to her office. Setting her coffee down, she pulled up the algorithm on her computer, alternating between frantically typing and clicking her mouse. After several minutes she hit enter and was done.

"It's now or never, Angela.", the artist said to herself before clicking on the drive for the Angelatron.

Getting up, she grabbed the remote and waited as commands appeared on the large screen. Even though it was only five minutes, it seemed like eternity. "Come on, baby...come on, baby…"

When finished, her main screen popped up. Clicking on her voice recognition program, she waited and then it popped up, ready to go.

"YES!" Angela jumped once before grabbing her belly. "Sorry, buddy...Mommy will bounce lightly from now on."

Taking a deep breath, she clicked on the file she wanted. First she compared Gerald's younger brother's voice to the phone call, but there was no match. Next, the late Harold Maxwell's voice, but it was also negative.

"Oh, please let this match…" Angela clicked on the file of Gerald's voice and activated the software one more time. After an anxious few seconds, it played and what Angela saw almost brought her to tears.

"It was him...we've got that son of a bitch!"

Hitting a few buttons, she made an conference call and was relieved when it was answered. "Genny! We've got him!"

_"Got who, Angela?",_ Genny said from the monitor.  _"Please say it's who I think it is…."_

"I got my software to work...it's Gerald. Gerald Maxwell made that call! He did it! He called in the bomb threat!"

_"Awesome! I'll call Bower in and I'll call Agent Bell, who's watching Ashley's apartment, and tell them to arrest his ass. Angela...you're a rock star!"_

"Thanks…" The artist felt an urgent urge come on. "But I'm a rock star with a baby sitting on her bladder. I've got to go. Should I tell Jessica?"

_"No, I'll give Aubrey a heads up and send him over there. He'll want to give her the good news...now go pee. I remember those days, Angela. Thanks again."_

"You're welcome." Angela ended the call and quickly walked to the bathroom. Seeing the ginger ale still not opened, she grew concerned. "He must be really, really sick…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Down in Limbo, Jessica was listening to music and so engrossed in her work that it was several minutes before she realized that Oliver hadn't returned yet from the store room. Deciding she didn't care, the intern went back to work.

"Probably having a hissy fit somewhere or calling Curly to whine about me being mean to him. Fuck you, Oliver. Just be glad it wasn't my foot up your ass."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"So they matched his voice to the bomb threat?", Aubrey asked as they headed out of Genny's office. "That's awesome! This calls for a celebration."

"Cappuccinos from the Royal Diner?"

"But of course…", Aubrey said. "Plus, I was up really early with Jess and need my quad shot cappuccino with cinnamon."

"Yuck, Boss.", Genny replied while they went down the stairs to the lobby. "I sent a text to Steve. He was just down the street with Mitzi, so he should be here any minute. I've also sent a message to Bell to go in and arrest the son of a bitch-"

Her cell ringing, Genny saw who was calling and answered as they made outside the front of the Hoover. "Shaw. What?"

Aubrey watched as his ASAC looked concerned. "What's wrong, Genny?"

"Is she alive?...Good. Casper can follow the ambulance and you stay to interview everyone. I'll call in a few agents. We need all the help we can get."

Aubrey was worried by his ASAC's expression as she hung up. "Genny, what's wrong?"

"Bell and Casper went to arrest Gerald, but no one answered. However, they smelled gas, so they broke down the door and found Ashley unconscious in the kitchen.", Genny said.

"What the hell happened? Where's Gerald?"

"I'll explain on the way, Boss. We have to get to the Jeffersonian...now."

The two ran around to the attached parking garage to Genny's SUV. She had just pulled out of her spot when Steve pulled in. She rolled down the window as he got out and slammed the car door.

"Gerald has shitty timing-"

"Steve, we need you for back up. Gerald Maxwell is in the wind. Come on.", Genny yelled as she pulled up to the older man. Climbing in, Steve barely had the door shut as they took off for the quick trip the museum.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Angela neared the end of the hall before turning the corner. "Tom, you better not be in the bathroom. I don't know if I can make it to the other one in time…"

When she reached the unisex bathroom door, her prayers were answered as the door opened. Trying to turn on the light, there was only darkness. "Great."

Taking two steps in, she slipped on something wet and fell, hitting her head on the sink before landing next to a man lying still in the darkness.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Jessica finished her exam and transmitted her report. After taking off her lab coat and whipping off her gloves, ran to the back of Limbo to use the restroom. "I've got to stop drinking so much damn coffee and tea in the morning…"

Just as she shut the door, her phone, laying inside the pocket of her lab coat, vibrated. Aubrey's picture lit up the pocket as the coat sat on the light table.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Aubrey frantically listened to the phone ring until he got his girlfriend's voice mail. "Jess…it's Aubrey. Listen, Gerald jumped surveillance and we don't know where he is. We're on our way to the lab now. I'm trying to get through to security, but go find Angela and Oliver, if he isn't with you, and stay together until we get there….call me when you get this message, please…I love you."

Genny saw her boss's look of frustration before he speed dialed another number. "Who are you calling?"

"Angela….Angela, it's Aubrey…damn it…it went to voicemail. Angela, call me as soon as you get this message. Gerald is out in the wind and we can't find him. Genny, Steve, and I are on our way there now and will be there in less than five minutes. Get the security guards, find Jess and Oliver, and please stay together…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Returning to her station, she grabbed her phone out of her lab coat pocket, smiling when she saw that Aubrey called her. Before she could check the voicemail, she also saw it was 9:30 and that Oliver still hadn't returned. Looking over at his set of remains laid out on the table, she knew that she didn't want to mess with them. However, with the storage room that housed the Mikrosil being so close, he should have been back by now.

"I'm going to find his whiny ass. He's going to finish his exam or put them away. It's so disrespectful to just leave them out like this."

Walking up the steps, she yelled out before reaching the top. "Oliver, quit pouting and get back here. You know Dr. B hates remains left out-"

Suddenly, an object hit her from the opposite direction behind her and she fell down the stairs. Dazed, she looked up and her blood ran cold.

"Not so tough without your boyfriend around, are you?", a disheveled Gerald said with a deranged cackle, a bloody hammer in his hand.


	72. SNAFU At the Jeffersonian Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After leaving our readers with a cliffhanger, we now have the aftermath. Warning...there is some violence in this chapter. Thanks for reading.

Time seemed to stop for Aubrey as the government SUV sped through the nation’s capital, desperately trying to get to the Jeffersonian. He knew Genny was going as fast as she dared in the heavy traffic, but the fact he hadn’t heard from either his girlfriend or Angela scared him to death.

Seeing a call from Agent Bell appear on the navigator screen, Genny answered quickly. “Talk to me, Casper.”

_“We’re at Medstar George Washington…Ashley is alive…barely.”_

“Agent Casper, you were supposed to have Gerald Maxwell under constant surveillance.”, Aubrey barked angrily. “Instead, you find his girlfriend gassed by the stove and that son of a bitch is nowhere to be found? What the fuck happened?”

_“He was under surveillance, Boss, all night. Not one time did we take our eyes off that apartment house. Bell just called and said they found a small window in the basement of the building Ms. Anders lives in. It’s a blind spot from us, and we think that’s how Gerald sneaked away undetected.”_

“Anybody else hurt?”, Steve, off the phone, asked as he peered over Aubrey’s shoulder.

_“No, but with the build up of gas we evacuated the other two apartments.”,_ Casper said over the line. _“According to the ER doc, her CO levels were at 67%. However, we found one of her kitchen windows broken and a baseball from when a group of kids were playing in the area earlier. The doc thinks that because some fresh air was able to filter into the apartment, that’s what probably saved her life.”_

Aubrey worked to contain himself as he continued to ask questions. “So you found her unconscious?”

_“Yeah. We got to her door and smelled gas. When she didn’t answer our knocks, we kicked the door in and found her lying in front of the stove. Apparently she didn’t know that newer gas stoves don’t make it very easy to kill yourself like that anymore.”_

“We don’t know that she was attempting suicide, Agent Casper. I would concentrate on finding out what happened first before making assumptions.”, Aubrey snapped. “There are a lot of probable explanations for what you found at the scene, and we need to explore each one of them thoroughly.”

_“Yes, sir.”_

“Keep me informed, Agent. Bell is still working the scene with the technicians.” Genny grimaced as she hung up. “Do we really think she tried to kill herself?”

“Well, her boyfriend seems to have set her up for a federal offense. She’s probably going to prison.”, Steve remarked quietly.

“We don’t know that…we don’t know anything yet because she’s unconscious. Until she can talk to us, we don’t speculate.”, Aubrey said as Genny wove through the heavy traffic with the siren on.

Only three minutes had passed, but it felt like eternity as the government SUV raced into the Jeffersonian parking garage. Genny grabbed her lab badge before the three agents ran through the front entrance past the patrons and into the other side of the building. Genny grabbed two security guards along the way and everyone raced to the lab area.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Angela slowly woke up and groaned softly. Moving to sit up, she was hit with a wave of dizziness, so she sat back down to get her bearings. Trying again, she slowly crawled across the floor, pushing the door open to get some light in the room. As she turned, she saw Tom unconscious with what looked like vomit all over his clothes.

“Oh, thank God it isn’t blood…” Angela listened carefully, sighing in relief when she heard him breathing shallowly. Trying to shake off her stupor, she looked around the small space. “Okay...need some help…phone is in my office…shit…”

Seeing Tom’s radio, she grabbed it and pushed some buttons, only getting static in response. “Damn it.”

Moving to get up again, she was hit with another wave of dizziness, but she fought it off. Taking a breath, she struggled to contain her nausea while rubbing her abdomen. “Hang on, baby...need to get help…”  
Leaning against the wall, Angela made her way down the hallway. Just as she got outside, near the main lab, she heard running footsteps and then Aubrey and Genny calling out as they looked into the rooms on either side of the corridor.

“Jessica! Jessica! Where are you?”

“Angela? Dr. Wells? Anyone?”

“Here…”, Angela yelled. “In here...Tom needs help...he’s barely breathing…”

Aubrey and the others turned to see Angela clutching her belly and bleeding from her head. Turning to one of the security guards, he pointed. “Help her, okay? Make sure she’s not injured anywhere else.”

The three agents and the lone security guard raced past the Bone Room, only to see another security guard unconscious, slumped against a doorway. Taking Steve and Genny with him, Aubrey led the way as they raced down the long hallway. When it ended at another hallway, all of them were filled with a sense a dread when they saw a fresh blood smear on the wall past an open door, followed by a small trail of blood surrounding the nearby doorway.

“Oh shit…”, Steve muttered. “What the hell happened? This is bad...”

Carefully, they followed the trail of blood drops until they got to what looked like a store room. Looking inside, they gasped at the horrific scene. Oliver Wells lay unconscious in a large pool of blood, which had come from several head wounds.

Running over to him, Genny almost slipped in the red liquid as they checked the lanky man. “Boss, he’s still breathing, but it’s shallow...he needs to be treated right away...he’s lost a lot of blood...”

“My God…how is he still alive…look at those wounds...”, Steve mumbled before getting on the phone. “I need multiple ambulances sent to the Jeffersonian…at least three...stat! One of our injured is critical...yeah, with a head wound...hurry up!”

“Genny, I have to find Jessica....” Aubrey was in a near panic as he glanced around the area. “She couldn’t have gotten far...I’m gonna kill that son of a bitch if he’s laid a hand on her..”.

“Boss, you’ve gotta stay calm, okay? Jessica needs you to stay in control.” Genny pointed down the hall. “Go find her…we’ll catch up with you…”

Hearing a scream and crashing in the distance, Aubrey raced out and down the long corridor towards Limbo. Then what he heard next made his blood go cold.

_“Bitch, you should have fucked me instead of teasing me…now you’re going to learn how powerful I am…”_

Aubrey continued to run, hearing Gerald’s taunts as he got closer to Limbo.

_“Oh yeah…no, you’re not going to sleep yet…I’m going to fuck you first…then I’ll kill you after I’m done…I’m in control…I’m in control, Firecrotch!”_

Practically leaping down the stairs, Aubrey saw Jessica’s boots first. Then he saw the large figure sitting on her with his hands around her throat as she tried to fight him off. His vision clouded over as his protective instinct spurred him on.

Racing over, Aubrey dragged the large assailant away from Jessica and threw him across the room into a nearby table. Turning back to his girlfriend as she struggled to breathe, he noted that Jessica’s sweater had been pulled up to expose her bra and it looked like the zipper on her jeans had been opened. He also noted some damp patches on her skin along with an unmistakable odor. Before he could check her over for injuries, Gerald charged him, his face covered with deep scratch marks and bruising along his left eye and cheek area.

“You’re not going to humiliate me again, you asshole! You’re going to die!”, Gerald roared.

Aubrey went down, but quickly got the upper hand as all his FBI training kicked in. Throwing the larger man off him, he leaped up and got set, ready for the next charge. The large man picked up a bloody hammer from the floor and ran towards him screaming. However, Aubrey repelled him and tossed him down on his back. As the hammer dropped, the agent jumped down and pummeled the attacker multiple times in the head.

“I’m going to kill you, Maxwell…you’re never gonna hurt anyone ever again, you filthy son of a bitch!”

Just then, he felt someone dragging him off Gerald. He fought hard until a second set of hands assisted to remove him from the prone body of Jessica’s assailant.

“Boss, get off him…you’re going to kill him!”, Steve yelled. “C’mon, Aubrey...stop it!”

As Genny and Steve forced Aubrey to sit back against a wall, Gerald was ready to charge again until he found the ASAC's gun pointing in his face.

“Go ahead, you fucking bastard…give me a reason to pull the trigger. I’d love to end it here.”

Steve pushed Gerald down to his knees and cuffed him as Genny started reading him his rights. “Gerald Maxwell, you have the right to be silent. Anything you say can and will…”

Hearing what was the unmistakable sound of gagging, Aubrey turned around to see Jessica vomiting on the floor as she tried to sit up. Running over to her, he knelt by her, tenderly checking her wounds.

“Jess…are you all right?”, Aubrey asked frantically, seeing a laceration by her temple, a large bruise on her cheek, and a cut lip. “C’mon, Honey...talk to me…”

The redhead gasped for air as she clutched her side. “Yes…I guess so”, she said in a choked voice. “I think I have…some cracked ribs…hard to see…head hurts…I fell down the stairs...did you get him?”

“Yeah, we’ve got him. It’s going to be alright now. He can’t hurt you any more. I’m here...I’m not going to leave you.” Rubbing her shoulder, Aubrey was careful not to hug her in case she had internal injuries. Looking up, he saw paramedics coming down the stairs into Limbo.

“Right here. She fell down the stairs a few minutes ago. She’s also got some hurt ribs, maybe a concussion. He also tried to choke her and she just vomited also.”, Aubrey added.

On the other side of the room, Genny and Steve picked up an uncooperative Gerald, who was sputtering obscenities as he strained against his restraints. “Agent Aubrey assaulted me! That’s police brutality.”

“Nice try, but you assaulted him first, Gerald.” Genny pulled the man away quickly so Jessica wouldn’t have to see him. “We’ll get your boo boos looked at, and then you and I get to have a nice long talk at the FBI.”

“What can I do, Shaw?”, Steve asked. “I need to help take this guy down…”

“Close off the entire lab and process it. Have Hodgins call people in from the FBI and lab, but no interns. I’ll have Bell come down here to help you when she’s done at Ms. Anders’ apartment. I need everything we can get...including how the hell Gerald Maxwell got past security to get back here. If it looks the least little bit odd, catalog it, okay? I don’t want to overlook anything.”

Putting Jessica’s gurney in the elevator nearby, the paramedics and the couple rode up to the next floor. When the doors opened, the redhead saw the storeroom and the pool of blood on the floor.

“Oh my God…Oliver…I didn’t hear…I had my earbuds in…”, she whispered. “Is he…”

Aubrey didn’t want to tell her just yet about how bad Oliver was. “He’s on his way to the hospital, Jessica…just like you are.”

Jessica’s eyes grew large as she began to panic, making breathing more difficult. “Angela…did anything...happen to her? The baby?”

“She’s fine, Jess.” Aubrey held Jessica’s hand as they came out the door where an ambulance waited. “A little bump on the head, but she’s fine. They’re checking her out, and the baby, too...”

The two paramedics got her loaded before one turned to Aubrey. “Riding along?”

“Damn right I am.”

Jessica was stabilized and the bus drove away to the hospital. Given an oxygen mask, she fought it, but Aubrey stepped in, glancing at the paramedic before turning to his girlfriend.

“Jess, you need to wear this.”

“I don’t…want to…don’t want…anything on me…I’m sorry, Aubrey…I was…careful like…you asked…”, Jessica croaked out. “He ripped...your necklace…the one you gave me for Christmas...I’m so sorry...”

Aubrey’s heart broke for his girlfriend. “You did nothing wrong, do you hear me? I don’t care about any of that right now…I’m only concerned about you, Jessica.”

“Super..man…”

“Jess, you’ve been choked and your oxygen levels are low. Put the mask on for me, please. I’ll stay with you, I promise.” Aubrey took her hand, trying to ignore the smell of urine from her clothes that permeated the air. _‘God, what did he do to her?’_

Nodding at her boyfriend, the anthropologist didn’t fight the medic any longer, wearing the mask for the rest of the ride to the hospital.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

“So you didn’t see anything, did you, Ms. Montenegro?”, Jill Haggarty asked in the artist’s hospital room.

Angela sipped her water, shaking her head sadly. “No...it was dark. I slipped on Tom’s vomit and hit my head on the sink…and I guess I blacked out.”

Haggarty’s partner Jerry Thompson stepped in to the room to ask another question. “And the other thing that sticks out in your mind is the coffee…”

“Yeah, it’s probably nothing…but Amanda, the barista, acted so weird…and Tom was so sick. I heard they found Dan passed out in the Bone Room, too. What happened to them?”

“The doctors are working to find out, Ms. Montenegro.”

A technician wheeled in a portable ultrasound machine. “Agents, if you’ll step outside, we need to do the fetal ultrasound now. You can question her further when we’re done.”

“Angie!”

All turned to see Hodgins wheeling into the ER suite. “Angie…are you okay? The baby?”

Agent Thompson nodded to Haggarty and the two headed out. “We’ll leave you two alone and check on you in a bit.”

Agents Haggarty and Thompson stepped out to give the couple privacy and made a call to Agent Bell. “Hey Jannie…it’s Jill. Listen, did you meet up with Bower at the Jeffersonian yet? Yeah, there should be a coffee carafe on the counter in the top floor break room. Can you grab it? Bag it and everything that goes with it because if it does still have coffee in it, we need it tested…something Angela Montenegro told me…a hunch…also, there’s a barista we need to keep an eye on. Amanda...Winters.”

Jill listened with interest. “Really? Well, if it’s the same person you saw at the apartment then we really need to talk to her...yeah, if she’s not there, then get ahold of the coffee booth manager and get her contact information. It could be nothing...but I still want to check it out. Thanks.”

“Think their coffee was spiked?”, Thompson asked.

“Something was spiked, Jerry…”, Haggarty muttered. “It’s too much of a coincidence that both guards got sick…”

“I agree, Jill. Whatever it was almost killed those two guys...and may have killed Angela Montenegro or her baby, not to mention Jessica or Dr. Wells, if any of them had any the coffee.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Genny found Agent Casper outside Ashley Anders’ hospital room. “How is she doing?”

“Physically...better. Emotionally, she’s real quiet...trying to take everything in, I think. I guess if my boyfriend tried to kill me, I would be in shock, too.”

“What did she tell you?”

“That Gerald didn’t come home until Saturday night...because he spent the night with his mother to comfort her after the funeral.”

“Which was a lie…”

“Yeah, it looks like it.” Casper nodded, pulling out a notebook to go over the case notes. “Things were all right until she found an earring in her bed that wasn’t hers…probably from that same girl he was with Thursday and Friday nights. She says that he was already halfway into a bottle of vodka when they argued, but he told her it must have been his mother’s because she napped in the bed before the funeral.”

“Did his mother show up at all when you tailed him?”

“No...just the one girl.”, Casper continued. “After they settled the argument, he ordered in a late dinner of pizza and they shared a bottle of very expensive red wine he had pilfered from his family’s wine cellar. She said she doesn’t remember much after that.”

Genny nodded. “Red wine masks the taste of just about anything. Do we think he possibly roofied her?”

“Doctors drew blood and are testing for GHB and other drugs. With the alcohol and pizza, it may have stayed in her body longer and we may get lucky.”, Caspar said. “If she didn’t respond to a window breaking a few feet away shortly before we found her, something must have put her to sleep.”

“Obviously he needed something from her that he couldn’t just borrow...” Genny got a brainstorm. “Did you find her badge at the scene?”

“Not in the apartment.”

“Ask her where she keeps it and then call the head of security at the Jeffersonian and ask for all of Ashley’s badge entries.”

Agent Casper realized where her boss was going. “You’re thinking he stole her badge?”

“Yeah. If he would have come in through the main entrance, Security would have been all over him. It had to be the employee entrance. Since he’d worked here, he would be familiar with the location and with the fact it was badge only access. CSI said the light by the entrance was broken out, like by a rock or a stick, so I’m thinking he was going to try jumping Jessica there or right when she entered the building, but with her arriving with Angela, he couldn’t. I’ll check his stuff when I get to the Hoover.”

“So he used Ashley’s badge to travel through the Jeffersonian without being spotted.”, Casper said in disgust. “But the security guards...”

“Well, they were drugged. I just talked to the lab here and both guards tested positive for tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride in their blood. We just need to wait for the FBI lab to finish testing the coffee and carafe.”  
Caspar’s brow knit thoughtfully. “Where have I heard of that drug?”

“Visine.”, Genny said. “The toxicologist said that tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride is a vasopressor, which constricts blood vessels...hence why it’s ideal for red eyes. People think it gives you diarrhea but the doc said that on the contrary, while it causes nausea and vomiting, it also can lead to fluctuating blood pressure, dizziness, and respiratory depression when ingested orally. It can kill a person if it’s used in any other way than as drops for red eyes.”

“The only thing those two men shared was the coffee from the barista...who we now know has hooked up with Gerald Maxwell recently. Either one could have put the drops in the coffee probably thinking they will just have diarrhea bad enough to be out of commission…”

“...so Jessica wouldn’t have anyone available to help her.”, Genny stated.

“But Agent Shaw, that doesn’t explain Dr. Wells and Ms. Montenegro. Why did Gerald go after them?”

“Collateral damage, Agent Casper. Oliver was a last minute addition to the script and Ms. Montenegro didn’t decide to come to work until the last minute this morning. Jessica was supposed to work alone today. Luckily...she didn’t.”

“So Gerald tries to get rid of his girlfriend so he can take her badge and have no witnesses. Setting it up as a suicide, it would seem like she couldn’t handle going to trial and he would be rid of someone who would no longer be useful to him.” Casper nodded. “That makes sense. Jannie said that she had a lab schedule right on her refrigerator and it only had Jessica’s name on it for today. Gerald could easily see when Ms Warren was working and bide his time.”

“Any word on Oliver Wells?”

“Still in surgery, Agent Shaw. I can’t believe that guy is still alive after getting his head bashed in like that.”

“I know…hopefully he wakes up and can tell us what happened.” The agent gestured behind her. “I’m going to check on Jessica. I need to question her about what happened.”

“Is the boss alright? He looked a wreck earlier.”

“No, he’s not, but Aubrey will keep it together for her.”

“Maxwell looked like shit. Looks like Jessica got some good ones in when they struggled.”, Casper remarked.

“She did...and between you and me, so did Aubrey after he found them.” Shaw merely nodded at the agent’s surprise. “Keep me posted, Casper.”

Genny rubbed her face as she made her way down to Jessica’s room. She did not look forward to this conversation, but she had to talk to the woman as soon as possible. She wanted the facts before she interrogated Gerald Maxwell.Arriving at the door, she saw the doctor come

out. “How is she doing?”

“Ms. Warren is very lucky, Agent Shaw.” The ER doc stated. “Ultrasound of her carotid looked good so no permanent physical damage from the attempted strangulation. We stitched up the lacerations to her temple and her upper lip. She also has a couple of bruised ribs, a mild concussion, and a lot of bruises from falling down the stairs. No indications of sexual assault. Agent Aubrey saved her life.”

Genny sighed in relief. “Did you take photos of the cuts and bruises?”

“We did…and yes, Agent Aubrey remained outside while I examined her.” She pointed to the door. “I’ll check on her after they admit her. She’s still pretty shaken, but you can go in and question her now.”

“Thanks, Doctor.” Taking a deep breath, she opened the door a crack and heard voices talking on the other side.

_“I’m so sorry…I was careful like you asked me to be…I shouldn’t have got pissed at Oliver…”_

_“Jess, Oliver is in surgery because of Gerald...not because you two had a fight over what he did to Daisy. None of what Gerald did is your fault, do you understand? He made the decision to do all this…”_

_“I kicked Gerald in the face and scratched him a few times. I kneed him, too, but he kept coming...I got the wind knocked out of me…he...he peed on me...said I told people...he liked that stuff...I don’t know where he...”_

_“Jessica--”_

_“He broke my necklace...the one you gave me for Christmas…”_

_“Jessica...I can replace the necklace...it’s just a chain with a token of my affection. I can’t replace you. I’m just grateful that you’re okay…”_

“Knock knock...hi, you guys.” Genny walked up to the bed and tried not to flinch when she saw the ugly bruises on the redhead’s neck and face. “Jessica, how are you feeling?”

“Like shit…but it could have been worse, right?”, Jessica croaked. “Sorry…it’s hard to talk right now.”“I

t’s okay. I’m just glad you’re all right.”, the ASAC replied. “So…I have to talk to you about what happened.”

Jessica nodded as Genny turned to Aubrey. “Boss, I need to talk to her alone.”

“Does he have to go?”, Jessica asked plaintively but Aubrey nodded in agreement.

“Jess, I can’t be in here while she questions you. It’s another way to make sure Gerald’s lawyer can’t say I influenced you...”

“That’s bullshit. I know...what happened...I have the concussion...and bruised ribs to prove it. Plus...maybe DNA on me...if there were epithelial...cells when he…”

“Your clothes are getting tested now so we have that as back up in case Gerald tries something.”, Genny said before looking at her boss.

“Jessica, I need to call your brothers before they or your dad find out what happened on the evening news. I’ll be right outside, okay?” When she nodded, the SAC stepped out.

When the door shut completely, Aubrey took a deep breath to fight tears that were forming. He didn’t know all that had happened to Jessica yet as he didn’t want to push or accidentally influence her. However, based on the injuries he’d seen and what else he knew...Gerald had been vicious. He not only wanted to rape and kill Jessica, but he wanted to humiliate her as well.

“Aubrey!”

Turning, he was grateful to see Booth and Brennan coming down the hall. Quickly wiping his eyes he waited for them to join him.

“Is Ms. Warren all right?”, Brennan asked in hushed tones.

“She will be, Dr. B…” Aubrey nodded toward the room. “Genny is questioning her now.”

“What’s Oliver’s condition? What about the security guards?”, Booth asked.

“Oliver is in surgery right now...odds aren’t bad, but they’re not great either.”, Aubrey said. “The security guards are in serious condition. They’re testing them right now to find out what made them so sick. How’s Angela?”

“Hodgins is with her. The ultrasound came back normal, so the baby’s okay. However, they’re keeping her overnight as a precaution because she hit her head.”, Booth said. “Any word about Gerald?”

“Genny said the paramedics checked him out and he’s in Holding as we speak. She’s going to question him when she gets done with Jess.”

“How are you, Aubrey?”, Booth asked, eying the man’s bruised knuckles. “You got a couple of licks in on Gerald, I see.”

“Me? I’m fine.”, the lanky man responded with quiet ferocity. “I wasn’t the one almost murdered today. That was my girlfriend and the others at the lab...and probably Gerald’s girlfriend as well. I have to call Aaron and her brothers....I have to call Charlie...how do I tell her dad about this? Damn it!”

Brennan sensed that she would be needed elsewhere. “I should go visit with Angela. That’s where I’ll be, Booth.”

“Okay, Bones.” The men watched her walk away. “Sorry...I know Bones is as subtle as a Mack Truck sometimes.”

“It’s alright, Booth.” Aubrey looked at his phone. “I’ll start with Aaron…”

Booth grabbed his friend’s arm and nodded toward the elevator. “That will keep for a few minutes. Let’s get some coffee.”

“I promised Jessica I wouldn’t leave, Booth.” Aubrey was perplexed as Booth grabbed his phone and typed on it. “What are you doing?”

“Sending Genny a message letting her know that we’re taking a walk.” Putting the phone back in his pocket. “Now, come on...they’re going to be a while, Aubrey. You might as well take a break for a few minutes.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

In an interrogation room Agents Bower and Bell were interviewing Amanda, who was with an attorney.

“So you have no idea of how those security guards got sick, Ms. Winters?”, Steve asked. “None at all?”

“No...why would I?” She bit her lip as she studied her nails. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Why were you so insistent that Angela Montenegro not drink the coffee today? She said you were very insistent that she get rid of it so no one else drank it...you said it would hurt her baby, remember?”, Bell asked.

“Because she’s pregnant, ma’am.” Amanda continued to play with her nails. “She shouldn’t have had that one cup of coffee, but I figure she knows best.”

Bell looked at the young woman and moved in for the kill. “How well do you know Gerald Maxwell, Amanda?”

The girl paled and was quiet for a moment. “I’ve seen him come to my coffee booth. He’s a flirt.”

“That’s it?”, Steve asked. “You’ve never been with him outside of the lab?”

“No...he has a girlfriend. A rather mousy, uppity one, though. I was always surprised he was with her.”

Bell pulled pictures out of a folder and set them out in front of Amanda, who paled even further when she saw them. “So then why did I take pictures of you coming into Ashley Anders’ apartment building with Gerald Maxwell last Thursday night?”

“That’s not me…”

Bell pulled out a copy of the DMV report. “We’ve had Mr. Maxwell on surveillance since his arrest. After leaving his mother’s home Friday night, we tailed him to a house with two apartments...your apartment is in that house.”

“He might have been visiting my neighbor…”

“Your neighbor is a 55 year old professor at Georgetown and he was home with his husband. We’ve questioned him already. Now, do you want to tell me again how well you know Gerald Maxwell?”

Amanda consulted with her attorney before turning back. “We went on a couple of dates and had sex. I didn’t want it to get around I was fooling around with a taken man.”

“Just so you know, lying to a federal agent is a felony.”, Bower said quietly. “Starting now, every question you need to answer fully and truthfully or we will charge you. Do you understand?”

Amanda nodded, ready for the next question.

“We need to see the contents of your bag. Please hand it to me so Agent Bower and I can search it.”

When she hesitated, Bell jumped in. “We’ll just get a warrant and this will go much harder for you.”

Reluctantly, she handed the bag to the agents, who left the room. Taking it to the conference room, they put on gloves and opened it. What they saw surprised both of them before Steve pulled it out a bottle of Beluga Gold Line Vodka that was one quarter full.

Letting out a loud whistle, Steve examined the bottle. “This is some expensive shit...it’s like $100 a bottle. No way she bought this on a barista’s paycheck.”

“Didn’t Ashley say that Gerald was halfway through a bottle of vodka when they fought over the earring in the bed last night?”

“Yeah...what are you thinking?”

“A long shot, Bower. We need to get this to the lab. If it’s what I think it is, we know how it got into the coffee.”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

An hour later, Bell and Bower came back into the interrogation room, where an antsy Amanda and her lawyer sat waiting.

“So, Amanda, interesting that you carry expensive vodka with you to work.”, Bell stated.“It was fr

om last night. I don’t drink on the job.”, she sniffed.

“That’s good.”, Steve said. “Because we know you didn’t drink it.”

Amanda was confused. “Then what’s the big deal with me having it in my purse? I’m legal age.”

“You are...for alcohol, but that bottle didn’t have vodka in it. It had tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride in it.”

“No, it had vodka in it. Gerald told me that when he gave it to me this morning…” Amanda stopped herself, realizing she’s said too much.

“So you saw Mr. Maxwell this morning, hmm? Interesting.”, Bower said, turning to the agent with him when the young woman nodded.

“Well, Amanda, that bottle did have vodka at one time, but now the only thing in the bottle is Visine.” Bell clasped her hands together. “Want to tell us why, Amanda? Think carefully before you answer, because if you lie one more time, you’ll be in more trouble than you’re already in.”

Amanda nodded in acceptance. “He said it had vodka in it. I just had to pour it in the coffee and Tom would look like he was drinking on the job. That clown took the job meant for my brother. When I told Gerald about it, he suggested putting vodka in the coffee so Tom would appear to get drunk and then get fired. So if he had some Visine instead, Tom just got some diarrhea and was puking, right?”

“No, Amanda...both security guards are in serious condition at the hospital because you poisoned them. The main ingredient in Visine is a vasopressor that when ingested, does cause nausea and vomiting, but it also leads to fluctuating blood pressure and can even kill someone. That’s two counts of attempted murder, Amanda, that we can charge you with right now.”

“But I didn’t...I swear…I wasn’t trying to...”

“Fine.”, Steve said while folding his arms over his chest. “Prove us wrong. Tell us everything you know.”

The two listened as Amanda told them everything she knew about Gerald. When she was done, they excused themselves to talk to Caroline, who was in the observation room.  
“What do you think, Ms. Julian?”, Steve asked.

“Assault Two and I’ll recommend probation, but she better have spilled all her guts. Now, find out how he bought all those eye drops!”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Genny sat closer to Jessica as she listened to the other woman speak. “CSIs found the bulb broken in the entryway. He was probably waiting for you, not expecting Angela to show up.”

Jessica nodded. “The morning was so quiet...I was happy...I should have known…”

“So did you hear anything after Oliver went to get more stuff for his exam?”

Jessica shook her head. “I had my earbuds in, listening to music. When I noticed he was still gone, I look at my phone and realized it had been about 30 minutes. I was still so pissed at him because of a fight we’d had earlier...and I figured he was pouting somewhere or he was on the phone with Dr. Hodgins complaining about me. I wouldn’t usually care, but it was the fact the remains were just sitting out like that, in the open. Dr. B says it’s disrespectful.”

“What did you do?”

Jessica exhaled. “I got even more pissed and decided I was going to drag Oliver’s ass back down to put the remains away or finish his work…so I went to go find him…so I went up the stairs but just as I turned, I felt this hard pain by my cheek and I fell down the stairs...”

Genny noticed that the intern was beginning to shake slightly. Taking her hand, she squeezed it. “Jessica, take your time, okay? I’m in no rush.”

The redhead nodded and after composing herself, began to speak.

**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**\\\**

_“Not so tough without your boyfriend around, are you?”, a disheveled Gerald said with a deranged cackle, a bloody hammer in his hand._

_Jessica saw him come towards her and tried to get up, but felt pain all over from her fall. As she moved to back away, she saw him drop his hammer and unzip his pants. Terrified, she moved to get up but felt a foot push her down again._

_“You’re not going anywhere, bitch. You’ve fucked with me for the last time.”_

_Before she could move, she felt warm liquid fall on her back and side. She almost became ill when she realized what it was. “You peed on me? What the hell is wrong with you?”_

_“You’re the one who said I like pissing on women...so why shouldn’t you get a taste, you know-it-all bitch?”_

_“I never...said that…fuck you...” Although she was in pain and dizzy from the blow to the head, Jessica turned around and watched him come closer. When he bent down, she kicked him in the face with her boot._

_“You bitch!”_

_Jessica was almost on her feet when Gerald yanked on her leg and knocked her down again. Moving quickly, she kicked away and ran towards the stairs, but was pushed into the light table, her right side taking the brunt of the force. Ignoring the searing pain, she felt for a nearby bone saw and whipped it at him, hitting him in the shoulder. With lightning speed, the taller man shook off the injury and punched her in the face, propelling her into a door._

_As she was hit with dizzying pain, Gerald pushed her further into the door and began trying to pull her pants off her. “Where the hell are your slut skirts?”_

_“In your...better dreams, asshole…”, she slurred before being slapped again._

_“You need to shut your face, bitch. You always think you’re better than me! Telling people that I’m a fag and can’t get it up...that I piss on women to get off...I’ll show you that I’m all man and my cock is always ready. Been waiting to get inside you for over two years...”_

_“Fuck...you…” Frantically, Jessica began scratching at his face and neck, making contact near his eyes and face. Crying out in pain, Gerald slammed her into the door again. “You’re gonna die, bitch!”_

_“I’m not going down without a fight, Gerald. It’s sad that it takes rape for you to get a piece of ass…”, Jessica slurred before kicking his hard in the groin with her knee._

_“AAWWWWW! It’s time to teach you a lesson.”, the larger man bellowed before lifting her and shoving her onto the floor._

_Moving was painful, but the redhead did what she could. However, it wasn’t enough as Gerald’s larger body weight landed on her. Her vision blurred but she could still make out him looking at her neck. Then she felt Aubrey’s necklace pulled up and her fear broke through._

_“Don’t...please…”_

_“You’re gonna beg for this little cheap necklace...that cop of yours doesn’t make shit does he…couldn’t even shell out for the good stuff for his used slut...” Gerald ripped it off and tossed it. “Now, you nasty little girl...you’ve been teasing me and it’s time for me to collect.”_

_Jessica continued to fight as much as she could until she felt hands around her throat alternate between constriction and release._

_“See...there’s something about controlling another person that I love...gets me hot.”, Gerald said before squeezing again, this time longer before releasing. “I control you...I control whether you live or die...it’s the ultimate turn on…oh yes...your face...I love that look of...terror in your eyes...hard it be an uppity bitch when I’m in control...”_

_He squeezed again a bit harder and Jessica fought harder. Gerald’s response was to squeeze with more pressure with a sadistic smile on his face. The intern felt true fear as she struggled to breathe. One of Gerald’s hands began going between her legs but stopped when she squeezed his hand tight and scratched him again, this time under his eye. When he let go instinctively, she screamed loudly until he clasped her again._

_“Bitch, you should have fucked me instead of teased me…now you’re going to learn how powerful I am…”_ _he larger man responded by squeezing her throat again, this time until she began to lose consciousness._ _“Oh yeah…no you’re not going to sleep yet…” He let go for a second. “I’m going to fuck you first…then I’ll kill you after I’m done…I’m in control…I’m in control, Firecrotch!”_

_Jessica gasped for air and began to black out again when she felt Gerald’s weight lifted off her. As her body began to take in oxygen, her blurry vision caught two men struggling and then she heard Gerald._

_“You’re not going to humiliate me again, you asshole!”_

_Her vision cleared slightly to see it was Aubrey fighting with Gerald. Through the haze, she felt pride as her boyfriend kicked her assailant’s ass, but then she saw the agent began pummeling the other man. As she tried to yell at him to stop, she was with a wave of nausea and dizziness. Before she could stop herself, she vomited all over the floor._

**//**\\\\**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**//**\\\**

The tears started falling again before the redhead wiped them away with little success. Genny wordlessly got up and went into the bathroom. A few seconds later, she came out with a roll of toilet paper and handed it to her friend.

“Thank you.”, Jessica croaked. “I want to lay down, but I can’t because of my ribs. The doctor said they will need about two to three weeks to heal. Hurts to talk...God only knows what I look like right now.”

“Like someone who survived a horrific attack, Jessica. Everyone is lucky today…”

Jessica sniffled. “But Oliver...any word?”

“Still in surgery last time I checked, Jessica.”, Genny said vaguely.

“I heard he had head injuries...like he was beaten.”, Jessica said calmly. “Check the hammer...it’s probably Oliver’s blood. Knowing him, he saw Gerald and was his douchy self before Gerald beat the hell out of him. He’s such a jerk but I don’t want him to die...”

“Whatever reason Gerald had for assaulting Dr. Wells doesn’t matter, Jessica, because if he dies, that’s murder. As a federal case, he could get the death penalty if Ms. Julian pursues it. Right now we have attempted murder of two people, three if we can prove he tried to off Ashley also, and DCPD gave us jurisdiction already...two more counts for the security guards whose coffee was spiked with Visine. Don’t forget about the bomb threat a couple weeks ago. Another felony.”

“So he did date Ashley not only to look good...but to use her for revenge against me. She had access to the lab, so he bided his time…”

“I don’t know, Jessica. What I can say now is we have him. He messed with you...and that was a mistake. A big mistake, and I’m going to get him for it, I promise.”

Jessica nodded. “I know Booth took Aubrey away while you were talking to me, and I know you have to interrogate Gerald but...can you stay for a while until they get back?”

“Yeah, I can do that. That SOB isn’t going anywhere.”

“Thank you...now tell me how things are going with Hunter.”, Jessica choked. “Hot and heavy, I hope…”

“Well...there was this one entry from that _Bad Girls Bible_ you introduced me to that he loved…”

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Booth watched his friend stare at a piece of chocolate cake and a glazed donut with sprinkles as they sat in the hospital cafeteria. He saw the swirl of emotion in the younger man’s eyes and knew what he was going through.

“You couldn’t have prevented what happened, Aubrey. Gerald was determined to get her no matter what. However, he not only underestimated us at the FBI, but he also grossly underestimated Jessica again. From what Shaw told me over the phone, she knocked and scratched the snot out of him, including a lovely boot print over his left eye.”

“Yeah...barely 120 pounds soaking wet, but Jess is a scrapper.”, Aubrey said quietly. “She learned a few things from her older brothers. Guess having five of them paid off…”

“I also know you got a few licks in, too.”, Booth said with a sly smile. “I’ll deny it if anyone asks me, but I think you did great, okay? I mean, that bastard must have at least 60 pounds on you…”

“I wanted to get more in, but Shaw and Bower pulled me off him.”, Aubrey muttered as he flexed his right fist. “I wanted to kill him, Booth. I would have, too, if they hadn’t stopped me...”

“I know, but you didn’t, and that’s a good thing. Jessica wouldn’t get justice if you’re in prison for killing Gerald Maxwell.”

Aubrey looked up at his friend with tears in his eyes. “Do you think I give a shit about that right now, Booth? He beat the hell out of my girlfriend! He was strangling her...he...urinated on her...he was going to...rape her...then kill her...because she stood up to him…if he had killed her...Gerald Maxwell wouldn’t be breathing by the time I got done with him.”

“I know how you feel...but you have to cork it, Aubrey...now. Jessica needs to be your focus, not your anger about not stopping that asshole.”

“You’re right. I get that...I really do.” Aubrey sipped his cooling coffee. “I wanted to observe the interrogation, but Genny said no.”

“Because your place is here, Aubrey. Jessica needs you tonight.” Booth took a deep breath. “She’s going to have a hard time for a while…”

“I know that...and I’m going to be there for whatever she needs.”

Booth remembered his seesaw emotions after getting out of prison. “Aubrey...you need to be prepared. Once the shock of what happened wears off, Jessica...will have a lot of conflicting feelings. She’s going to be full of sadness...fear...rage...and she’ll need to take it out on something...or someone.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t Aubrey. Bones...she was a saint with me when I got out of prison. I...was so...pissed off at what happened to me. My focus was so narrow that I almost killed an innocent man.”

“I remember. You flipped me on the ground in a parking garage, remember?”, Aubrey said in an attempt at humor. “You still haven’t showed me that move.”

“Yeah, I do remember. What I’m saying is...be patient with Jessica. It’s probably going to get rough for a while before it gets better.”

“Of course, Booth. I love her...I love her more than my own life.” Aubrey stared at his coffee. “I want to watch that interrogation...but you’re right. Jess needs me here.”

“I’ll go and observe, Aubrey.”, Booth replied. “Genny won’t need me in the room with him, but I’ll observe and tell you how it goes. You know you can trust Shaw...”

“I know. Thanks, Booth.” Aubrey saw the sweets in front of him. “I’m sorry...you bought me these, but I’m just not hungry…”

“I’ll take those and hide them from Bones so I can eat them later.” Booth looked at his watch. “I’m sure the ladies are about done. Ready to head back? You should call her brothers.”

The two men got up and headed back to Jessica’s floor. As they got to the elevator, they saw Daisy running towards it.

“Booth! Aubrey!”, Daisy panted. “It’s all over the news...is Jessica all right?”

“Yeah...she’s fine, Daisy. She’s talking to Genny right now.”, Aubrey said, not wanting a panicked Daisy upsetting his girlfriend.

“I heard Oliver was hurt, too. Is he all right?”

“I was about to check in before heading over to the Hoover.”, Booth said. “Last time we checked, he was still in surgery.”

“OMG...what is he...he wasn’t supposed to be there…at the lab...”

“Daisy, what are you talking about?”, Booth asked, not catching Aubrey’s knowing face.

“He...well...he was supposed to work with Rani but she’s in Mumbai.”, Daisy muttered. “Probably doesn’t care.”

“Her flight left Heathrow three hours ago, Daisy, and it’s a 9 hr flight to Mumbai. I called my friend Alex at the State Department and they will be there waiting for her when she lands.” Booth exhaled before he got a beep on his phone. Looking, he read and looked back at the younger woman. “Oliver is out of surgery. Why don’t you see if you can find out anything? Jessica should be ready for company by then.”

“Oh I’ll do that. Thanks.”, Daisy said before jumping into the other elevator.

“Booth, they aren’t going to tell her shit because she’s not family or the investigating agent.”, Aubrey said as the two got on the elevator.

“I know, but that way she will get a little peace of mind and chill out before visiting Jessica.” Booth chose the floor on the panel. “What’s up with her and Oliver anyway?”

“Don’t ask, Booth.”, Aubrey replied as the doors shut. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”


	73. The Truth Comes to Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have gotten intense in our story, but fortunately, the FBI on the job to bring the criminal to justice. But did Gerald act alone?

Genny was on her way back to the Hoover when she got a phone call. Surprised as she saw the name was on the Caller ID, she quickly answered it. "Angela, I thought you were resting."

_"I thought so, too, but I've got news. Hodgins just got a call from the store manager of the Kmart in Annandale, Virginia."_

"Where Ashley Ames' credit card was used to purchase the burner phone that called in the bomb threat to the Jeffersonian a couple weeks ago.", Genny mused. "Please tell me they finally found the security footage..."

_"They finally did about an hour ago. The manager told Hodgins that the videos for January 5th were filed under the wrong day by mistake. He said he would have a copy burned onto a disc for you to pick up."_

"It only took them over two weeks to find it...but better late than never. What's the address again?" Genny listened as Angela gave the location. "Okay, I'm jumping on 395 now. Have Hodgins call them and let them know I'll be there in about twenty minutes."

" _Can do, Genny."_

Merging onto the freeway, Genny sped up the SUV. "Angela, now follow the doctor's orders and rest!"

_"She will, Genny.",_  Hodgins chimed in.  _"I promise."_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Ata small apartment in Rock Creek, Agent John Thomas was watching news footage of the Jeffersonian when the television was suddenly shut off. Turning around, he saw his girlfriend holding the remote. "Karen, what did you that for?"

Dropping the slim object onto the end table, Karen folded her arms. "Because it's Sunday, and I don't want to spend it watching whatever new crisis has fallen onto DC."

John glared at her. "You may not, but I do. Someone attacked five people at the Jeffersonian today. That's big news. I'm sure the Hoover is crazy right now."

Karen merely shrugged. "Who cares? It's not like that affects me at all. Come on, I want some lunch and then we can have a nice quiet day together...just the two of us. I'll wear those new panties you like so much."

Usually, the thought of Karen in lingerie turned him on, but at the moment, John wasn't in the mood. "But it may involve your friends there. Don't you want to know-"

"John, enough! I don't give a damn anymore, because my supposed friends stabbed me in the back for that redheaded crotch who stole Aubrey from me."

John rolled his eyes at his girlfriend's words. "Karen, that was months ago. Get over it. I mean, we're together now..."

Karen emptied the glass she was drinking from and slammed the it down on the counter. "Get over it? Seriously? She convinced Aubrey that I was harassing them and then he reported it to my boss. Now I'm banned from Major Crimes cases and that doesn't look good on my FBI record. My chances of being promoted to head the DC's BRIU division are almost nil now."

"Karen, it's been rumored that only Special Agents will be running the divisions in the near future, so that is not something to worry about-"

The profiler prattled on. "I'm tired of her shit. That bitch has done so much to me..."

"You've already explained it to me...more than once. If she's such a toxic person, then you need to stop thinking about her and focus on what you have now.", John said wearily before he turned the TV back on.

Frustrated that her lover was blowing her off, Karen turned off the television again and tossed the remote onto the couch where he couldn't reach it.

Irritated, John turned to his girlfriend. "Damn it, quit doing that! I want to see what happened. They may call one of us in later for help if they need a profiler for their suspect."

"If they're going to call someone, it will be me, John, because I have seniority and have more experience than you. However, I doubt the BRIU will be needed. Now, I just want to enjoy a nice lunch with my boyfriend and then come back here so we can fuck. Do you understand? No more work today. I mean it!"

"Fine…" John grabbed his coat and put it on, biting his tongue at his girlfriend's latest poke at his career.

It was true that Karen did have more experience. However, before John had become a special Agent three years ago, he'd also earned his PhD in criminal psychology and was no slouch. It didn't help that he had been the one requested for the Cincinnati case due to his ties there instead of her. Her lack of filter made relations with the local police and his former field office difficult...as did her jealousy every time he talked to one of his former female colleagues.

The sex was great, but her possessiveness was making it harder to enjoy their time together. Every time she saw him with another woman, she would get angry and accuse him of encouraging their attention or of cheating on her. He always tried to reassure her, but it was never enough.

He'd heard the whispers about her, including her supposed stalking of Agent Aubrey with daily lunches, and other stories about her supposedly outrageous behavior. However, he didn't listen, wanting to know her outside of those rumors. Although she was seven years older than him, he didn't care. She was smart, funny, and most of the time he enjoyed being with her.

Hopefully, she would realize soon that Aubrey was in the past, and then they could have a future if she would just trust him. As much as he cared for her, he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to put up with Karen's moodiness.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Ninety minutes later, the ASAC arrived back at the Hoover holding the Kmart security video disc. Coming into the bullpen, she found Haggarty and Thompson. "Are Bell and Bower still in with Ms. Winters?"

"They're taking her down to Holding right now.", Thompson remarked. "Girl sang like a canary once she figured out that Gerald Maxwell tried to set her up."

"Okay, have them come see me when they're done.", Genny replied. "Have we heard from the hospital yet regarding Ashley's lab work?"

"You were right, Genny, about him drugging her.", Jill stated. "Her blood had minute traces of GHB. According to the toxicologist, if her blood had been drawn even one hour later, the last traces of the drug would have been gone. She credited the red wine and the pizza with keeping it in her system longer."

"Awesome. Have those findings faxed…" Thompson smirked as he handed her the folder with the results. "Our division rocks."

Genny went into her office and called her boyfriend to check on Danny, who was hanging out with him for the day. After finding out the boys were doing fine having an  _Aerial Attack_  marathon, she unlocked her computer, and put the disc in the DVD player.

After a few moments, the surveillance video came into view. Finding the approximate time frame she needed, she saw what was unmistakably a tall man making the purchase of a phone in the electronics department. The earlier description from the clerk matched Gerald, but this video cemented it.

Then she followed him walking around the store and she couldn't believe her luck when she saw where he went next. "Oh, Gerald. As my grandmother would say...you're up shit creek without a paddle."

Hearing her phone ring, she picked up. "Shaw."

" _It's Hodgins...I can't talk my wife into resting quietly, so she's on her laptop if you need her to track anything down. Just don't tell the doctors."_

"I understand...I don't rest well, either." Shaw had an idea. "Actually, there is something that could use Angela's mad skills if she's up to it…"

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

While Genny was on the phone, Aubrey arrived at Major Crimes. Looking around, he saw who he was looking for and walked up to her. "Caroline, I came as soon as I could."

"How's your ginger haired squintern?"

Aubrey took a shaky breath. "Physically, Jess going to recover...thank God."

Caroline knew what he wasn't saying. "You saved her life, Cher."

"I didn't do much...Genny and Steve were there, too."

"They helped that annoying Dr. Wells, Ms. Montenegro and the guards, but you…were that redhead's hero." Caroline shook her head. "Agent Shaw gave me her preliminary report after she talked to your squintern. What that Gerald Maxwell did to her was...horrific. Why on earth would he urinate on her? He already was going to rape and kill her. I don't understand that part."

"I don't either, Caroline." Aubrey shook his head. "I don't either."

Caroline's look of sympathy hardened. "We need to talk in your office...now."

Having a sneaking suspicion of what was up, Aubrey followed the older woman into his workspace. When she indicated for him to shut the door, he did so.

Caroline pointed to his right hand, which was visibly damaged on the knuckles. "Did you assault Gerald Maxwell, Aubrey? Don't lie to me."

Aubrey took a breath. "I punched him a few times after he assaulted me."

Caroline walked up to Aubrey. "Cher, his face looks like nasty, rotten meat. You got more than a few punches in, didn't you?"

"I caught him strangling Jessica after he had pawed at her clothes, Caroline, then he came at me twice, including once with a bloody hammer. What the fuck? How do you expect me to respond?  _'Hey Gerald, come beat me up so you can rape and kill my girlfriend?_ '"

"Watch your mouth, Cher!" Caroline sternly shook her finger at him. "I believe you, but I got a call from Janis Jergins an hour ago. She and her client allege that you tried to kill him and they're going to file charges of assault and police brutality against you. Be prepared to go in front of a review panel as well as having to fight this in court, if it goes that far."

"Let him try it!", Aubrey said angrily. "He's the one who tried to murder multiple people today. I'm curious as to what kind of spin he'll use. I bet he'll say the grief over his father's death drove him over the edge. He's lucky I didn't kill him when I had the chance."

Caroline worried about Aubrey's quiet fury. "Which is why I don't want you here when Agent Shaw interrogates that creep."

"I know. Genny said the same thing. Jess is with Dr. B and Daisy right now, and I was going to go home and get a few things for her tonight." Aubrey sighed softly. "I figure it may make her feel a little better. She blames herself for everything, Caroline."

"Then you tell her as many times as you have to that she didn't do anything wrong by standing up for herself, and you keep saying it until she believes it. I saw Shaw's notes on when she questioned Jessica. It seems that she got a few licks in herself. Good girl."

"Thank you.", Aubrey said. "If there's nothing else-"

"There is one more thing." Caroline pulled something out of her briefcase and handed it to him. "I got what I need but I think you can give that to your squintern."

Aubrey nodded quietly. "Thank you. Caroline. Jessica will appreciate it."

"Good." Caroline pointed out the door. "Now scoot. Your cute squintern needs you at the hospital. I don't want you here again until tomorrow, hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am." Aubrey palmed the object and put it in his pocket before leaving.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, Ms. Warren.", Brennan said softly. "Hodgins felt especially bad. He and the head of security wanted to ensure something like this wouldn't happen to you...or anyone else...he feels like he failed you."

"Curly didn't fail me, Dr. B. This wasn't his fault." Jessica paused as she played with her bed sheet. "There were a lot of security improvements when the lab was rebuilt. Badged entry...two security guards in the lab seven days a week. He was also going to experiment with two interns on every weekend next month so no one would be working alone. I know all that probably messed up the lab's budget, especially with that new staggered intern schedule we started last semester..."

"Ms. Warren, Hodgins has actually become quite adept at what Angela calls,  _'juggling the budget'._ He's actually held back on purchasing new equipment that he wants desperately for his lab because he felt the new intern schedule was better for the students, and he's coordinated the co-op student schedule so that we have one every day to assist with tasks instead of days with either multiple students with nothing to do or no students and our mail piles up. That saves money without sacrificing our work."

"If he doesn't get new equipment…"

"He's fine. Hodgins said what he has is still the best. Angela said he's learning that he doesn't always need the newest toy right away. He's going to talk to Cam tomorrow about testing out the weekends with two interns and what happened to you just pressed that point further. I don't see her opposing this." Brennan grinned slightly as she continued.. "We have been hard on her in the past for some of her decisions. Until Hodgins starting running the lab while she was on her leave of absence, none of us, including myself, really appreciated all that Cam did to keep the lab running as successfully as it has."

"No...I never really did, either.", Jessica conceded.

Seeing Jessica's embarrassment, Brennan cleared her throat. "Ms. Warren, I didn't mean to go off topic. We did go above and beyond safety wise after the bombing, but logically, we couldn't have planned for what Gerald Maxwell did. No one can read anyone's mind. While some, like Angela's friend Avalon, are convinced that she can read people's minds…"

Jessica smirked, knowing her mentor's firm belief in science and empirical evidence. She focused back on her mentor.

"...no one could know that he would go so far as to attempt to murder his girlfriend to use her access card. I'm saddened that others were hurt, including Dr. Wells, but I'm grateful that Aubrey, Genny, and Agent Bower responded so quickly before it was too late."

"How is Oliver?", Jessica asked.

"He's in a medically induced coma due to the swelling of the brain. They are hopeful that it will subside in about 72 hours so that they can discontinue the regimen and he can regain consciousness. Of course, there could be complications, including memory loss and physical disability, but they'll deal with that as necessary.. His account is crucial to convicting Mr. Maxwell for all that he has done."

"Is Angela doing all right?", Jessica asked. "I heard she fell and hit her head after finding Tom in the far end bathroom."

"She is. She's actually helping Agent Shaw with the Angelatron program on a laptop Hodgins brought in for her. We're trying to keep it as quiet as possible because the doctors were against it…"

"But Angela can't just rest...Gerald's actions could have hurt their baby…and I'm sure she's really pissed."

"She is...along with Hodgins. With Hodgins' paralysis, their chances of conceiving are very low. This child will probably be their last one unless they adopt, so they are grateful to have this chance for a second child."

"I heard that someone made the guards sick, too. Are they all right?"

"They will be, Ms. Warren. Both of them should make a full recovery."

Jessica nodded. "I'm sorry you didn't get to bring Hank and Christine to the museum today. I know you like to visit after Booth takes them to church every Sunday."

Brennan shook her head. "Ms. Warren...the children will be fine. They're spending the day with Ms. Applegate. Now, with your injuries, you'll be off a couple of weeks..."

"No, I want to go back to work as soon as I can, Dr. B-"

"Ms. Warren, you have two bruised ribs. While I will consider light duty if your doctor clears it next week, with the exception of coming to class Wednesday if you sit, you are to stay home and rest."

"But, Dr. B-"

"No buts, Ms. Warren. Your ribs need to heal, as does your body since you also have a mild concussion. In addition, you are lucky that nothing was broken or sprained when you fell down the steps into Modular Bone Storage."

"But my semester hours, Dr. B-"

"You worked the first week of January when most took the time off. With Cam's approval, you can work a few weekends to make up your time and there are sixteen weeks in the semester, Ms. Warren. I'm confident that you will work your required 250 hours this semester."

"But-"

Brennan gave her intern a stern look. "My decision is final, Ms. Warren. I mean it."

Jessica nodded. "Okay...I just hate sitting at home doing nothing."

"Well, you can do your research for your dissertation...and you can make up the first test for the class. As you know, that's in two weeks. I have some other things you can do from home as well that I will consider using towards your required practical hours. I can also come over Friday afternoon to have our meeting if you like."

Jessica felt helpless and frustrated that people were going to have to change things to cover for her. "Okay, if it doesn't put you out-"

"It won't, Ms. Warren. If you're up for it, the children would also like to see you in a couple of days. Thursday is a half day and they have Friday off for Inauguration Day. I don't believe it is a day to celebrate, and I think seeing you would be a better activity for them. I'm sure I will also need a break from my speech for the Women's March."

"I'm not missing that, Dr. B. It's more important than ever that I be there. I have all the hats done and I promise to be careful."

Brennan considered Jessica's suggestion. Her intern needed to rest, but she also understood the young woman's need to be active, especially after what had happened. "If you follow doctor's orders...and stay home Wednesday-"

"You need help with the Power Point and we have the first SI scheduled that night-"

"I can handle a laptop, Ms. Warren. As for the first Supplemental Instruction session, I've been teaching for several years. I think I can manage that as well."

The women were interrupted by a knock before Daisy came in. "Knock knock...oh Jessica...I'm so glad you're alright."

The petite woman went to hug her friend but stopped. "Oh, I forgot about your ribs...I'm sorry. I was just so worried."

"It's okay." Jessica indicated toward the couch at the window. "Dr. B has the chair, but you can sit there if you want to."

"Great." Daisy shook her head as she sat down. "I'm so glad you're okay. That prick needs to have the book thrown at him. I saw what he did to Oliver, too, and it's awful."

Surprised, Brennan turned to her former intern. "They let you visit him? It was supposed to only be the agents on the case and Hodgins, since he's Dr. Wells' emergency contact?"

"No...I got a peek through the window before I was asked to leave. Anyway, that's crap...Oliver is my friend. He looks so awful and his girlfriend isn't here, so why shouldn't I sit with him?"

"Daisy, it's not Rani's fault. The FBI tried to call her but she had already boarded her flight to Mumbai from Heathrow. She can't take calls on a flight. You know that."

Daisy pouted. "Well, Oliver is all by himself and it's not fair that I can't be with him. He's so fragile…"

_'You have got to be shitting me…after what he did...'_ Jessica thought, remembering Oliver's attitude this morning. Turning to her mentor, it seemed that Brennan agreed with her.

"Daisy...the hospital has those restrictions in place for very good reasons. He was the victim of a crime and as a potential witness, he's vulnerable to threats. Also, they can't let everyone up on ICU as it also disturbs the other patients. Be assured, Booth used his contacts with the State Department and they will be meeting Dr. Mittipalli as soon as she disembarks from her plane. They will ensure she gets back to the United States safely. However, Hodgins will be there for him until she arrives home. Dr. Wells will be fine."

"But Oliver needs me…"

"No, Dr. Wick...he doesn't.", Brennan said bluntly. "He needs the care of the medical team here in the hospital. Right now, that is in the ICU."

Chastised, Daisy took a breath. "Of course, Dr. B."

"Good." Brennan turned back to her intern. "As for Wednesday's luncheon, Ms. Warren-"

"Oh Jessica, you can't go to that, can you?", Daisy said before grabbing her phone. "Dr. B, I can go with you. I just need to rearrange my schedule at the NFL. Just let me know when and where I should meet you-"

"Actually, Daisy, Dr. Goodman called his morning. There was a small fire in the university center. No one was harmed, but there was damage to the culinary section and the banquet hall, so the luncheon was rescheduled for February 8th." Brennan turned to Jessica. "You should be recovered enough by then to attend with me, but if you are unable to go, that's fine, too."

"Dr. B, I'm available if you need someone to come with you."

Brennan turned to Daisy, puzzled. "Thank you, but I don't think this is something that would be appropriate for you, Dr. Wick. This is a meeting of the faculty of the different programs in the College of the Arts and Sciences. Since you are settled at the NFL, it would be more appropriate for me to bring someone who has an interest in teaching so he or she can meet professors who can assist them in that endeavor."

Embarrassed, Daisy nodded. "Of course, but if you change your mind and need me-"

"Thank you for the offer, I won't, Daisy. I will ask Dr. Vaziri, Mr. Bray, or Ms. Finney, one of my newer interns, as each as expressed an interest in teaching at a university in the future."

When Brennan turned around, she didn't see Daisy's disappointed face, but Jessica did. She felt bad for her friend's hurt feelings, but she brought it on herself. Their mentor's attempt at tact was fairly decent, but Daisy didn't know when to quit.

"Well, I'm going to leave you so you can get some rest, Ms. Warren. Booth will be observing Mr. Maxwell's interrogation, so I'm going to take the children home. Let us know of a day that works for you to bring Christine and Hank by. We do have time Thursday and Friday but we can bring them Wednesday night if you prefer. That way you have a couple of days to recover. I'm sure you will appreciate the quiet time."

"If Aubrey is not hovering me, sure.", Jessica said with a smile.

Brennan nodded in understanding. "If I had to hazard a guess, he may take some time off to take care of you, Ms. Warren."

Jessica exhaled. "I don't need someone 24/7…"

"Ms. Warren, for the first few days, I would recommend it. Let him help you." Brennan grabbed her coat. "I'll talk to you soon."

"Thanks for coming, Dr B…" Jessica held up the magazine her mentor brought with her. "...and thanks for the Medicinal Physics Quarterly to read later. I can't wait to read that article you recommended to me."

"You're welcome." Brennan put her coat on. "I'll see you on Saturday, Daisy."

"But what about lunch this week?", Daisy asked. "Or getting together for drinks? Lance and Beau won't be home until Sunday."

"Well," Brennan pulled her messenger bag over her head. "That will depend on Booth's workload this week. He is overseeing all of Gerald Maxwell's cases in Major Crimes due to Aubrey's conflict of interest along with his duties in his own division. Since he'll be working late probably every day this week, I need to be home with Christine and Hank. I will let you know."

When Brennan left, Jessica saw her friend's hurt face. "So...any special plans this week with Beau and Lance gone still? You can probably get some stuff done around the house."

"No, I need to work and I'm going to try seeing Oliver again. I don't like him alone like that. Hodgins can't spend time with him because he's with Angela right now."

"Honey, they have those rules there in the first place. Besides, why do you want to see him? He was a complete asshole to you on Friday...and he has been on and off since last year."

"Jessica...he's still a human being.", Daisy cried. "How can you be so heartless?"

The redhead was bewildered at her friend's change of heart. "I'm not being heartless. I'm worried about him because he doesn't deserve to die. However, I'm even more worried about you...especially after what happened at the NFL. You were so upset…"

"I was...but it's trivial now. Oliver was almost murdered and he shouldn't be alone. His  _'girlfriend'_ ", Daisy indicated with quotation marks. "I hear she ran off to Mumbai in a fit. He needs me,Jessica...and I'm not going to let him down."

Daisy's phone rang with Beau's ring. Looking at the display, the anthropologist let it go to voicemail to Jessica's surprise. "Dais...why didn't you answer Beau's call?"

"I shouldn't answer the phone while in the hospital, so I'll call my husband back later. Now, I'm going to see Hodgins about being able to visit Oliver again for a while. Get some rest and I'll drop by tomorrow."

Jessica watched her friend grab her stuff and walk out. Shaking her head, she sat for a moment and took in the few minutes of quiet before the nurses would come and check her vitals once again.

Andie was going to stop by during her meal break in about 30 minutes and then Aubrey would be back later tonight. Deciding she needed a distraction, she turned on the television, only to be greeted with Hannah Burley standing in front of her hospital.

_'...What we know at this time is Gerald Maxwell has been charged by the US Attorney's office on multiple charges, including six counts of attempted murder, one count of resisting arrest, one count of abusive sexual contact, one count of assault with an illegal substance, and trespassing on federal property."_

_"Do you have the names of the victims yet?"_

Jessica felt a tear fall as she felt like her life was going to be ripped apart on the news once again. However, she couldn't stop watching.

_"The FBI has declined to release the names at this time pending notification to family, Jane. FBI Deputy Director Stark will have a press conference at 7:30 that will further address the events of today. Oh wait...here's Dr. Temperance Brennan now coming out of the doors. Perhaps we can get a statement from her?"_

Hannah ran over to Brennan, who was walking briskly to her Prius, trying to avoid the reporter. However, after hearing her name a third time, the forensic anthropologist finally stopped and turned to face the other woman.

Hannah stuck the microphone in Brennan's face. "Dr. Brennan, can you tell us anything about what happened today? Who were the victims? Was Jessica Warren one of them?"

"I have no comment on what happened today. As for the victims' names, you can find that out after the FBI has notified the families, which should be tomorrow. Excuse me." Brennan moved to leave, but Hannah stepped in front of her.

"Temperance, your presence here indicates that you have a personal relationship to some of the victims. How is Ms. Warren doing after her vicious assault? Does she have any plans for civil action against the Maxwell family?"

"I'm not here to visit Ms. Warren, Hannah. I'm here to visit six people, five who were assaulted at my institution today...because I want to ensure they are all right. That is what you do when you're in a leadership role. As for any civil action, that is up to the individuals affected, whoever they are. The fact you're trying to circumvent the FBI because you prefer speculation as opposed to hearing all the facts after being gathered, along with showing no concern for the people injured today speaks volumes of why you're not reporting in Afghanistan or doing international news any longer."

Embarrassed by her former friend's bluntness, Hannah tried to shake it off. "Excuse me, Temperance, but-"

"It's Dr. Brennan, Ms. Burley. We are not friends." Brennan saw the cameraman hold back laughter before continuing to speak. "Channel 7 should perhaps be more diligent on who they send out on stories. I know I will no longer be watching your station as long as you're on staff. Now, excuse me, I have a husband and children to be home with while you stalk people outside this hospital."

Hannah was speechless for a moment before regaining her composure. "Um...that was Dr. Temperance Brennan, novelist and Head Anthropologist of the Jeffersonian Institution. Back to you, Jane."

In Jessica's room, her tears of anger turned into laughter. She held her ribs as it hurt to laugh, but it was worth it. "Thank you, Dr. B...I really needed that."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

A short time later, Booth and Genny left her office and walked through the bullpen, discussing strategy.

"I'm just here to observe for Aubrey." Booth sipped his coffee. "While technically, I'm overseeing all the agent working this case, this is your show. I won't tell him anything unless you say it's all right."

"I know." The young woman considered the situation for a moment. "Booth, if you want to be in there…"

"No, Genny...this is your rodeo. You nailed him before, and I'm sure you'll do it again.", Booth replied reassuringly as they stood outside the interrogation room. "Aubrey has confidence in you, and so do I. You've got this."

"Thanks...just don't want to let the boss...or Jessica down."

"You won't. If I see something I'll say it through the earpiece while I'm watching with Caroline, but I'm sure you'll be fine." Booth smiled. "See you when you come out."

Genny watched as her mentor greeted the federal prosecutor and the two went into the observation room. Taking a deep breath, Genny opened the door and felt a sense of deja vu when she saw Gerald and Janis Jergens.

"Janis...you're earning your retainer today."

"Agent Shaw, I'm advising my client to remain silent until we got a psych exam ordered. He was under a great deal of stress with his father's death last week-"

"I want to talk.", Gerald said gruffly, glaring at his lawyer. "Just shut up and let me talk.".

_'Oh good…'_ Genny thought. "All right, Gerald. Start with why you went after all those people at the Jeffersonian today."

"They weren't supposed to be there.", Gerald growled. "It was only supposed to be Jessica. She is the one who killed my father and ruined my life."

"So Angela Montenegro...the two security guards…"

"What about them? It's not my fault that pregnant woman fell and I didn't do anything to the coffee, either, so don't try pinning that on me."

_'He knew about the coffee...interesting.'_ Genny thought quietly. "Oliver Wells…"

"That cocksucker thinks he fucking knows everything!", Gerald bellowed. "He taunted me when he came out of the storeroom and saw me. He said how stupid I was to be there...that Jessica's fuckstick Aubrey was much smarter than me...and that stupid troglodytes like me were the comedos on the ass of America. What the fuck is that?"

_"It's a fancy term for zit. Bones taught me that."_ , Booth told Genny through the earpiece.

Genny chuckled before putting her game face back on. "He called you a pimple, Gerald...he really wasn't that far off."

"Fuck you!" The accused man slammed his hand on the table and pointed his finger at Genny. "I'm not going to take that shit from you and I wasn't going to take it from that know-it-all asshole. I'm a Maxwell, damn it! You better remember that."

The ASAC looked at the suspect dead in the eye. "Ms. Jergins, please remove your client's finger out of my face or he will be handcuffed as well as charged with threatening a federal agent."

The lawyer sat up and pushed him down. "Gerald...Gerald...sit down right now!"

When the younger man sat in his seat and brooded quietly, Genny continued her interrogation as she made a note. "So...you bashed in someone's head seven times with a hammer for calling you a zit?"

"No...he came at me with some saw thing...what was I supposed to do, let him kill me?"

Recalling no weapon near Oliver when the found him, Genny kept the smile to herself. "A saw? Can you describe it to me?"

"I don't know...it had a fucking blade on it.", Gerald spit back. "I didn't know what to do so I grabbed a hammer nearby and I hit him. I kept hitting him until he finally stopped moving. I panicked when I saw what I did, so I ran out of the store room to get help...but I heard that screeching bitch's voice."

"Which screeching bitch's voice would that be, Gerald?" Genny asked drolly. "You seem to know a lot of them."

Gerald moved to get up, but his lawyer held him back. "Jessica's...yelling at Oliver to put some bones away. I remembered everything that bitch did to me...teasing me...accusing me of false charges...filing assault charges against my father because she's pissed that I wouldn't help her fuck with her boyfriend."

"Gerald...shut up!"

Genny arched an eyebrow at the man sitting across from her. "Indeed. You had a lot going on recently, Gerald. I could see how that would push someone over the edge. I mean, you were going there to see Jessica anyway, right?"

"Yeah...just to knock some sense into her and show her that I wasn't going to let her win…"

Janis put her head in her hands as Gerald continued to speak.

"...but when I heard her voice...she killed my father and all that Ashley's going through. I just snapped and knew that I had to do more than just put her in her place. I had to show her that Maxwells don't let cunts ruin their lives...so I leaned against the wall as I walked quietly towards that basement room."

"Agent Shaw, don't forget that my client has been under severe emotional distress-"

"Emotional distress, my ass!" Genny tossed her pen on the table. "You wanted revenge against Jessica Warren, so you used Ashley to make you look good and to get access to the Jeffersonian. You weren't going to try clearing the air or even to tell her off before your trial...no, you had other plans."

"I wanted to clear myself at my trial, but when she killed my father…"

"Your father had a stroke, Gerald. From what witnesses state, you were in a heated argument with the man about all the crap you're in when he keeled over. If anyone killed Harold Maxwell, it's you."

"Shut up!", Gerald yelled. "She killed him! I had no choice…I had to stop Jessica Warren from ruining my life."

"How did you not have a choice, Mr. Maxwell?"

"She said that shit about me! I couldn't get laid! She made me look like a fool! No woman does that to me!"

"If you have a girlfriend, why did you need to get laid?" When there was only silence, Genny continued. "What shit did Ms. Warren allegedly spread around the museum, Gerald? What was so traumatizing that it pushed you into almost committing murder today?"

Janis jumped in. "Gerald...you need to remain silent...I'm begging you…"

"She said I was a fag!" Gerald slammed his fist on the table. "She said I couldn't get it up...and that I liked women pissing on me during sex….that I always pissed my pants. That cunt was the one who had a big box of Depends sitting on the bench by my locker on my first day back. That is bullshit! She says that I sexually harassed her? Uh huh...she fucking teased me...opening her hoo ha to all the other guys but me before deciding to only open her legs for that skinny ass fuckstick Aubrey. That is not fair! I'm Gerald Fucking Maxwell!"

"Gerald, shut up!", Janis said but Genny didn't stop her questioning.

"Who told you all this, Gerald?", Genny asked. "This is some pretty far fetched stuff."

"You'd like to know, wouldn't you?", Gerald said with a smirk. "Well, give me a reason to tell you, you nosy bitch."

_'He still hasn't asked about how Ashley is doing or asked to see her at the hospital. He was told that she was found in the kitchen unconscious when he was brought here earlier today.'_  Genny turned to the suspect's attorney. "Janis, maybe you should explain to your client about holding back valuable information. With all the charges he's facing, cooperation would save his ass...and life."

"Jessica made me snap...her shit killed my father and humiliated my family. I couldn't let her get away with that.", Gerald bellowed. "Hell, she probably was the one who convinced Ashley to kill herself. I deserve consideration for that."

_'We never told him what happened...just that she was found unconscious. Interesting.'_ Genny thought. "What makes you say that she killed herself?"

"You found my girlfriend dead this morning because she gassed herself. Jessica humiliated her, damn it. Ashley deserves justice."

"Tell me about how you got into the Jeffersonian.", Genny said, suddenly switching gears.

"Huh?", Gerald asked in obvious surprise. "I thought we were talking about how Jessica killed the woman I love. That's can't go unpunished."

"Oh...we'll get to that. Now tell me how you got passed the security guards into the lab. You are no longer an employee of the museum, Gerald. Even if you were, badge access is restricted. So tell me...how did you get in?"

The first beads of sweat formed on his forehead. "Ashley drove me over and let me in with her badge."

_'You've got to be shitting me.'_ Genny thought. "So your suicidal girlfriend drove you over there, badged you in, drove home, and then killed herself? Why?"

"She was devastated by Jessica's accusations against me...plus those trumped up bomb threat charges…she's very sensitive you know. Last night, she cried herself to sleep as we talked about our future after our trials." Gerald worked to look appropriately choked up. "She said I deserved answers for what happened."

"What time did she drive you over there?"

"About 7:00."

"How did you know that the security guards' coffee was drugged?. That's not public knowledge, Gerald."

The suspect stammered. "I heard it around here. Everyone is talking about me today."

"So you had nothing to do with the guards' coffee being drugged?", Genny asked. "Think carefully before you answer."

"No…"

Genny pulled another sheet of paper out. "This is a statement from Amanda Winters...the barista who was spotted with you Thursday and Friday. She confessed to dosing up the coffee with what she thought was vodka. I would see how she would think that...since the bottle you gave her was a vodka bottle and the substance was a clear liquid."

"I gave her some vodka after we fucked Friday night. I need someone to talk to after my father's funeral...and she was nice enough to listen to me. What she did with the vodka afterwards was her own thing."

"According to toxicology results, the liquid remaining in the bottle was tetrahydrozoline hydrochloride, the main ingredient in Visine. She says you pushed her to pour all the bottle's contents into the Thermos but she didn't. She only put a portion of it in the coffee. Lucky for her that's what she did, or else two security guards would be dead."

"I had nothing to do with that-"

"Yes, you did Gerald." Genny stood up and shook her head at him. "You've been planning this for at least for weeks now. Seduced a couple of vulnerable women...borrowed your girlfriend's credit card to cover your tracks..or to frame her as a back up...all to rape and murder Jessica Warren as revenge and to get the charges against you dropped. You were even sick enough to urinate on her-"

"I said she has been telling people that I like to be pissed on. When I saw her there, I snapped as I remember all the stuff she had been saying about me. I just wanted her dead."

"Like your girlfriend?"

"I didn't kill Ashley. I didn't drug her wine and drag her face down in front of the stove. She obviously killed herself, thanks to that cunt."

He didn't see his lawyer shake her head, but Genny did. "How did you know she was found face down, Gerald? You were at the lab and then here, remember?"

Beads of sweat poured down his face. "I….I...figured she did."

"I searched your stuff and found Ashley's badge. If she dropped you off and then badged you in, why did she give you her badge? Seems silly to me."

"She does stupid shit sometimes."

"Did you abuse your girlfriend, Gerald?"

"Where the fuck is this coming from?" The man was almost foaming at the mouth. "If Ashley told anyone that I'd abused her, that was a lie."

Genny leaned in. "I say you did...the bruises found on her neck look like strangulation marks. They also found bruises on her arms..."

"She's clumsy. I can't help that...plus she likes rough sex. I try to keep my girlfriends happy, no matter how ugly the request."

"At least you let her keep her panties…", Genny retorted.

"You bitch!"

"My name is Agent Shaw, not ' _You Bitch'_ ", she said calmly. "I told you that the first time I interrogated you and I'm telling you now. There won't be a third time. Now sit your entitled ass down, Gerald."

When her suspect sat down, she continued. "I say...that you stole Ashley's badge because that would tip your hand...and you couldn't have her realize what you were planning. I also say that you drugged your girlfriend last night so she would go to sleep before you put her in front of the stove and turned it on to get rid of her."

"I didn't slip anything into Ashley's wine!", Gerald bellowed.

Genny pulled out a report. "According to the hospital, Ashley had trace amounts of GHB in her blood. Thanks to the red wine and pizza you two had around 10 PM, the drug stayed in her system another few hours than it usually does. According to the toxicologist and two other doctors, the carbon monoxide levels alone in her system would have rendered her incapable of walking and talking, much less do something as complicated as drive you to the lab and back at the time you specified. You wanted that young woman dead, Gerald. Your plan was to eliminate one loose end...then another by killing Jessica, but things got complicated by everyone else being there today."

"Jessica got what she deserved! I snapped!"

"No...this was premeditated. You broke the light bulb by the employee entrance, planning on jumping Jessica there. However, Angela showed up, so you used your back up plan. Of course, you needed to get rid of the guards, so you talked Amanda into drugging the coffee by saying it was vodka, playing on her issues with her brother not being hired at the museum. While hiding by the store room, or getting your courage up...Oliver Wells discovered you. After arguing, you attacked him with a hammer, and then went for Jessica. You knocked her down and then urinated on her. You attempted to rape her while strangling her since that's your kink, isn't it?"

"You don't know shit."

"I could ask Ashley…"

"She's dead, damn it. Don't you have any respect for the dead?"

"I do." Genny smiled. "But Ashley isn't dead, Gerald. She's going to make a full recovery. Newer gas stoves are a lot harder to commit suicide with since they use natural gas now...but most people don't know that."

The man paled. "She...didn't die?"

Genny shook her head. "Nope...and she had some good stories to tell about you. You're an abusive clod who thinks he's always right. You also like strangling women as a power trip during sex."

"Ashley didn't sell me out. She wouldn't do that...she loves me..."

"Oh, but she did...plus she didn't make that bomb threat.", Genny said before pulling another paper out. "See this? This is the voice recognition results that Angela Montenegro ran this morning. Your speech pattern is an exact match for the one that called in the bomb threat on January 6th."

Gerald pushed the sheet away. "Bull shit...all lies."

The ASAC pulled a still photograph out of her folder. "This is you purchasing the phone at the Kmart in Annandale the day before the January 6th bomb threat. I bet that was a scary place for you, Gerald. Normal people go there."

"Fuck you...you can't prove that was me."

Genny pulled out another photograph. "This is you in the pharmacy department right after buying that phone. I needed to know what it was you bought. Of course, you didn't keep your receipt. However, because you're cheap, you used Ashley's Shop Your Way Rewards to get $1.59 from your total bill."

"What the hell are you getting at?", Gerald asked quietly.

Genny pulled a sheet out of the folder. "This is a digital copy of the receipt from your purchases. With Ashley's permission, Angela was able to get into her Gmail account. You deleted the digital copy of the receipt Kmart sent to her email, but it was still in her trash file, which saves for 30 days. Now can you tell me what is highlighted on there, please?"

Janis and Gerald looked at it. "Visine.", the lawyer responded in a whisper.

"Yeah, you bought like 10 of the big bottles.", Genny chuckled. "Ashley said you were polishing off a bottle of vodka last night...the same expensive brand as the bottle Amanda used this morning. I bet if we checked for DNA we may find it…"

"Lies!"

"No...not lies.", Genny said quietly. "If you're thinking you're going to go for temporary insanity, the fact you bought the Visine before the bomb threat...before your father's death... blows that out of the water."

"No one is going to believe this shit. My family knows people in the Justice Department-"

"It's not January 20th yet, Gerald. Even if it was, your daddy's little friends doesn't stop us from doing our jobs...which we're really good at." Genny smirked. "You're going to prison for a long, long time, Gerald."

"No!" Gerald fought off his lawyer's hand and stood up. "That cunt ruined my life! She said nasty rumors about me! I couldn't date anyone! She was going to sue me! Jessica Warren deserved to die!"

"I'm not going to ask you again." Genny stood and looked right into Gerald's cold eyes. "Who told you all that ridiculous stuff? Who pushed you into doing all this stuff to Jessica?"

"You want to know?", Gerald yelled. "It was the profiler bitch...Karen. Yeah…"

Genny sat in shock as his words reverberated throughout the interrogation room.  _'What kind of shit storm have we got ourselves into?'_

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

In the observation room, Booth was stunned. "You have got to be shitting me, right? I know Karen was pissed, but…"

Caroline made a growling sound. "I can see it. That peeshwank is a bigger bonne a rienne than I thought."

Sighing in frustration, the agent scratched the back of his neck. "You can say that again, Cher'."


	74. Gerald Tells All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Genny Shaw to see what Gerald has to say for himself. Did he act alone?

Genny remembered how Karen had denied Gerald's claims regarding her suggesting that Jessica had started those insane rumors about him last December. Her explanation of meeting up by chance and sharing a few drinks while the suspect cried in his beer was considerably more plausible. When Genny followed up at the lab a few days later, no one knew what Gerald was talking about, so she had written off his story as BS from a cornered suspect.

She knew Aubrey was still a little suspicious, but after all the crap the profiler had pulled, it was understandable. It would in Karen's nature to shoot off her mouth about Jessica.

' _Just happened to meet up for drinks and she comforted him over his bruised ego with understanding and no strings sex. Of course she lied. I should have known better. That bitch.'_

Quickly composing herself, she pushed forward with her questioning. "I remember you mentioned this back when I arrested you the first time. However, when I talked to Karen, she denied it, saying she merely listened to you cry in your beer like a baby before you two hooked up. I also checked around the Jeffersonian and no one knew what you were talking about."

"She's a fucking liar. Of course you would believe that bitch over me, but I'm telling you that it was that Karen lady who told me about Jessica spreading all that crap about me. I remember all of it."

"If you want me to believe you, Gerald, I need details, starting with the first time you two met up and talked about these alleged rumors."

"A week before the Halloween Gala...Sunday, I think...yeah, Sunday, Karen met up with me at Franklin's Tavern-"

"Was it an accidental meeting or-"

"She found me on Twitter that morning...direct messaged me and said she had something important to discuss with me. I ignored it but then she sent me another message that afternoon, saying it was super important because it was about Jessica and my career. Even offered to buy me a drink...and hinted that perhaps I could get more out of the deal if I were so inclined, so I figured why not? She's an older chick, but she has some nice tits."

' _So much for one thing led to another...'_ Genny thought to herself. "So, you met up at Franklin's…"

"Yeah. She told me that she had been at some birthday party for that Aubrey guy the night before and she'd overheard Jessica bragging about how she was going to go see Dr. Miller and say that I had sexually harassed her at the lab. She was gonna say I did a bunch of other shit, too, to get me fired from my internship."

Genny offered a sympathetic shrug. "Probably pissed you off, didn't it, Gerald?"

"Damn right it did. Karen told me that Jessica was her friend, but she didn't want me blindsided and she felt she owed it to me to tell what was going on behind my back."

"Was that the only reason she gave for selling out her friend?"

Gerald laughed. "Nope...I guess Karen surprised Aubrey on his birthday but her blew her off for that cunt Jessica. Man, that lady is so hot for him…"

"And…", Genny prodded.

"We drank for a while and bitched about that redheaded slut for a while. Then, I asked if that other idea was still good. She said it was, so I followed her back to her place for a couple hours. I left her around 1:30 in the morning."

"Didn't feel like spending the night?"

"No...why the fuck would I do that?" Gerald shook his head. "She was a fuck...a really, really good fuck...but just a fuck just the same. I had to be at work at 8:00 that morning and she said she had some 7:00 meeting at work with that Aubrey guy and had to pick up some breakfast first. I guess he called her up that day to arrange it and she figured it was to apologize for ignoring her all Saturday night."

"You said she found you on Twitter? Any evidence to back this up?"

"Check my phone. You'll find the conversation on there. Her username is ShrinkBitch."

' _How appropriate. Well, she didn't cheat on Steve...and she told some of the truth so far.'_ Genny nodded. "Why didn't you mention all this when I interrogated you last month?"

"Because you just wanted to bust my balls over those bullshit charges and I didn't think it mattered. I'm going to get them tossed, you know. What that shrink lady did was entrapment."

"Cool your jets, Gerald." Genny made some notes on her tablet. "Alright, that's one meeting, but I know there's more, so out with it."

"Well, Karen was right, because Jessica fucking railroaded me after the Halloween Gala and got me suspended for three weeks. Then the bitch wouldn't take me up on my offer to drop the charges I was going to file for grand theft auto if we became friends with benefits...what's the big deal about fucking me once? She fucked all those other guys...and she was boffing that Aubrey guy. I mean...he's a skinny asshole, what the hell?"

' _Does he know any other word besides 'fuck'?"_ Genny hid her smile. "You mean besides him scaring you to the point where you peed your pants, Gerald, in front of all those attendees at the Gala because you were being nasty to his date?"

"That was bullshit-"

"Moving on, tell me about the next time you two talked."

Gerald scratched his chin as he tried to remember. "It was the day after Thanksgiving, but I didn't speak to her. Karen came to my father's office in Vienna-."

"Your father was working on a holiday weekend?"

"It was Friday. Why not?", Gerald asked. "Not everyone takes that weekend off, and Dad gives...or rather, he gave people who worked that day a bonus. Do you want to hear this or not?"

"Pardon me, Gerald.", Genny said with sarcasm. "Please continue."

Gerald sat up straight. "Like I was saying, Dad told me that she came to his office. She didn't have an appointment, but once she said she needed to talk to him about me, he was cool with it. She told him that Jessica had told everyone at the Jeffersonian about how I couldn't get it up and that I was a fag."

"She said that you were homosexual and also impotent?", Genny responded, not liking the slurs her suspect had used. "Any other meetings? Full disclosure now, you hear me?"

"Yeah. So a few days after that, like the day after those guys got shot before they killed that guy...how the fuck does that happen, by the way-"

"Answer me, Gerald, or I tell the US Attorney that you're uncooperative. She may be less friendly about criminal charges-"

He puffed out an exasperated sigh. "Okay...fine. Karen met up with my dad...I don't know where or how...and said that while Jessica's asshole boyfriend and that Booth guy were in surgery, Jessica told everyone in the waiting room about how I liked to be pissed on during sex and that it was her who left those Depends in the locker room on my first day back...that bitch."

' _From what Wendell said, no one knew who left the undergarments in the locker room, although it made Gerald a laughingstock there.'_ , Genny thought. ' _It could've been anyone who went to the Gala…'_

"Then that bitch bragged about how she started those rumors that I was gay and that I couldn't get it up to get back at me. Jessica has been out to get me for months. Remember how I fucked her and she framed me afterwards because I wouldn't help her make Aubrey jealous. I've told you about that, remember, but you said I was a liar."

"We've already proved that you lied about hooking up with Jessica, Gerald, so let's not go there, shall we?" Genny tapped her pen on the table. "So, to summarize, Karen met up with you or your father three times to inform you that Jessica was saying stuff about you to make you look bad. All of that is what pushed you to vandalize Jessica's Jeep, her locker, her apartment…"

"My client is not admitting guilt to any of that." The lawyer pushed her glasses up her nose. "He's merely telling you what someone said about him."

"You blew me off before, but you can't now, can you?", Gerald snarled.

Genny began laughing, leaving Gerald and his lawyer perplexed. "What the fuck are you laughing about?", the suspect growled. "That bitch was spreading lies about me…"

"I'm laughing at you, Gerald." Genny laughed again. "You're the most gullible person I've ever encountered, and I've seen a lot of them since I've become a Special Agent."

"Cut that out!", Gerald fumed.

"Sorry…" Genny coughed and calmed down. "It's just...you took Karen at her word all those months ago, but she lied to you, you idiot. I was there that night at the hospital. Jessica never said any of that about you."

"No….Karen told me…"

"Dr. Delfs lied to you, shithead...for her own personal reasons. She played your ass like a fiddle. Essentially, you did most of the dirty work for her in trying to get rid of Jessica. God, you're a stupid son of a bitch." Genny grinned as she picked up a piece of paper. "You're just the fall guy…"

' _No one makes a fool of me! I'm taking that bitch with me…'_ Gerald was filled with rage as he realized the situation. "No, I'm not. She knew I was going to make Jessica pay…that Karen lady was in on it the entire time..."

"Now you're full of shit, Gerald. Karen lied to you, but I don't believe for one minute that she was involved in your little...horror show today. That was all you."

"It was all her idea!", Gerald said desperately. "The bitch asked me to help her. It was all her, damn it."

"Really?" Genny sat back and crossed her arms. "Prove it."

"Okay…" Gerald thought quickly. "She told me when Jessica would be working because she was friends with everyone at the lab and knew her schedule. She also said she could fix things so I would get off with a slap on the wrist."

"Now I know you're full of it. Gerald, Karen has no access to the lab's schedules and she is not friends with the people at the Jeffersonian.", Genny replied with a chuckle. "Try again."

"She called me over to her apartment on the 30th...she suggested the Visine thing for Jessica. Karen said to just put it in her coffee and it would give her the shits. Jessica needed to be knocked off her high horse..."

"December 30th?'', Genny asked. When Gerald nodded, the agent held back a smile. "What time did you go to her apartment?"

"9:30...I got there about 9:30.", Gerald replied smugly. "She was horny, too...no panties on under her skirt. She wanted to ride me on her couch because she loves my big cock, but I was dating Ashley by then."

Genny burst out laughing again. "Hate to break it to you, but Karen wasn't looking to have sex with you that night."

"Yes, she was...she wanted to fuck me...she did it before..."

Genny played with her pen. "Well, then you either spoke to a Karen clone, or you just lied to me again."

He rose from his chair, slamming his fist on the table. "No, you need to listen to me, Agent. I said I was there. Quit challenging me or you'll regret it!"

"Don't threaten me, little boy.", Genny said quietly, glaring up at the man across from her. "Ms. Jergins, advise your client to mind his p's and q's, please."

"Gerald, shut your damn mouth!", the lawyer hissed as she pulled him back into this seat. "I can't help you when you have verbal diarrhea."

"Thank you, Janis." Genny smiled sweetly. "Karen couldn't have met with you on December 30th because she was attending an FBI dinner that night at the Willard. I know, because I was at the same dinner. Around 9:30 I had accepted an award and saw her in the audience. I remember the occasion well, because she was wearing the same dress as another agent's wife."

"No!"

"To think you almost killed six people...possibly seven, if Angela Montenegro miscarries...all based on stupid lies first told to you in a bar. You really are a dumbass."

Genny nodded her head towards the two way mirror. A few seconds later, Agents Haggarty and Thompson came into the room. "Let's tally up the charges, shall we? First, your attacks on Jessica and Dr. Wells, and since DCPD gave us jurisdiction over Ashley's case that's...three counts of attempted murder. Lacing the coffee with Visine is also considered assault, but Caroline Julian lives to put scum like you away, so she may also try charging with you with attempted murder as well for the security guards' poisonings. Angela Montenegro could've had worse injuries but we're looking at assault right now. Then there's calling in a bomb threat to a federal institution...oh stealing Ashley's badge...that's theft of government property…"

"You're reaching, Agent Shaw."

"I think not, Janis. He broke the light at the employee entrance and there was other property he destroyed at the Jeffersonian, so there's another charge of vandalism at the Jeffersonian, plus he violated his restraining order. Most of all, we can't forget the attempted sexual assault with special circumstances…"

"What?", Gerald bellowed as Jerry handcuffed him.

"You urinated on Jessica, Gerald, and then you tried to strangle her. Juries don't like things like that sort of thing...especially from cocky bastards like yourself who think they are above the law because of their status in society. Although you probably didn't feel very cocky when Jessica kicked you in the face." Genny scrutinized the man. "She really got you good, too. I think I still see the boot mark-"

"Agent Aubrey assaulted my client.", Janis said. "We plan to pursue assault charges."

"Go right on ahead...and we'll put out my statement and Agent Bower's, which will indicate that your client was resisting arrest, and that Agent Aubrey was defending himself when he was attacked while stopping your client from strangling a woman to death. Now that I think about it, assaulting a federal agent is another charge. I don't think you're getting out of jail until you're 80, Gerald."

"I'll beat this…"

"Sure...oh, and if Oliver Wells dies? One of those attempted murder charges becomes capital murder. Premeditation could push it to the death penalty." Picking up the file and papers, Genny glared at the man before her, flanked by the other agents. "See you in court, asshole."

The ASAC walked back into her office and sat behind her desk. She studied Gerald Maxwell's file and not getting anywhere, stood up and stared out the window, thinking about Karen's involvement.

It wasn't hard to believe that Karen had used Gerald's ego against him in order to incite him to violence. The hard part was going to be proving it. The profiler had been able to steer suspicion away from herself the first time, but it would be the last.

' _Karen technically didn't lie…but her ass is mine.'_ Genny mused. ' _I need to talk to her before Gerald's lawyer does.'_

**oooooooooo**

At the house, Aubrey filled Skinner's bowl with wet food before setting it down. Skinner ate a few bites but then stopped to watch the front door. Knowing why the cat had stopped eating, he sighed before bending down to pet the orange tabby.

"I know...your Aunt Jessica is usually here so you can sit on her lap while we watch a movie on Sunday nights, but...a bad man hurt her, so she's in the hospital tonight. I'm going to spend the night with her, but we'll be home soon, Buddy...no later than Tuesday, I promise."

The agent grabbed her tablet from upstairs as well as her phone charger in case she needed it. After searching one of her drawers in the dresser they shared, he found her favorite MSU pajamas. On the floor, he saw her fuzzy slippers and put them in the travel bag he was preparing for her, along with a change of clothes to come home in. After grabbing her toothbrush and other bathroom essentials, Aubrey came out into the master suite.

"Do I have everything?" Looking around, he grimaced as he noticed the crumpled sheets on the bed. "Shit...I didn't make the bed. Jess asked me to before she left this morning…"

He hadn't seen the point in it in the past, but when a certain spunky redhead came into his life, things changed. After a while, he'd gotten into the habit of making the bed as he realized it did make things look neater.

It was also harder for Skinner to hide under the covers and surprise them like he did last week. Jessica had pushed her boyfriend down on the bed half naked in the throes of passion and they'd barely missed the tabby, who'd been napping under the blanket. After the initial shock, the two laughed before they went back to the crazy monkey sex they planned to have.

_'That was great, lustful, earth shattering fucking...I love it when Jessica's aggressive.'_ Aubrey thought.  _'I love just about everything about her.'_

He looked down at the bed again, remembering two nights ago. Their lovemaking that night was also earth shattering, physical, and quite passionate. But it was also comforting, beautiful and their favorite way to express their love for the other.

After they'd made love that night, she worried about Karen and the upcoming trial, but he'd put her at ease...then he got her to fool around in the kitchen. Who would've thought that almost 48 hours later, instead of home watching a low budget science fiction movie with him and the cat, she would be hospitalized after an attempted rape...that she'd almost been murdered?

What would've happened if he hadn't gotten to Limbo when he did? From what the ER doctor had told him, Jessica was about three minutes away from possible death before he'd ripped Gerald off her.

As he contemplated the what ifs, a tear fell from his eye. Wiping it away, he felt two more fall. Frustrated at his emotion, Aubrey wiped them away before a couple more fell. Then, finally, he let himself break down.

' _I was supposed to protect her...but he got to her anyway...and almost took five other lives as well. I want to kill him. I'm going to find out why he did this...the real reason...and when I do...if Karen or anyone else was involved...so help me they will all pay…'_

He continued to cry until he felt someone head butting him. Turning to his right, Skinner stood next to him, gazing at his man. Chuckling, Aubrey pet his cat.

"Jess is right...you always know when you're needed, Buddy. I promise she's coming home soon."

Looking at the clock, he saw it was 5:30 and wiped his eyes. "Okay, Aubrey...get your shit together. Your girlfriend needs you to man up...and she wants some chicken noodle soup from the diner tonight."

Making sure he had a change of clothes for himself and everything Jessica might need, Aubrey zipped the bag and pet Skinner. "I'll be back in the morning, buddy. I gave you extra food, but don't eat it all tonight."

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

Genny read through her notes and contemplated what she knew. It seemed both the profiler and the suspect had a grudge against Jessica, both unfounded.

In regards to Gerald, she'd rejected his overtures for two years until she asked him to be her date for a wedding, only because Jessica found out Aubrey was going with Karen. From what the redhead had told her, Gerald had groped her on the dance floor and then was a drunken ass because she'd rejected him sexually. He then was a dick to her when she told him off on their second date and Aubrey stood up for her when he happened to see them arguing.

Gerald didn't like the fact that Jessica had dated and had casual relationships with other guys at the museum while always turning him down. However, she was unattached at the time, and she didn't owe Gerald Maxwell anything.

' _Why is it so hard for some men to understand that sex is not owed to them...pigs.'_

Then there was Karen. The profiler had developed a crush on Aubrey immediately, but in his own words, she was also cloying, and she soon got on his nerves. He couldn't handle being around her for long periods of time. He was also oblivious to the older woman's feelings for him as he was wrapped up in his burgeoning relationship with Jessica.

Yes, Jessica had broken up with Aubrey, but Karen didn't have a right to claim the man as hers just because she'd spent time with him. James Aubrey was a person with real feelings, not a prize to be won at the county fair. It was obvious to anyone that the Major Crimes SAC's heart was solely with the redheaded intern, not with Karen Delfs and that the feeling was mutual on Jessica's end, even after the break up.

Well, obvious to everyone except the profiler...or else Karen did know and manipulated the situation to her favor in an attempt to get Aubrey to date her. In Genny's opinion, it was a little bit of both.

' _Karen and Gerald seem to share the trait of having an extreme self of entitlement. Yikes!'_

She was serious when she'd told Gerald during the interrogation that he was full of it when he insinuated Karen was his partner in his crimes. The ASAC felt secure that even at her worst, Karen Delfs would never deliberately solicit an assault on Jessica.

However, the woman's anger over Aubrey reconciling with Jessica hadn't dissipated, even after three months. Being with Steve had tempered it a bit. However, Karen's newfound sense of acceptance for Jessica was only temporary as her issues with the graduate student were never really settled. Genny couldn't understand how a grown woman could be so brilliant at her job but be so blind to the truth...that Aubrey had always loved Jessica and Jessica had always loved Aubrey. The two of them getting back together had been inevitable.

If Karen was half as possessive with that Agent Thomas from the BRIU as she was with Steve and Aubrey, she felt sorry for the young agent/profiler.

As much as Genny wanted to blow off Gerald's accusations, there was too many details and frankly, it was too incredible to be made up. While she didn't buy the part about Karen being a co-conspirator, she still had to follow the lead. That was her job...and that's what she would do.

Apparently, Karen had thought if she told just enough truth last month, her scheme would be forgotten and she would get away with everything. That was a grave mistake on the her end.

Looking up a phone number, Genny wrote it down. Grabbing a key from her desk, she walked down the hall to Aubrey's office, unlocked the door, and went inside.

***/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/***

At John's apartment, the door unlocked and the agent stormed in, followed by an irate Karen. Locking the door, he tossed his keys in a bowl and turned to the older woman.

"Christ, Karen…she's an agent from the Baltimore office. I worked with her on a case with last month, that's all! I'm not sleeping with her!"

The profiler turned to her current lover. Once again, she acknowledged that their fling was winding down, but she wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet. "Well, she obviously wants to fuck you! I saw her staring at your junk! I'm tired of you letting women think you're available."

"My God...Lainey has a boyfriend. She wasn't flirting with me. You're fucking paranoid, you know that? I can't even take a dump without you thinking I'm with another woman. I'm sick of it, Karen."

"Well, quit acting like you're single, and we wouldn't be arguing about this." Karen jumped to her latest power play. "You keep it up and I'm out of here. Do you want to lose me?"

Before John could answer, Karen's phone rang. Seeing that it was Aubrey's office line, she immediately answered. "Hello, Aubrey? Do you need me for a case? I knew that ban was just temporary—"

_"It's not Aubrey…it's Agent Shaw. You need to come down to the Hoover now."_

"Does Aubrey know that you're in his office, Genevieve?" Karen asked snidely. "I don't think Aubrey would appreciate people going in and out of his work space when he's not there."

_"I have his spare key, Karen. I figured you would answer if I called on his phone."_

"Not very mature, Genevieve. As for coming down to the Hoover, the answer is no. It's my day off, I have plans, and because of Jessica being a buttinsky, I'm now banned from Major Crimes unless Aubrey requests it. Now, come to Quantico tomorrow and we can talk about whatever has a burr in your butt. Goodbye."

_"Dr. Delfs, you seem to misunderstand me. This is not a request, but an order. Be here in 30 minutes or I'll send an agent to bring you in. Don't test me. I'm not in the mood."_

Karen stood straight at the other woman's tone. "I'll be there in 25." Hanging up her phone, she found her purse and coat. "I'm needed at the Hoover, John. We'll continue this later."

Ignoring the man's head shake, Karen quickly grabbed her coat and purse before storming out of the apartment. As she drove her vehicle through a cold and rainy Washington DC Sunday evening, her anger increasing the closer she got to her destination.

"First I'm humiliated on Friday, and now Shaw is ordering me down to the Hoover…on my day off? This better be good, Genevieve."

Thirty minutes later, Karen entered the Major Crimes bullpen and was surprised to see Steve and five more agents actively working. What surprised her even more was the dirty looks she was receiving from all of them.

Seeing her former lover standing by the duty roster, she walked up to him. "What's the matter with everyone, Steve? You all look like someone has died."

"No one died, Karen." Steve barely held his contempt in check. "We're just working a case."

"All of you? Must be something big. Now, Genevieve ordered me down here like some minion. Where is she so she can get her panties out of the wad she has them in?" Karen pulled up her purse on her shoulder and smirked. "I have a night of hot sex with John to look forward to when I get home."

"Special Agent Shaw is in her office.", Steve said brusquely, pointing towards the door. "Excuse me, I have to call Mitzi and tell her I'll be working late tonight."

"Keeps you on a short leash, doesn't she?", Karen muttered, not happy that her comment didn't get any sort of response. She saw the angry stares of the handful of agents who were working and shuddered before walking to Genny's office, where the agent was reading a file.

"I'm here, Genevieve. Now why the hell did you demand I come down here? This better be important. I was busy."

"Neutering your boy toy, probably.", Genny cracked before getting up and gathering some folders. "Come with me, Karen. We need to have a chat in the conference room."

Leading Karen down the hall, Shaw pushed the door open. "Sit there." Genny pointed to a chair facing away from the windows.

"What is going on here?", Karen asked in irritation.

Genny walked up to the taller woman, glaring at her intently. "Sit the hell down, Karen. I won't ask you again."

Surprised at the woman's ferocity, Karen sat down and watched as Genny opened one of the folders and started laying down photographs. Seeing what was pictured in some of them, her blood ran cold. "What the hell are these? Why are you showing them to me?"

Crossing her arms, Genny glared at the woman in front of her. "Take a good look at them Karen, because we're going to have a chat…a nice long one…and I'm going to do the best that I can to remain professional so I don't smack that holier than thou look off your fat face."

"Excuse me, that was uncalled for-"

"Oh, it's more than called for, Dr. Delfs. Now, you're going to answer my questions...fully...we'll stay here all night if we have to. Do you understand?" Seeing Karen's frightened nod, Genny continued. "Good. Now...let's talk about Gerald Maxwell."

**Author's Note:**

> PS: It should go without saying but if you are an Aubrey/Karen fan, this is not the story for you.


End file.
